yes, I agree. The Transporter solves the Galileo MPC issue. Plus it costs less and sounds better than a Galileo MPC. IF you decide on S.R., a Transporter is a smart choice to save you many outlets lots more wires and has a better performance over the Galileo MPC's.
Synergistic Research - NEW Element Cables
Hello guys and gals, has anyone tried the NEW Element speaker cables and interconnects with their universal speaker and interconnect cells.
I'm trying to get demo's now from Synergistic or The Cable Company AND as soon as I do; I will have a review up.
Happy New Year!
Joe
I'm trying to get demo's now from Synergistic or The Cable Company AND as soon as I do; I will have a review up.
Happy New Year!
Joe
114 responses Add your response
Solowski I agree with your findings on the MPC's but I think you will be surprised if you try one of the Synergistic Research Transporters for cable shielding. I am a little surprised that the dealer you went to did not suggest this. I sold all my Galileo MPC's & I told one buyer who was looking to purchase more to try a Transporter before doing so. |
I have SR Apex and PR Interconnects. They are open sounding cable with good soundstage. One of my MPC broke so I have opened it, I was utterly surprised , it was build with cheaper parts then $7 power adapter I had at hand. Why do they cost so much. So instead of spending $60 for replacement MPC I have used 30V, $7 worth power adapter with no degradation to sonics. I have read about Galileo MPC how much they would improve the sound of Apex. But before I would invest $400 for power adapter (ridicules price IMHO), I made appointment with Synergistic dealer, I took very experienced audiophile friend with me. Dealer have whole system wired up with SR Tesla series (all Apex for IC and speakers ) , as Speakers he used Wilson Audio Sasha newest Audio Research classic 120 monoblock amplifiers some top preamplifier from AR and as CDP AudioAreao La Source. First we listened with cheap MPCs, then dealer replaced all of them with Gallileo ones, after a few minutes of warm up, we tried to hear a difference. We could not, we try hard 4 times going back and forth. He help us by telling what we are supposed to hear. With his help we finally were able to here a minuscule differences on a level of perception. Maybe we force us to hear it, I would not bet one dollar bill on it. He told us that the differences are really, really small and there is nothing wrong with us. I have come to that audition with desire to buy Galilleo MPC but after audition I would not buy them for $20 bucks I was Galileo cured. Even dealer was not able sincerely deny that Galileo MPC is rip off and that most people would not hear any difference. I will not provide his name here, he was nice, honest guy and have spent several hours of his time for us. I have never heard Elements series, but I have compared SR Apex at home with Tara Labs 0.8, cables better in some areas worse at some areas. Sometime latter rich friend borrow me two runs of Tara Zero and Tara Omega for 3 months. I could not believe differences, they were huge, just different league. Details neutrality, no more high-end just pure music, pure magic. I wish I could forget those 3 months, it was hard going back to SR Apex and Tara 0.8 I own. And since Zero con can be found used for not much more then new SR cables Im thinking how does Elements CTS compares to used Zero ? |
Way back when these PCs came out. You offered me a discount to try them. I was interceded until I was told there was NO money back policy if I don't like the cords. Therefore, later I borrowed them from a friend and returned them. And I'm glad I did not take you on your offer I'd be stuck with PC's I didn't like in my system. Because the SR Element pc's work much better for me in my system. |
Joeyboynj; I have seen you trash talk HiDiamond on these forums and we have all seen where you wrote that you borrowed HiDiamond from the Cable Company. Let me be very clear once again; we have never sold HiDiamond cables to the Cable Company and the Cable Company has never loaned Joeyboynj HiDiamond Cables. I have never heard the new SR cable and I would never say I had heard them if I hadn't heard them. There are a few very good cable companies and cables can be personal preference but when you see a person blatantly trash talking a brand will only promoting one other brand than you need to take this persons integrity into account. I can assure you that if you read real HiDiamond owners opinions of HiDiamond, you will get a much more truthful opinion of the sound of HiDiamond Cables because those people have actually heard HiDiamond cables. This does not mean that SR cables are bad sounding because I am sure they are very good sounding but we should all take certain people with a grain of salt when they continue to trash certain brands will promoting other brands. Cheers, |
Hi Wig, Sorry they did not work out for you. Everyone's system is different. But I have to agree with Lwin on his comments on the XOT's above. In addition in my system the soundstage was liquid, transients just flow like water. Better in resolving detail because they were so quiet. Top to bottom. Davidpritchard, how did they work out for you in your system? Good or bad? Thanks, Joe |
Guys, My loaner XOT's came in a few days ago and I'm not impressed with their performance, lower floor noise and a slight increase in dynamics at the expense of musicality. Instruments appeared to be smaller in scale and didn't have the bloom which mimics a 3 dimensional image between your speakers. Basically, my speakers lost their overall drive and sound quality on how sound is projected into the room. The XOT's are a no go for me... |
Audioman58, s.r. cable new element series cables blows away any other brand I've tried. And that includes MIT, Shunyta, Hi Diamond (crap), Tara labs, to name a few. It was most probably that your equipment was not up to snuff or you had something set up wrong. There are Thousands of happy S.R. Customers. Too bad you little isolated insident did not work for you. Provide more details and talk in complete sentences and maybe us S.R. Pros can help you out. Geez. BTW, the Transporter for the active shield blows away the Galileo MPC's and eliminates all the wall worts so there is no more clutter. If you want a reference system from S. R., you should start with one of these and get the CTS cables, PowerCell 10 SE and tranquility base, HFT's, FEQ, XOT and UEF bullets. It cost money and expensive components to own a true Reference System and lots of years of experience. |
