Synergistic Research Comes Down to Earth


I just read some of the RMAF reviews. Since I live overseas I don't get to shows and am envious of those who have the opportunity to do so. I noticed a big difference in the Synergistic Research room this year versus last year.

In 2011 Synergistic Research chalked up a grand total of nearly $150,000 for their system with about $40,000 of that dedicated to their own equipment and cables. It must have been a pretty impressive sound. This year their room chalked up only about $25,000 with about $13,000 dedicated to their own equipment and cables.

Synergistic Research has really come down to Earth. I wonder how the 2012 system sounded compared to the 2011 system. One thing that I am pondering is the $1,500 Nola speaker in a $25,000 system. The Nola is supposed to be an impressive speaker but I wonder about the sonic attributes of a $1,500 in a $25,000 system. Can anyone report on the Synergistic Research room and the Nolas?
sabai
My outcome on the disconnection of my Powercell 10 SE proved that it did restrict dynamics,detail and even volume for sacrifice of a little deeper and wider soundstage. otherwise, I will give it more time to settle and give a final conclusion.
This change showed me just how the HiDiamond cords do just by-themselves creating a phenomenal sound with no gimmicks, tricks, enhancements. just straight- up HIDIAMOND........simple...
Sabai,
Our approach is 180 degrees different. I believe simpler the better, less is more, no cable is the best cable ...

The Powercell choked off the sound when I ran it in series with the Bybee Stealth. On its own it did not appear to constrict the sound until I compared it with the Stealth.
You can also conclude the Stealth is the one that is constricting if running separate did not appear to constrict???

Majority of components are not designed to use in a series. It's logical (to me anyways) that the more you add to a chain, the more it will constrict/alter and I bet if add enough, you will hear NOTHING. You are basically using these products in a series as tone controls.

When I spent big $$ for a VAC, Hegel, Pass ... I want to hear what the designers hears and not some altered manipulated sound.

Personally I don't like active PCs. They seem to alter the sound in an unpleasant and unnatural way and constrict dynamics. I finally ended up with a passive Weizhi PRS-6 that restores the natural tone and doesn't constrict dynamics/current. I also use one for my amps.

Like I said before, you do what sounds best to you but IMO, you are wasting lots time and $$.
@Knghifi, would you say that is true about S.R Powercells. They are actively shielded too?
Knghifi,
You stated, "Our approach is 180 degrees different. I believe simpler the better, less is more, no cable is the best cable ..."

Of course, I fully understand. But I run a lot of plug-and-play Bybee products in my system and I find that they work best when spliced between two cables instead of being plugged directly into a component. I realize this is unconventional and defies the commonly accepted approach, but it works. It is totally paradoxical and I have no explanation for its success. Tone controls? The tone is definitely affected, as well as many other sonic parameters.

There are other audiophiles using, up front, an isolation transformer > power conditioner > power regenerator with great success, like me. They have written about this in detail on another site forum. Those writing about this are also finding dramatic improvements in the sound. This up-front series approach also requires extra cabling, of course.

I imagine you are correct in that, if I kept adding wires, I would eventually choke off all the sound. The real choker was the Powercell -- it choked off the sound completely, which told me there was something seriously going on with the Powercell in spite of SR's claim that it is not current restricting. It obviously is current restricting, in some way.

My system is a work in progress. I am experimenting with taking cords out and re-configuring to see how this affects the sound. So far, I have not been able to take out any cables without the quality of the sound deteriorating.

Bacardi,
The Powercell is actively shielded when you plug in its MPC.
" So far, I have not been able to take out any cables without the quality of the sound deteriorating. "

SAbai, is it possible that the sound merely changes from the optimal (as you have it tuned to your liking) to something different?

Does having all the cables in place truly result in undeniably better sound?

A lot of these judgements tend to be somewhat subjective IMHO, so there is little that most people report that surprises me.