Synergistic Research Galileo SX Power cord. (Opinions on sound quality appreciated).
Synergistic Research Galileo SX Power cord. I know this cord is pricey, but can anyone share opinion or experience on the sound quality with this power cord? I have owned in the past Synergistic Master Coupler (about 20 years ago) and the Apex. It would be connected to a Lumin X1 into my Audioquest Niagara power conditioner.
I would appreciate experienced comments. Thank you.
I understand your question and this is what I can answer.
When I bought my Lumin X1, to help pay for it I sold off a separate Dac, Music server, Digital Clock, Preamp and several other associated pieces of equipment.
With the elimination of that equipment, I was able to then sell the many power cords and interconnects, footers etc. that was no longer needed.
Now the only cables needed was the one set of interconnects to my amps and the power cords for the Lumin and the amps. So, to me, it was important that these cables were of high quality.
With very good negotiating I was able to purchase the better power cords and interconnects.
P. S. Power cords don’t wear out, but may be surpassed by other future "better" versions. Its an ongoing never ending hobby, isn’t it?
I am curious, this is a $6000 power cord. Ozzy you have tried many cords before and build your own. What does this cord provide extra to justify the cost over a up to $2k cord?
ted_denney, At this point I can honestly say that connecting up the little grounding pig tail to the wall outlet does constrict the soundstage.
In my system, I am using an Entreq Silver Tellus grounding station. My Lumin X1 is grounded to it via an RCA. I think the additional grounding wire from the SX power cord in this case is not needed.
That’s a misunderstanding. It always takes at least 200 hours for a cable to settle into a system. In the past, with our old conditioning process, the break in process was like a roller coaster, and the cables would sound much worse in the beginning. Relatively speaking they sound better now younger or sooner in the system. The five day burn in does not eliminate break in. There is absolutely no such thing as a cable that is broken in once and for all. A cable must settle into the system it will live in so to speak. The conditioning process is like aging wine, the break in process is like allowing a newly opened bottle of wine to breathe.
Ted Denney Lead designer, Synergistic Research Inc.
ted_denney, Whomever answered the phone when I called checking on when the cables would be shipped reminded me that they were being burned in for 5 days so that they sound ready to go when I receive them. Sounds like a disconnect between you and your employees. No big deal though, my past experience has always been cables needs some settling in time. Approx. 200 hours+. I'm just happy they have come around, quite a bit I must add from first listen.
Ozzy yes, the ground does need to go to the same dedicated line. It must not however get plugged into the conditioner. Direct to the wall. The soundstage will improve as it remains grounded, this too must settle in.
Ted Denney Lead Designer, Synergistic Research Inc.
Who at my factory claimed there would be very little change? Conditioning and burn in are two different things. Conditioning is a strategic use of frequencies and current to forever shape the sound of a cable. Burn in is what happens when the cable settles into the system. This process is never permanent, when you change a cable from your system, it must settle in again. Before a trade show the cables we take have over 1000 hours on them, and we do everything we can to get sound in our show system within hours of the first day of set up, because it will be at least two days before the system really comes to life. This despite the cables already having over 1000 hours on them.
Ted Denney Lead Designer, Synergistic Research Inc.
Update: Today, now I am very glad I stuck it out with SR Galileo SX during the burn in cycle. I have perhaps 200 hours on it and it has transformed daily from the beginning when it sounded so very forward. There were no ups and downs just a continuing daily improvement.
Not sure how much better with additional hours it can become, but at this point it is a keeper.
The funny thing about break in, Synergistic Research said they burned in the cables for 5 days before shipping to me and claimed very little change would occur after additional hours.
BTW, I have recently compared the SR cable to a very expensive power cord.
Well I just inserted the silver bullet into the SX power cord. I did not unplug the power cord. I hope that’s ok.
What I thought would be a a sharpening of the image actually turned out to push the image further back in the soundstage. This is within a few minutes so perhaps this perception will change with time.
thyname, Oh yes by far. The Shunyata Sigma was more closed in and darker, at least with my equipment. I think it is more geared towards the Shunyata equipment i.e. the Everest conditioner etc. I do however like the Shunyata Sigma V2 interconnects.
ted_denney,
Ted, I first did use the grounding pig tail, and I thought the soundstage shrunk a bit. Is that normal? So, I thought I would give it more hours and then try again. Does the plug need to go on the same dedicated line?
Initially I tried the silver bullet and thought the image was too forward, the gold sounded too soft. Sounds like goldilocks?
