Synergistic Research Atmosphere Power Cords.
For those who have been following the SR Red and Black fuse thread in the Amp & Preamp forum, it goes without saying that I loved the way they transitioned my audio system. What I thought was a highly resolving system has been transformed into a system that has been improved in every way ... drastically. For many of us, me included, our music collection and the playback system is a labor of love. I've been working on mine for over 40 years now.
After I got into the SR fuses, I started watching SR's youtube video demos. In watching the videos and reading their literature, I discovered that their new power cords used the same technology as their fuses. That got me to thinking ... if a one and a quarter inch fuse could make such an improvement in the system, what could a five-foot power cord do? I decided to find out.
Four of the new Synergistic Atmosphere Series level 3 AC cords arrived at the house.
http://www.synergisticresearch.com/new-atmosphere-series-ac-power-cords/
When they arrived, I unpacked them right away and was totally impressed with the build quality and materials used. More beautiful than the pictures depict. A shame no one is going to see them because they are behind my equipment rack out of sight. But it sure is an indication of the builder/designer's pride of workmanship. My first thought was ... Wow, if they sound half as good as they look, they should be great. With most things in this hobby, I've acquired a wait and see attitude.
I removed my old PCs and installed the SR's right away (of course). They were replacing two different brands of custom PCs. I had found through the years that this combination of PCs to beat anything else I tried, especially in terms of musicality and digging down into the organic sound of real instruments. Two were built by the Music Advancement Company (MAC) in Oregon. The other two were custom built by David Magnan, a very respectable cable builder and a fine gentleman. Those who know Dave's cables know what I mean. Throughout the years, I've had the privilege of using most of Magnan's work from his speaker cables, ICs and PC's. They are exceptional. So, this gives you an idea of what I'm comparing these new SR cables to.
After installation, I warmed the system up, adjusted the bias on the amp and sat down for an initial evaluation. What I heard right off the bat was an overall improvement in the areas we really like ... bigger , wider, deeper soundstage. More transparency. Far less grain .. in what I thought was a grain-less system. I thought the SR fuses had finally bought me to a grain free audio Utopia. Ha ... silly me. That's the good part.
Now, for the rub: The SR PC's, right out of the box, were doing exactly what the SR Black fuses did and that was to introduce a hard edge, especially on strings. There was an overall degradation in musicality and emotional connection to the music as a result. The reason? The PCs , like the fuses, need at least 100 hours of break-in before they really come to life. Like the fuses, I could hear the promise of these PCs right off, but man, new out of the box, again like the fuses, things just weren't "right." It reminded me of when I first fired up the new ARC REF-75se. It took 500 hours for the caps in that amp to finally come around full tilt.
So, as these new SR PCs break in, I'm going to chronicle the experience in this thread all the way from new to tatal break-in. From what I've heard so far, they offer great promise, trouncing my old PCs in so many ways. Now let's see what they can do musically as they break in.
Stay tuned ...
