Yo2tup... believe it would be best to give SR a call re. pricing, especially for the package deal. |
Thought I'd add to the discussion as I just took delivery of a Tesla PowerCell 10 line conditioner and the break-in seems to be very similar to the cables... especially the power cords. Since it uses a quasi active field to condition the a/c it uses a MPC as well (with a much more flexible cable coupled with a slightly different connector). In addition it is Quantum Tunneled with a cable they call "the octopus" (all 10 outlets tunneled at the same time).
Sound-wise the PowerCell seems to be going through the same phasey ups and downs as the cables, but not unlistenable. Already the background is amazingly more quiet than ever before, allowing much more detail to come forth. It's interesting in that resolution is taken up a few more notches because the soundfield is so much quieter, NOT because voices and instruments are more sharply delineated. This seems to be one of the trademarks of the Tesla line in general in that it allows the aspects of ones gear that are positive to shine through even better. If you have a tube amp or hybrid, those qualities that led you to that particular amp are more fully realized with Tesla cables and now the PowerCell.
The PowerCell is an absolute no brainer. I would say to if one was wondering where to start with the Tesla line, then a T3 combined with a PowerCell 10 or 6 is where you should start. I believe SR is offering a packaged deal with a 5ft. T3.
I'll probably be running an extension cord off the fridge for a couple weeks to speed up the break-in. |
Ozzy...
My experience with the Hologram D has been that the frequency extremes are handled in a way that gives one the feeling that your amp has unlimited headroom... top and bottom. Every cord prior to this had some region that tended to be emphasized over the others... and most often, as you suggested, suppressing the upper frequencies.
A slight emphasis on mid-bass was something I thought was brought on by my room, but it turned out to be the previous cord to the cdp. The Hologram D provides a more balanced, top to bottom response... and completely free of grain with the typical Tesla dead quiet background.
Another thing that impresses me is the amount of detail and nuance that can be heard at the frequency extremes. Somehow the cord does this without overly sharpening the focus. If the top end in your system is sweet, then it stays that way, but with much more information. No digital glare, no digital fatigue.
Don't mean to butt in, I'm just very enthusiastic about having discovered the Tesla line. I'm in all the way. |
I believe that upon request SRC will further condition power cords using a Cable Cooker prior to shipping.
Mine had no prior conditioning... I threw it into the system and listened to it getting better everyday. AND I must say it was very good after the first 2-3 hours of playing music.
After coming off the Cable Cooker, give it a couple of days to settle-in. |
Hey Grant... what's with the Clark Johnsen wannabe schtick? |
Fplanner2000... I had thought the same thing re. using a T3 on my Quattro. Since the T3 I have was fully broken in, I got my answer pretty quickly... it didn't work nearly as well as the T2. The T3 thickened the overall sound of my system and curtailed dynamics a bit. In with the T2 and the openess and speed was back. Of course we're talking by degrees here, but I'm finding that with Tesla cables you get your answer to whether it's a good fit or not within a very short period of time.
The theory here is (pertaining to the Quattro) that the T2, with fewer conductors than the T3, saturates faster... and apparently this is a good thing for the Quattro. The same reason probably why the T2 (as opposed to the T3) can be better on many preamps. |
The subject and question that started this thread is "... Does anyone have these cables and can you please post your impressions and comments?"
I too, as many others have also, found going to an all Tesla system yields results beyond the mere sum of the all of the parts (sounds like hype, but it's absolutely true). I've always been a firm believer that the best results can be achieved by mixing and matching cables from more than one manufacturer as necessary and have done so for over ten years.
But now I've ended up with just one brand... and within that brand I can mix and match/tune my system with many choices. And among the many choices one doesn't have to always buy the most expensive model to get the best results. I have never been able to say that about any other brand.
As a dealer I want my speakers and electronics to sound as best they can... and I have now had to rethink what cables I will continue to carry. I am neither a rep nor dealer for the Synergistic Research line of cables. There already is an established dealer in the area where I live. I respect that and Ted Denney is very careful to maintain a professional and knowledgeable dealer base. I will probably end up not carrying any line of cables, but will let the Synergistic cables in my demo system speak for themeselves.
What do I have to gain by posting here? What I gain is the soul satisfaction that maybe I've convinced someone on the fence to audition the Tesla line and discover what the rest of us have found... a line of cables that actually work as advertised... finally. Audio is more than a hobby with me... it's a true passion and sharing what I have discovered when a product like this comes along is a big part of that passion. |
Euphoria? Oh I'm waaaay past the honeymoon phase. And I've gone back and compared with the 5 other brands that I have in the "stereo closet". I don't take this kind of purchase lightly and have been very methodical in doing my comparisons over the past several months. And the results have been consistent no matter what system I've heard them in... solid state, tubed based, pc audio or analog, big rooms or small rooms, electro-static or cone speakers, drunk or sober.
Trust me, I ain't no Kool-Aid drinker. |
Posting this again, Tvad/Grant... the subject of this thread is "... can you please post your impressions and comments? (re.Tesla Accelerators and Tesla Vortec)."
