Podeschi,
Here's another example of the same component reviewed by both 6Moons.com and Stereo Times.
6Moons.com review
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/synergistic/powercell.html
Stereo Times review:
http://www.stereotimes.com/acc012811.shtml
The Stereo Times review was written in 2011 and compares the Synergistic Research Powercell with the SR Powercell 10 SE MKII. The review states that the two versions "sounded very much alike" and gives examples, using various recordings, of the improvements he found in the MKII version.
The Stereo Times review is sober, balanced and positive. It is clear and to the point. It does not go over the top with effusive audio-speak that makes the reader dream that the audio version of Marilyn Monroe has just arrived at the door to transport you to audio nirvana. It is down to earth and balanced in its descriptions which are overall positive. It sounds like a review -- not an advertisement.
The 6Moons.com review is of the first version of the Powercell, the Powercell 10. It compares the Powercell 10 to a Furman unit. Look at all those gigantic photos in the 6Moons.com review. They dwarf the text. This is the rule rather than the exception with 6Moons.com. Their reviews look like ads.
The 6Moons.com review quotes SR as saying, "The device works "outside the signal path to condition AC current with differential electromagnetic fields"." But since everything in your system is supposed to be plugged into the Powercell 10, I don't understand this.
In his review, the 6Moons.com reviewer mentions a number of other power conditioner makers and compares his Furman with the Powercell 10. Conspicuously missing, for me, is the name Bybee. He then he drowns us in superlatives and other eye-opening adjectives such as "dramatic" to describe the Powercell's attributes. And this is with the Powercell 10 -- never mind any of the 4 newer iterations that have appeared since he wrote his review in 2009. I would like to hear what he has to say about more recent versions of the Powercell that might exceed his gushing remarks about the first version of the Powercell 10 that leave no superlative unturned.
Reading his review, you would think that the gates of audio heaven had opened wide with the arrival of the Powercell 10. The review does not lack "beguiling and seductive" adjectives to lead us in that very direction. Furthermore, all the details about the alleged sonic attributes of the Powecell 10 make you think you really know what you will be getting when you purchase the Powercell 10.
Of course, you have no idea what you will be getting because this is advertising copy. I used to be a copywriter. I was in the advertising business for years. What masquerades here as a review is nothing more than an advertisement. In fact this text could have been taken directly from Synergistic Research's own site.
I have the Powercell 10SE MKII. To tell you the truth, it brought positive results to my system. It improved the refinement of the sound but in no way did it compare to the results brought to my system with my Bybee Stealth, my isolation transformer and my power regenerator. It did not bring to my system "transformative sonic capabilities". The Powercell "removes any hint of AC-related grunge, haze or blurring and unmasks the full harmonic complexity and richness of the music."? Not even the Powercell 10SE MKII has done this in my system.
The bottom line: don't believe everything you read in reviews -- especially in the effusive Never Never Land of 6Moons.com.