^^^ 5ft ... level 3 ... 3k. Not feeling so well today. Been down with that chest thingie that's been going around. I did have a listening session early this morning. I really didn't feel like an extended listening session though, so I decided to pull out some classic audiophile recordings that I knew to have excellent presence. I'm not a big fan of most audiophile recordings as most don't sound natural to me ... plus the music is usually so-so. Its just my opinion, but I prefer a more master tape sound instead of the added reverb that infects a lot of the audiophile recordings. With that said, here's two CDs that I played: 1. "New York Reunion" with McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter and Al Foster. CheskyJD51. I have to say, Joe Henderson's big tenor sax was so present in the room it was uncanny. I have never gotten that kind of mid-range saxophone realism from my system ... ever. Not even when I had the big Acoustat IV's. It was shocking. 2,. Mari Nakamoto III (vocal), Isao Suzuki (bass), Kuzumi Watanabe (guitar). Three Blind Mice TBM CD 2556. Again, simply stunning. So real that it drew my roommate into the room with the comment that ... "you know, from my bedroom, I could swear someone was in the listening room singing live. Frank, this is amazing!" Now, this guy isn't an audiophile. He knows nothing about the hobby. He's been with me for only a few months now and this is the first high-end system he's been exposed to. He was amazed by what he heard this morning. Me too. If this is any indication of what these SR PCs will be doing when broken in, then I am in for a very long ride with these cords. Zowie! Now then, to bed early tonight. Take care guyz ... |
Jafant ... Taters asked the same question in the SR Fuse thread. Here's a cut & paste: To answer your previous questions ... Yes, I have aftermarket wall sockets, custom power cords built by Dave Magnan, a power conditioner that's been upgraded with high-end sockets. There are filters in the power conditioner built by Dave Magnan. I'm using Nexus ICs between the phono and the preamp. There are Shatki Holograms (two pair) ... one pair in the front corners and one pair in the back corners of the room (huge improvement). I bi wire my speakers. The two 12 foot pairs of speaker wire was built by a company in Oregon called Music Advancement Company, or more commonly known as MAC. The stock speaker terminals have been replaced with Cardas Copper terminals. The bi wire location at the amp uses Cardas copper banana plug adapters (another nice improvement). The speakers sit on thick Mapleshade maple platforms that are spiked to the floor with those beautiful German solid brass spikes that were so popular in the hobby 20 years ago. Finally, the speakers are spiked to the platforms. I also have two heavy 12"x12" marble platforms sitting on top of each speaker. They fit the tops of the speakers perfectly. I've found that on some floorstanding speakers, adding weight to the top of the speakers is like adding mass to the speakers and removes some grain (more removal of vibrations). The platforms that sit on top of the speakers are made up from two heavy slabs of marble with that same dampening material that's used so successfully elsewhere in the system. The dampening material is cemented between the layers of marble. The Well Tempered Turntable has been modified as well. The arm has been rewired with Cardas copper wire. There's a custom TT belt that I purchased from originlive.com (highly recommended). I have heavy solid brass tweeks on the turntable that dampens the table by clamping the fluid-well and the paddle within it, the tonearm itself has a layer of shrink-wrap material for more dampening, and even a heavy brass bolt and screw that attaches the arm to the plinth. The brass items for the turntable had to be custom machined. These brass items made a significant improvement in the turntable ... especially the clamp around the fluid-well. The turntable and detached motor sit on ultra hard titanium ball bearings that sit in the middle of a hole cut out of thick dampening material. The stock feet have been removed to facilitate the ball bearings. I have a custom equipment rack that has constrained layers of dampening material between the layers of wood used to construct it. My equipment all rests on custom made, very heavy, fine grade granite platforms that have the same dampening material between their layers that the equipment rack has. I've spent an inordinate amount of time, effort and $$$ to reduce micro vibrations in the system as much as possible. As you may, or may not know, ARC has paid a lot of attention over the past number of years on dampening their boards and chassis ... and even their vacuum tubes with the black tube rings that come with their equipment. Believe it or not, the positioning of those tube rings on the tubes is critical to attain the best sound from your ARC