I'm not aware of any initial question regarding posting comments and impressions of the people contributing to this thread. You ask a direct question, so why not direct it to that person via email?
You have no experience with the cables in question, yet you continue to post to this thread... why? |
"Because the answer affects how the opinion is weighed by the readers. A user's opinion is viewed differently from a rep's, because the agendas are different."
Thank you Grant for being our advocate... God bless you! |
Ozzy...
In many cases the T2 has been the cord of choice for preamps, both ss and tube. To preserve dynamics and openess for a preamp (with typically lower current demand than an amplifier) a quicker to saturate T2 vs. a T3 will often fill the bill AND will save you approx. 30% msrp. |
Ozzy...
... not to throw a wrench into the works, but Ted of Synergistic Research uses the T2 on the pre-amp in the main system at the factory. I would suggest ordering a T2 first, get familiar with it, and in the meantime try to demo a Hologram A.
And remember, you could start with the Hologram A and always wonder if the T2 (for considerably less money) would have been better.
Ted stresses this fact often... you don't always have to buy the most expensive cable to get the best out of a given component. |
The approximately 300 hrs. of break-in I mentioned in my last post re. Tesla cables breaks down into the following routine... QuantumTunneling breaks the ice, then it's 6 days (2 in Voltage Mode and 4 in Current Mode) on the Hagerman FryKleaner and finaly 1 week on a receiver hooked up to a pair of bookshelf speakers in my garage. For power cords it's 10-14 days on the fridge... the same for outlets.
I have generally found that predominantly silver cables take twice as long on the FryKleaner, hence the 6 days vs. 3 for copper (suggested by Hagerman). |
Fplanner2000...
I found that with almost any of the Tesla cables I've put into my system, and most noticeably the speaker cables (biwire Precision Ref.), that the bass, especially extension-wise, took the longest to come around. Probably around the 300 hr. mark. This was combined with some speaker repositioning as well... I was getting a little too much mid-bass thumpiness and towing out a couple of degrees solved it. The bass goes "through the floor" now. |
I had a similar T2 experience yesterday. Took my T2 (and my PowerCell, but that's another story) to a friend's house to try on his cdp and phono-pre. Both pieces were connected to the grid with pc's that retail for $2100 ea. In both instances the T2 was the "no-brainer" cord of choice. Almost 75% less expensive, very flexible and weighs next to nothing... what's not to like?
In the 3 systems where I've tried the T2, there was a characteristic they all shared... the T2 helps create a more frequency balanced sound top to bottom. Bass, especially, was taughter (but not lean) and more transparent. We noticed too that nothing was spot lighted... it was all just there very clearly without any murkiness between performers and their instruments. One more thing... there was a coloration to the sound, but unlike I've heard with other cords (and this seems to be one of the hallmarks of the Tesla line)... and this coloration was that of each instrument, not the overall sound.
When 'philes mention colored sound, typically they're refering to the overall sound imparted on their system. With the T2 in the mix we heard the individual color of each instrument. Voices and instruments sounded very different from each other. Their individual characteristics were there in spades. |
Yep... I've had my PowerCell for approximately 2 weeks. Would be happy to answer any specific questions you might have. |
How I do I like it... well the other line conditioners I've owned all sounded fine to me (guess it often comes down to which flavor one prefers). And I was doing the usual upgrade dance for all too many years, but as usal something was always bugging me about my system.
So along comes an opportunity to get a PowerCell from the first production run. As a result my system has changed in an important/major way. Finally I feel that I'm hearing what each component is capable of with no apparent loss of dynamics or extension. I'm hearing what is typically associated with each of my components when reading their reviews born out of listening in ultra revealing reviewer's systems. One of those "... so this is what they're talking about" kind of moments.
Dynamics and extension (top and bottom) are up several notches. Distortion is also down to where playing louder and dynamically challenging passages results in no breakup as was often typical before. This was also observed in my friend's vinyl set-up. There was an operatic soprano passage from an older London recording that would break up and we attributed to possible tracking issues... PowerCell in, break-up/distortion out.
All the above with a level of refinement (especially with digital sources) that I've never had before. A subtle sense of grain and congestion that I could never completely remove is also gone (no mean feat as I live in one of 184 condos in a one sq. block area... that's a lotta grunge in the lines). |
Jmo...
Can't imagine that there's a better place than the PowerCell to plug the MPC into (for the PowerCell's shield). I haven't had a chance to try out the dual power cord version. Still waiting on a new cdp to arrive (hopefully this Mon.) before making any final decisions as to how I'll finish off my system Synergistically speaking. |
The first 10 days I had a 50 ft. extension cord going from the PowerCell to the fridge. Every 24 hrs. I would move to the next outlet until all 10 were used. This helped speed up break-in and did not seem to affect the rest of the system while it was plugged in
The new Einstein player should take it up a big notch! And I'll probably have to re-evaluate a few of my cable choices. |
Can't wait to try the Hologram D on the new player. I ordered it in January after hearing it at CES. |
