Synergistic New Tesla Line...Any comments?

Well, I finally received the Enigma and let me just say that I am shocked by the result. It is hard to believe that something which is not formally in the sound chain could have this type of impact.

The impact I speak of is just as Ted describes it on his website, which, incidentally, i read after i listened yesterday, so i was not pre-conditioned. The main impact are to the soundstage and level of engagement of the music. The whole spectrum of sound widened by a significant degree and the music was more engaging, smooth, entrancing. The differences between the two tubes is interesting.

I really like the TungAr on the left because of it's ghost-like qualities and the incredible effect it has on the soundstage. But, as I was listening to John Coltrane (can't remember the album), a recording with instruments separated on the channels, the WE tube on the right was much better. It brought the group together more and sounded more cohesive.

All this comes with only my ICs plugged into the Enigma. I don't even have my PC cables plugged in yet. And I am getting a pair of headphones, Sony R10, with a special shielded cable that I will be able to plug in as well.

Anyway, this is an amazing piece of equipment. It is built like a tank and is absolutely beautiful. All hand-made.

System: APL NWO 3.0, SinglePower ES-2 (electrostatic headphone amp), Sennheiser HE90.

andy

Andy... good to read your report. Keep us up to date. Yeah, I've heard the Enigma myself and have been simply astonished... no other words for it.

Anyone else out there have one willing to give their sense of the thing?

I just upgrade my speaker's wires from Accelerator to Precision Reference and today I called Synergistic's because I wanted to hear their recommendations in my system and I asked about the powercell and they commented me the EU version is already available and it comes with schuko I have a Shunyata V-ray and he insist I should try the powercell aparently excels the vray.

My Powercell 10 arrived yesterday, and although a couple of issues arose Eliott, Michael and company (inc my dealer) were exemplary throughout. So..I have the 10 outlet version that has one powercord (T3 UHC) and 2 MPC's, one to power the cord, one plugged directly into a miniplug on the Powercell rear, next to the IEC inlet. I have that one plugged into the wall and the T3's MPC plugged into the Powercell (I need the other 9 outlets for my stuff).

One small bit of layout criticism that I shared with Eliott: I am eval'ing this conditioner against my current Audience Adept Response AR12. That box has it's outlets turned upside down (with ground plug up) and it easily accomodates wall warts in their correct polarity; they simply stick out the top, but allow for regular plugs in the duplex below them. The Powercell, OTOH, has normally positioned outlets which create a problem for MPC's and other wall warts. They either take up two outlets or they require the Powercell to be lifted off the shelf/surface to have enough clearance from the bottom outlet to the shelf/surface. I recommended either taller feet or doing the upside down thing. Eliott was very open to the feedback, as ever.

So.....how long should I let this thing settle in before critical listening? SR says 3 days, yet Ted earlier told me a t3 would take a minimum of a week. My dealer is being flexible but needs realistic timeframes.

My non-critical (yeah right) listening last night showed a conditioner that created a dead quiet space, with very more detail than I've heard previously, but a slightly rounded off bottom end. The Powercel had all of 3 hrs on it.

Thx
Ted

Tedmbrady,
Your PowerCell will take approx 72 hours to fully open up while your T3 UHC will take at least twice this time. As to plugging in MPC's to the back of the PowerCell, we have 2 new affordable line conditioners that work in conjunction with the PowerCell especially for MPC's and front end components called the QL6 and QL9 (Quantum Line-Strip 6 and 9). These are simple but powerful little line conditioners with either 6 or 9 outlets. When used with MPC's they significantly improve the sound of Active Shielding when used alone, or when plugged into the back of the PowerCell for greater performance; effectively expanding your connectivity from 10 outlets to 16/19 outlets with no current limiting for your remaining 9 PowerCell outlets.

As to the bottom end, wait a week and you'll hear extension, dynamics and low freq control that will surprise you.

Yours in music,
Ted Denney Lead Designer Synergistic Research Inc.