gear. I've found that the newer ARC gear sounds best (at least in my system) sitting on their stock feet. Everytime I try aftermarket footers under the equipment, it detracts from the sound. Oh, and I run my CD player, preamp and amp in balanced mode, using ARC IC's. These are excellent IC's, but unfortunately, ARC no longer sells them. When you come right down to it, the only thing we want vibrating is that stylus between the grooves. All other vibrations smear the sound to some degree ... even if those vibrations are on a micro level. With the reduction in micro vibrations, and everything else listed above, the system was already a high resolution system. With the addition of the three SR RED fuses, the system definitely has been brought to a whole different level ... far beyond where I thought it would ever be. Next purchase will be two 1.5 amp SR RED fuses to be put into the ARC CD7-se CD player, and then I'm done with the fuses. |
Before I give a recap of last night's listening session, I'd like to start by saying that as these SR PC's are breaking in, they have provided a new level of silence to the system. Its almost uncanny how quiet it is. I don't think they are even half way to full break in at this point, so if they are like the Black fuses, I can hardly wait to see the end results. Here's the recordings played last night: 1. Chopin Etudes ---- John Rusnak pianist. This is a thrift store find. As it turns out, its a private recording transferred direct from the DAT. No added reverb, just the natural sound of the room. The dynamics were incredible, the piano was in the room and the performance was superb. Very natural piano sound. Its always been my philosophy that if a system gets the piano correctly from a tonal standpoint, its pretty much going to get most everything else right. This is now one of my demo discs. I decided to switch to vinyl. The PC feeding the phono stage is the least broken in because I've been listening to so many CDs. 2. Miles Davis/E.S.P. This is the Impex Records reissue. I love the Impex reissues because they take pains to get the EQ right. All of them I own are really good transfers from the master tapes with no added artificial reverb. Most notable improvement was the wide sound stage. It was wall to wall and completely outside of the speakers. In fact, there were no speakers. Wayne Shorter's Tenor sax had this big voluptuous, beautiful mid range. The SR PCs have afforded such detail (in a very musical way) that I could discern in which direction Tony Williams' brushes were moving on the snare. When he brushed against the symbols, I could hear the last edge of the brass shimmer and marveled at the way is just decayed into silence. If you like Miles ... I highly recommend this album. 3. Julie London --- Julie is Her Name. This is a 45rpm Boxstar reissue. This was originally released in 1955, so its mono. I had to laugh because I bought my first copy of the original when it was first released. I was in the 11th grade. I chuckled thinking ... did I buy it as a 17 year old kid because of the music... or because of the cover? I've got to say, what these SR PCs are doing for the human voice in the system is simply amazing. I've never heard "Cry Me a River" sound so real. Julie baby was in my face and I was looking down her throat. 4. Belafonte Sings the Blues. This is another Impex 45 rpm reissue. I'm not a big Belafonte fan, nor do I consider him to be a blues singer. But ... this was the very best sound of the evening. I have to say, the folks at Impex have their act together. If you want to amaze your friends, buy this reissue. Totally demo quality, good music and Belafonte makes a good stab at singing the blues. He's no Big Bill Broonzy, and he should have stuck with calypso ... but a stellar recording non the less. So, here we are about 30 hours into the break in period with these SR PC's and at this point they are exceeding my expectations by far. The designers at Synergistic Research have really hit on something with this Graphene technology. Their literature makes the claim that they "perform way above the price tag." They do that. If anyone is considering PCs in the price range of these cords, or even many more times the cost, I'd highly recommend a trial on these. With a 30 day money back guarantee ... I don't see how one can lose. More reports to come as they continue breaking in. Stay tuned ... |
Oregonpapa: I hope you and anybody else interested in this technology will come to the Newport Beach Audio Show the first weekend in June 2016. A great chance to hear a system totally maxed out with Synergistic Research technology plus the opportunity to talk with the Synergistic Research development team. I already bought my airplane ticket and booked my room at the Hotel Irvine- Still have rooms at $119.00 a night. Early show discount rate. It is across the street from the Orange County/ John Wayne Airport. If you fly in no need for car. David Pritchard |
