2. cables
  3. 129434-76532

Synergestic Research: SCAM

Well, I just sat down to a demo of several Synergistic Research products including the Black Box room bass resonators, their new line conditioner, their active Tranquility Base, little treble resonators and the Atmosphere room acoustics tuner.


Total scam. Never once did they just play a track while moving things around. It was always a few seconds of a track followed by a 30 seconds of so of moving stuff, etc, then another maybe 30 seconds of sound. They'd start a track and then stop it right as some instruments came in, do the change, and then continue playing where it left off. The guy doing the demo was asked twice if he could do a live a/b and he'd give an excuse about how it takes a little time for system to charge or some bs like that and the transition process would mask the differences. Absolute con BS they are DEAD to me.


Also? I could hear JACK SQUAT changes in the demo. A few people around me would comment on the changes but I could hear nothing -- at least as best I could manage with the small clips and pauses in between changes. I really tried, but I could hear nothing.


Here, I took a video of a part of the demo. I'll post it when I have a chance.

madavid0
whitestix
701 posts
 
Madavid0.
You stepped into it on this forum calling BS on SR "tweaks".  I have tried a boatload of their stuff as I am an inveterate audio tweaker, which has included their foolish and pricey "room dots" and goofy expensive fuses.  If Geoff Kait chimes in on the discussion, you can expect any notion of sensible discussion to go out the window as he peddles the most foolish audio tweaks imaginable.  I encourage folks to try the SR tweaks to see if they have efficacy in their system and clearly many do find them useful.  They do have a 100% money-back return policy.  However, don't be swayed by the devotees on this and other forums who seem to leave good sense behind when they evaluate their tweaks.  I suspect your ears and pocketbook are serving you well in the conclusion you reached with the SR products you heard.  There are a ton of worthy tweaks, including better cabling and inexpensive component isolation devices that will improve the sound of your system far more than the SR gear.  Cheers and thank you for your honest post.  

sabai
2,027 posts
 
I think that calling SR a scam and a con tells more about the writer of the OP than is does about SR. madavid0 may not have heard a difference but does that mean his opinion is automatically upgraded to universal truth that will apply to the listening experience of everyone? But considering the switching shenanigans he reported on, these may be valid observations.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Whitestix
I have tried a boatload of their stuff as I am an inveterate audio tweaker, which has included their foolish and pricey "room dots" and goofy expensive fuses.

Are you referring to SR room dots or Acoustic Revive room dots? Or maybe you're thinking of Marigo room dots. Or the Franck Tchang Sugar Cubes or something else. PWB Magnadiscs perhaps. Maybe Blue Meanies. You know, as an inveterate audio tweaker.
tablejockey
3,806 posts
 
Wow!
 You don't  even need to read past the OP's  opening statements to see what coming.

I focused listening to three instruments in SRV's tune.Tone/dynamics  of the guitar, the crack of the drumstick against the snare rim and bass. Umm... nothing. Maybe the vocals were noticeable, but the song is cut before SRV starts singing.

If there is any change in presentation, I still should be able to hear it the Ipad speaker. Whetever difference there is, very subtle.
I put my on my guitar player ears for the comparison.

Heard no difference in the depth of reverb or decay in the crack of the drumstick, guitar and bass sound the same. 

I then played my own period  LP copy on my table. Thanks to the Ipad, my under 20k retail system sounds superior to that obvious nice/pricey rig. My system does have ridiculous cabling and PS Audio regen. 

Let the OP hear what he hears and report his findings and everyone else can buy SR products.



jandewitt
25 posts
 
@ nkonor
Sure, the sound was sweet, complete, balanced, detailed, dynamic engaging.
The highs were all there and never harsh.
The lows were all there without booming around in the small demo room.
It was not the 'small, pinpointed' stereo imaging as the audiophiles of old liked, but all was big and wide enough.
The overall result was that you could listen to the music because the equipment was not interfering with the sound.
I hope that made some sense. I am not a reviewer.
Reminder:
I did not say this was because of SR.
Nor did I say this would not be possible without SR stuff.
My main point is that one of THE BEST sounding rooms on the show (in my humble opinion that is, of course) was treated extensively with SR products (and this is a BIG show!).
So this was either just for commercial reasons or the creators of this wonderful sound really thought SR had something to offer them.
Fun fact: They were NOT selling SR products.

With regards
More to discover