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
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.
Mapman,
Good question. There is no doubt that the sound improves with series cabling. But now that I have taken out the SR Powercell the dynamic may have changed for all I know. I will need to see what changes will happen to the sound when I take out different cables -- and then reinsert them.
Sabai,

I can picture you at a clam bake with ocean fresh lobsters and clams. They taste best with minimal of preparation and you butchering the dish like it was imitation lobsters and clams. I treat my big $$ components like the ocean fresh lobsters and clams.

Since running components in a series often softens the sound. I bet you have an all SS system and in need of some tubes in the chain. Am I correct on all SS system?