David ... Robert and I have our room booked. Luckily, its only a 2 to 2.5 hour drive down the coast for us depending upon traffic. What say we figure a time to hook up. I'd love to meet you and put a face to the text. :-) Anyone else??? By the way, the new venue at the Irvine Hotel was excellent last year. The staff couldn't have given better service or been nicer. The food in the hotel's restaurant is excellent too. Way better than the buffet. |
I would very much like to see you in person. My cell phone is five-seven-five-six-four-four-one-four-six-two. I really do like this Audio show and encourage all to make the effort to attend. If you fly in, the Hotel runs a shuttle to and from the Hotel Irvine every 30 minutes. You bought the Julie London album for the cover! David Pritchard |
^^^ Mid40sguy & fafreeman ... Keep in mind that I'm using the level 3 PCs. SR also offers level 1 and level 2 cords. Level 1's are $995. with a 30 day return policy. Still expensive, but in the scheme of things in the high-end, not outlandish compared with ICs, PCs and Speaker cables in excess of 10k. I'm still in the break in process and about 30% there. I'm enjoying digging deep into the vinyl collection and pulling out records that I haven't listened to in years. Its so good now with the fuses and the PCs that I keep saying to myself ... "damn ... why haven't I been playing this?" Last night was entirely a Chopin night. Etudes, sonatas and orchestral music. Just simply amazing. On well recorded piano music the piano has such authority and weight. What a glorious instrument. Wish you guys could be here to share this with. Take care ... |
Synergistic Research has just announced their latest budget line of power cords. A five foot BLACK and a five foot RED. These utilize some of the technology found in the RED and BLACK fuses. Looks promising especially for secondary locations. These are posted at the Synergistic Research Facebook Page. David Pritchard |
^^^ Thanks for the heads up, David. I've been awestruck by what these level 3 PC's are doing in my system. As they continue to break in, they continue to amaze even more with each listening session. Last night I played a recording of the San Sylmar Wurlitzer Pipe Organ on the Klavier label. Cut 5 is Bach's Toccata and Fugue. I have NEVER heard bass from my system such as this. I had no idea my system was capable of going so low with such low distortion and authority. All the way down to the lower basement! These power cords are simply amazing. At this point, I think they are about half way through the break in period. I think I'll take my next door neighbors some flowers. Take care ... |
The SR Atmosphere PCs have opened up not unlike the Black fuses did. A huge improvement in overall realism throughout the system from one listening session to the next. I've been listening to male and female vocalists over the past two nights. The total lack of grain in the system has the performers right there in front of me. I was listening to some Nancy Wilson recording from when she was in her prime. Its no wonder she was referred to as "The Fancy Miss Nancy." According to SR's website, the new Red and Black PCs, at a much more affordable price, gets a lot of what I'm experiencing. Its just incredible. |
^^^ Audiolover ... Thanks for coming over to this thread. I'm hoping with the introduction of the less expensive Red and Black PCs that we can get a thread similar to the fuse thread going here. These new cords use the same technology as the fuses, so you can expect the same performance from the cords as we have all gotten from the fuses ... perhaps even more. I don't know if you've noticed but the fuse thread now has over 36,000 views. SR has posted the entire thread on their Facebook page, which means the thread has gone international. The SR folks must be selling thousands of fuses as a result ... and they deserve every one of those sales. These guys are, in my opinion, revolutionizing the audio hobby. My system has been totally transformed via SR fuses and the level three Atmosphere PC's. I am so grateful for what their technology has done as my love of music goes very deep. As our systems progress, it just gets us ever closer to the music ... and that's what its all about. Looking forward to your continued postings here as your cords break in. Take care ... |
