Synergistic Research ART Basik, any opinions?

The whole idea seems to defy physics and the laws of sound waves and acoustics to me. How can some teeny little things address all sorts of sound waves and reflections all over the room?

That being said, I would love a chance to hear them in a double blind setting in a room that is poorly designed accoustically and void of all sound controlling devices. The Stereophile review said one could replace thousands of dollars of accoustical components with five little itty bitty metal cups and magnets for a better affect!

Consider me a skeptic but would be happy to be proven otherwise. If they offered them with a 30 day trial, I would consider it. Have somebody sneak into my room and install them. If I hear a noticeable difference immediately (not with super careful listening for some barely audible affect) I would buy them.

The cable company offers demos of the ART system. All Synergistic
Research products come with a return policy as stated on their website
under the Synergistic Research Challenge.

I agree with you Ckoffend - I think Synergistic makes fantastic cables, top notch in all the cable swapping/comparisons I have done.
But this apparatus (and the COST!!!!) has me baffled. Some of it is set up at my local dealer. They say it works, I did not investigate it.

Lougiants,
I understand how you could feel the Acoustic ART System's ability to tune a room's acoustics unlikely however I would never have spent the time and money to develop it nor the political capital to market it if it did not perform as I say it does. It is in fact the single most important product I make for improving a systems overall performance. Since you have a dealer who can demonstrate it for you may I suggest you audition it or better yet send me some photos of your room and I will mark them in PhotoShop for placement of the ART pieces and you can audition them in your system and decide for yourself?

As to cost the Acoustic ART basik system is very inexpensive- less then the cost of just one Bass Station from the full blown ART System. The difference is that the basik system is just that, basik and does not require the significant amount of time to tune each individual resonator and several other labor intensive steps that contribute to the original ART Systems price. It also (the basik system) does not have the same performance potential but absent the full blown ART System in your room, you'd never know.

Joeyboynj is correct, all SR products are made available through authorized SR dealers for in home audition. There are many reviews and personal testimonies from people who have long established posting records on numerous audio discussion groups all claiming to hear significant improvement with the ART system in place, and a degradation when removed. There are also a few posters claiming to have tried the system and to not hearing any benefit but they are almost always first or near first time posters and many times, users who's only posting record is to detract from the ART System. At the end of the day the ART System is just like everything else, you need to audition it for yourself and then decide.

OK back to CES :)

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

The Sell-A-Thon is on.

Led by the Pied Piper.

Play that tune big boy.