Synergistic Research - NEW Element Cables

I currently am auditioning the Tungsten and Copper Element interconnects in my system. Both cables are wonderful, though the Tungsten, at least in my system, is on a different plane from a performance perspective.

Do you mean you could not get the Vibratron into a position that provided a satisfying sound -- regardless of what kind of music you were playing?

I climbed the SR ladder for a while with a mix of acoustic reference and precision reference. Also the power system with some precision and hologram a and d cables with the powercell 10 se mkII. Most I owned and some was on loan including the tuning system.

After a while with my wife getting all over me with the vibratron and then trying to hear nuances after several different bowls I had a hard time focusing on the music.

The vibratron was good but always had to be be positioned depending upon my/her mood or tone of the singer. It became tiring to say the least and I eventually decided to go with something more simple but unfortunately more expensive.

SR does have stimulating products and I think you might be in a different position than me to explore some of the finer combinations, like the Galileo speaker stings. Have you tried them?

Bjesien, I understand. If I sent you a photo of the wires behind (and in front of) my system you would see something that audiophiles rarely exhibit in public. A mess. I run IC's and PC's in series. All over the place. One day I may put it up on Virtual Systems. I'm sure a lot of people would get a good laugh out of it.

For me the sound is the most important thing. Not the aesthetics. I am lucky that this is in a private room dedicated to my music, library and computer. So I don't have to worry about the missus. In fact, the transformation of my system in recent months has made the unslightly wires disappear for her. Complaints have given way to the comment "good" accompanied by a lovely dance.

Someone is going to get quantum tunneled! I've heard grand demonstrations of SR cables and have been very impressed. I just couldn't deal with my room looking like the worlds largest jungle gym for hamsters.

I note you have been quite candid about your eagerness to spread Snake Oil over various products on Audiogon forums. Without the popular IMHO at the end.

My experience goes back to the 50's. Too long a story to relate here. And irrelevant, actually. What is relevant is the discussion.

The world was once thought to be flat. This illusion lasted for a very long time. Until it was supplanted. Just because something is widely accepted does not make it true and does not make what is not widely accepted or understood ipso facto untrue -- and fair game for contempt and derision. A recent example of this in the audio business are resonator bowls. Franck Tchang was not greeted with open arms when he invented them. Yet today they are widely recognized as very effective room treatment devices to the extent that they have been copied by 2 well-known companies.

I am not in the audio business.

IMHO.

Actually I've been quite candid about the cable industry and I'm in the audio business.

Tell us about your experience.

I'm sure others are as interested as me.

I've had more than 52 years experience. If you were as smart as you think you are you would not advertise yourself as Mr. Snake Oil. It makes you look quite foolish, IMHO.

Actually you could be this smart when you've had 52 years experience.

But I doubt it.

Welcome Mr. Snake Oil. After 52 years at it you'd think a person would have something better to contribute than another "snake oil" inanity.

Snake Oil.

I recently sold my Apex Speaker cables, and decided to try out the new Tungsten. After about 80-100 hours burn in time, the conclusion is that they outperform the Apex when it comes to soundstage, broader, deeper and higher. The difference is not night and day, but easily noticeable.

But be aware, they are not merely Apex copies, the sound is also a bit different. There is a shift up in the frequencies, with some more focus and energy in the higher tones, somewhere from 1000hz and upwards. This makes the cable sound airy and smooth, again, not day and night difference, but you properly will notice it within 10 seconds... (If not, you should check out your ears). This new focus area for the cable, might give the impression there is something missing in the mid area, less body and weight. I'm not sure. After listening to different sources, my conclusion so far is that this is not the case. It's the same as with the Apex, but with added energy in the high frequencies it's easy to get the wrong impressions.

The deep bass goes a little bit further down, and has some more dynamic to it, a bit more precise than the Apex. But again, is something missing from mid bass and up? Or is the cable just a bit more linear than the Apex? It might be so, but I need to live with the cable some more days to be able to conclude on that one.

So, yes it is a "better" and a more modern cable, if I may say so, than the Apex. It's not a big step, but a noticable step forward: It sounds bigger, quieter (less noise), smoother, more resolved, with more dynamic and with better linearity than the Apex, (but with added energy in the heights). This means it can also sound a bit Teflon-like, more Hi-Fi when directly compared with the Apex.

Can I live happily with the Tungsten, as I've done with the Apex for several years? I can already give you the answer to that, because I've also tried the Tungsten with the Galileo Speaker Cells from SR. With the Cells added, the positive sides of the Tungsten are highly strengthened, the feeling of air, smoothness, big, dynamic sound, body and holography is just there. So much that I have the real feeling of entering the concert hall. This is by far the best sound I've had in my room, and the cables and Cells are there to stay.

They look interesting, Ted and Elliott never fail to impress me with their cables. I will see them next week.