oregonpapa: There are several excellent wall sockets. The least risk socket is the Synergistic Research Tesla SE as it has a 30 day trial. You will experience a sense of more music flowing to the speakers. Other well thought of wall sockets are the Maestro, Oyaide R-1(rolls of the top end for a darker sound), Furutech GTX- Rhodium (R) or Gold (G). The E-mag "Enjoy The Music" (in the archives) has a good description of these wall sockets. It takes a week to break in. If your system has more than one wall receptacle in it's circuit, you will get a sonic improvement changing all of the receptacles. My headphone system has 5 receptacles. Four Synergistic Research Tesla and one Furutech GTX-R. The Furutech GTX-R gives more "air" but using too many can give my system a sense of too much "reverb". In looking at how one can improve energy delivery to the audio system, there is one final upgrade that can be done. Jim Hagerman makes a conditioner called the "Frycorder". You plug it into an unused wall outlet and it treats that circuit's wiring all the way back to the Power Company's transformer. I have one and it works. The results are not subtle nor "mind blowing", but are satisfying. Once you are aware of the grain reduction you do not want to go back. You retreat the circuit for 2-3 days about every 4 months. You can use your system while it is plugged in. The Frycorder is sold direct by Jim Hagerman Audio. |
Yes the Furutech GTX-D (R) needs every bit of a 168 hours to break in. It and the Synergistic Research Tesla SE are my favorite outlets. Both add a significant improvement to a system. The newest Synergistic Research Black and Red power cords are available now. There are a total of three versions. The price is certainly less than many power cords out there. I look forward to reading the reports. David Pritchard |
Oh my ... What I was getting from tonight's listening session was the best yet. I moved a broken in Black fuse over to the ARC PH-8 phono stage last night with some pretty impressive results. But ... tonight was something else. I dug deep into the record collection and pulled out a couple of Modern Jazz Quartet albums on the Pablo label. We're talkin' wall to wall, floor to ceiling, front to back ... all with a very palatable presentation like a live group was in the room. And, I still have another Black fuse to buy to replace the SR Red fuse that's presently in the amp. The combination of the Black fuses, along with the SR power cords is a match made in audiophile heaven. I have no clue what this Graphene stuff is ... all I know is that it works like crazy, If I didn't already have the SR Atmosphere level 3 PCs, I'd definitely be auditioning the new large gauge SR Black PCs at $499 each. Remember ... they come with a 30 day guarantee. And they were running a special ... buy a Red PC and you get a free Red fuse. Buy a Black PC and you get a free Black fuse. Kudos to the folks at Synergistic Research. |
"Alright alright alriiiiiiight!" I received my 2 factory fresh black power cords (literally just built on March 7th) and 2 black fuses for my CD player. They are busy cooking with all of 30 minutes on them. Now, I wanted to be patient and go systematically and do a cord at a time and then fuses, but- I did the whole kaboodle at once. Yeah yeah- I know. Do do I have a "new system"? Yes. It is a "better" system? Not yet. I will echo oregonpapas experiences with the atmosphere cables. Right now, I can definitely tell increased resolution, lower noise floor and slightly better focus. All at the expense of intimacy and warmth. There is no sense of "reAch out and touch it" anymore. (Yes I have the correct direction for the fuses) The system sounds like a very high end analytical receiver. But we all know that these cables and fuses need break in, and changing two power cords and 2 fuses in the system I’m sure have " shocked " it. No pun intended. PRAT has taken a hit too. It sounds light and open without true weight. I also had had been using mad scientist audio black discus on my pre and cd’s pc’s. I’ve taken them off in thinking maybe they were incompatible like quantum chips with the UEF technologies. I will try them again after about 400 hours of break in. |
audiolover ... Your experience is typical with non-broken-in SR cords and fuses. You can hear the promise .... but you'd rather watch the news, right? That will change in a huge way at about 100 hours. All of the organic textures of the instruments will be amazing and you will gain a new sense of realism. I wish you could hear what I'm getting out of my system now. A few days ago I put a fully broken-in Black fuse into the phono amp, replacing an SR Red fuse ... and its like a whole new record collection. I think I'm going to buy the "Phono Transducers" next. They are supposed to make a big improvement in the cartridge and increase the 3-D realism, Please continue posting your results. It will be interesting to see what your new PCs will do. Take care ... |
Audiolover 718: I too have used - experimented with the Black Discus on my system. I agree to removing them until your "New System" has fully settled in. I found their effect to be powerful but distracting. So now I have none on any power cords. I still have two of the small sample discs on either side of the on - off button on the SACD player. These give just a bit of change, but it is very much like that pinch of salt that makes the cooked dish "just right". Listen to your music next Saturday. No fair peeking. David Pritchard |