But, after reading the pamphlet included it said to wait after 100-200 hours before trying them. So they are set aside for future experimenting.
Ozzy how are you grounding the Galileo’s external shield ground connection? It is very important that you 1st ground the pigtail, and 2nd ground it directly to the wall and definitely not into a power conditioner. Also which UEF tuning bullet are you using? Typically I don’t connect the tuning bullet for the first week, but if it sounds bright, use the Gold bullet and then experiment with the Silver bullet after one week. And whatever you do, make certain you ground that ground pigtail directly to the wall, not into a line conditioner.
Ted Denney, Lead Designer Synergistic Research Inc.
Thanks for the updates - I am trying out a slew of cables right now - no AC cables at this time - it is a process...break in - settling for sure, but also I think it also can take some time to fully "appreciate" (or not) what a cable may or may not be doing...thanks for doing this.
24 hours later and the music is starting to resolve. The forwardness is receding and I can hear a grittiness in the music that wasn't there with my former cables. Don't believe the hype that cables don't need time to break in...
Well after reading the manual/instructions/booklet it appears 100-200 hours of break in required to breakin the dialectic.
So far at this point I am not using the silver or gold bullet, and also I do not have the grounding plug connected. I did try the bullets and the silver heightened the image and the gold sort of softened it. I'll try them again after I put more hours on the cable. I will say thus far that the cable has a more forward presentation than my previous one.
thyname, I know, are people getting dumber? Or am I just getting old? It just seems like these shipping companies hire people that have no clue how to speak to customers and no ability to research and resolve problems.
Holy crap! I hope the new cable is worth that hassle.
I had a similar issue with something I bought last week. UPS delivered it to another house in the neighborhood. Fortunately the resident of that house was nice, and brought it to me. Two days later. While I kept dealing on the phone with clueless UPS reps
The Galileo SX power cables are fantastic on sources and solid state amps wonderfully rich detailed. In my system I greatly preferred the silver bullets as the the gold was too warm.
I prefer the SRX cables as they are more flexible and are even more transparent but of course pricier still....
I don't think you can go wrong with the Galileo but for the cost...
The SX and SRX are awesome ....the original LE version is very warm and would only recommend on a forward sounding system where you want to balance it.
Agreed, power is where it is at....we are after all listening to what is coming out of the wall and er, um, unfortunately, everything that is also attached to it....ughhhh....
brubin, To me it all starts with the AC power. From dedicated lines, quality outlets, power conditioners and then power cords. If (when) I change equipment I will still have the foundation of quality AC and that will allow the equipment to perform as designed. At least IMHO.
I chose the Galileo SX for my DACs as the best. On the transports, the Aluminata (reterminated with Oyade M1/F1) remained, the pre-amp remained with Odin.
drpie, The Aluminata was about a 10-15 year model, not sure if it is still being made. My past experience with Kubala is they were kinda dark sounding. I have not tried the Odin.
So, are you saying you preferred the other cables over the Synergistic?
As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I have tried a Shunyata Sigma V2 NR and the XC version power cord. Neither cord worked well with my Niagara 7000 and the Sigma V2 NR was just a little bit better than ok on my Lumin X1. Though, I think I would have bought it if the dealer would have negotiated better.
I was able to snag a used Audioquest Dragon for my Niagara 7000 and it works well. Made for each other! And, I have purchased the Synergistic Galileo SX for the Lumin at I think is a good price, and I am waiting for its arrival.
I have a Galileo SX AC. I compared them with JPS Aluminata, Kubala Elation, Nordost Odin. The results of my subjective tests: For transport (Esoteric P-03)-for my taste one level with Aluminata; for DAC (Esoteric D - 02)-out of competition; for preamp (Classe CP - 700) - for my taste one level with Odin. Over the weekend, there will be a comparison with Valhalla for monoblocks. Although the winner is known in advance))
I would recommend demo cables as well. I do not like synergistic cables and found Shunyata Research line with Delta D6 power distributor/conditioner outstanding. I personally have the Delta NR cables for my equipment and XC for power to the conditioner. They have serious research by a real scientist. Look at their site and videos.
audition__audio, That is true, and actually true for many other companies. One thought is they are always advancing the technology, and the other is, there are only so many of us Audiophiles, once the market cools for a product they must continue to reinvent the wheel to stay in business. But, I hear ya. ozzy
As with just about everything in the SR line, wait a short time until they come out with new (and improved) stuff and buy it used for pennies on the dollar. This is also a good time to catch dealers blowing out their new older stuff for a deep discount.
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