I drank the kool-aid this morning! I ordered one SR ten gage black power cable from The Cable Company. They said it would take about two weeks until they get the cable. It's my plan to burn it in on our TV or something for at least 100 hours only then try it on my gear. I have a VAC Sigma 160i and an Oppo 105 Modwright not sure what I will use it in. Dan Wright said the 9.9 power supply likes quality power cords. While keeping an open mind I do expect good things and if not the 30 day money back makes this an easy choice. Oh yea, the "free" black fuse is sweet! Expect a update in about a month. |
^^^ David ... That's an interesting phenomenon that I've noticed over the years when breaking in a new product ... that it continues breaking in even when the system is turned off. For some reason things seem to improve between listening sessions. The SR Black fuses do this in a very significant way in my system. Could this be system dependent in some way? mid40sguy ... Nice! Looking forward to your assessment ... especially on the power cord. |
Just recently got 2 SR Black fuses and using them in my power and pre-amp. As I changed these out from the SR Reds which had a WA Quantum dot on them I transferred the Quantum dot over to the Blacks. From what I've read recently it looks like I should be removing the Quantum dots as they interfere with the Black fuse operation. I'll do that later today and re-try my fuses. I've two more on order, for my CD player and a/v processor. |
Just coming on to this thread . Do not feel like spending two hours reading the whole thread . have randomly looked at posts and all seems positive .What is the scientific reason for the earth shattering improvement using these ? Serious question as i need knowledge before spending my money . Thanks |
sheridd2: I look forward to your comparisons of the Synergistic Research "Black" fuses with and without the WA Quantum Dots attached. Best to do the comparison after you have 150 hours on those fuses. Also when I tried the Quantum Dots I found an immediate change and then a further change after maybe 24 hours after application. With the addition of the Black fuses in the CD player and the A/V processor, I believe your system is really going to sing great music! David Pritchard |
maplegrovemusic407 posts03-13-2016 7:36amJust coming on to this thread . Do not feel like spending two hours reading the whole thread . have randomly looked at posts and all seems positive .What is the scientific reason for the earth shattering improvement using these ? Serious question as i need knowledge before spending my money . Thanks Respectfully I will not answer the specifics of how, what and why. After reading Synergistic Research's explanation it is unclear and a bit overblown in my opinion. I'm not suggesting they are dishonest in any way. For me I had a trusted friend inform me the RED fuse was the real deal. I would not normally spend nearly $100.00 on a darn fuse. I do have an open mind but my thoughts are how can a silly fuse have any affect? The simple fact is the darn fuse works amazing both in my amp and Oppo. This is beyond doubt by far the best upgrade tweak for the money I have ever encountered. The fact they provide the 30 day money back makes it a no brainer. |
^^^ maplegrovemusic ... Check this out: http://highend-electronics.com/products/synergistic-research-black-quantum-fuses |
Oops ....... I've also posted in the wrong thread, my earlier comments where to go into the SR Red / Black fuse thread. I removed the WA Quantum fuse chips from the Black fuses and yes indeed it did make the sound 'cleaner'. Still waiting on my two Black fuses which are on order but the dealer is waiting on new stock arriving. |
audiolover ... I have about 100 hours on my level 3 Atmosphere power cords. During last night's listening session, they finally allowed the instruments to sound correct. It was simply amazing. The combination of the power cords and the Black fuses have brought my system to a newer, very high level of resolution ... an very musically so. According to SR's Facebook page, the cords you bought are supposed to get you very close to what I'm experiencing from my cords ... for about one tenth of the cost. You made a good choice. :-) |
For those SR fans using a SR Transporter to power their actively shielded interconnects, speaker cords and/or tranquility bases, exchanging the SR Tungsten power cord for the Level 2 Atmosphere PC to the Transporter provides a substantial improvement. Eliott at SR recommended trying this over upgrading the fuses in the Transporter. For me, the benefit of doing this is very similar to what people on this thread have already described in using these new SR fuses and power cords; greater clarity and realism. If you have a SR Transporter, I would definitely recommend auditioning a Level 2 Atmosphere pc to power it. |