Used MIT for 14+ yrs and tried them again 2 yrs ago; don't care for Hi-Fi-ish sounding cables that strips the fabric and dimensionality from the music and one can be easily tricked into a more laid back and slightly forward midrange... Compare them with these three cables; Acoustic Zen Absolute Copper, Clarity Cable Organic and Wywires, you will be shocked on what's missing... |
I bought a whole system of the a Element copper,and and 6 of the power cords .from $6-1200 .the system sound good but not earth shattering and I even Tried all the bullit combinations .i had their lowest 3 ft strip,plus conditioner 4 plug outlet.i have 2 dedicated awg10 lines right to the breaker box,and two 20 amp lines . It was a nightmare like 16 wires,and it was not neat. Ion my system the Analysiis plus solo Crystal speaker cable is excellent, on top I use he MIT HD36 interconnect ,and this was a clear step up and I also tried theirTungston interconnect the MIT had more body and layering,the Synergistic did have a bit more air and a bit lighter sounding. and then the extra charges $400 for each wall wart for the live shielding That is a scam.i bought 2 .they made a improvement.My friend cut one open that stopped working there is maybe $20 in parts if you are lucky. This should be standard in the price maybe $50 extra. Value as well as quality .this is just my opinion a lot of others don't mind the charges. I working in audio retail for years and some markups are better then 10 x Audio cables can be some of the worst in markups. I do like their fuses though. |
I installed a set of Synergistic Research's XOT's in my system. One word...Incredible! Soundstage more liquid, transients just flow like water. The black background is stunning. These just makes the stereo sound so much more real. Top to bottom. Like I'm at the event itself. What a surprise. These are amazing!!!! |
Joeyboynj is absolutely correct. Have fun or at least satisfaction when switching cables around. I find it interesting how much the sound changes. Best to keep some simple notes and make one change at a time. Well two sets of Synergistic Research XOT's are on the way. The horn speakers are biwired so I will try high, low and both. The 30 day trial is great for allowing proper evaluation. With the Synergistic Research Acoustic Arts System and the Synergistic Research HFT+ FEQ system already in place, this could get seriously good. |
I just borrowed a pair of the XOT's from the Cable Company.I was already using a pair of the Stein Music speaker match pluses(SMP's) so I was able to compare them. I have electrostats that are set up for bi-wiring and I had the Stein Music SMP's on the top pair the of speaker posts which are for the panel.I liked what the SMP's did which was provide a little more musical detail with a slightly deeper soundstage. My wife who really doesn't listen much to my stereo immediately noticed the improvement as they are very easy to connect or disconnect as I was using banana connections. The Synergistic Research XOT is very similar in the improvements it provides but I think they are a little bit better in resolving detail but please remember that I only used these on the panels input not the woofer connection. I decided to keep the XOT's and I dropped the SMP's down to the woofer inputs and I was shocked at how much they tightened up the bass.You can try the XOT's for 30 days free but if you have the SMP's I wouldn't bother unless you have speakers that are set up for bi-wiring and might want to try what I did. |
Hey everyone, (excluding useless posters) Has anyone tried the new Synergistic Research XOT transducers? I'm looking for people that own them and could provide a review here. I'm looking to pick up a set but always value the opinions of my fellow S.R. fans to see how they like them and any tips on how to use them and what improvements were achieved. Thanks, Joe |
I have a copper power cable for my preamp and a tungsten that I am currently using for my Amp. My Tube preamp is powered with a Cardas Golden reference power cable. I would assume the Tungsten is the best of the 3. Should it be used on the preamp instead of the Amp? I know , the easy answer is to just experiment and listen for yourself. I just picked up on this thread so figured I would pose the question. Is there a rule of thumb as to where these cables should be used? I figured the Power amp would be the most critical so i just hooked the Tungsten by default to the amp. Any comments would be welcome. Thanks |
I have now installed the Synergistic Research HFT + Frequency Equalizer in two different systems that are in different rooms. The improvement is remarkable and after 6 weeks of listening still imensely enjoyable. Now that Synergistic Research has published good information on where to locate the HRT's in a room, installation is quite easy. Since they are afixed with Blue Tac they can be easily moved and do not damage the surfaces they are attached to. Unlike cables there is no breakin time. Spend one hour putting the HRT's in the room as per SR's diagram, plug the Frequency Energizer into the wall plug and listen to your music system and the room's accoustic qualities mesh in a greatly improved manner. With their money back policy on this system and the fact that shipping them is low cost makes this the next upgrade for most audiophiles to consider. I think most will be pleased with the improvement. David Pritchard |
Talking about reviews, here are excerpts of Brian Damkroger's The Absolute Sound review that appears on the Synergistic Research site. Here is the link: http://www.synergisticresearch.com/reviews/ac-master-coupler/ "How big a difference [do these power cords make]?... To put it in perspective, the difference is akin to replacing an undistinguished MOSFET stereo amp with a pair of absolutely top-flight mono tube amps or replacing a midfi direct-drive turntable with a well set up Linn, Sota, or VPI. To say I was unprepared for the difference these power cords made would be a big, big understatement ... The differences wrought in my system by the additions of these power cords were positive, dramatic, and immediately apparent. However, unlike some immediate, drastic changes, the differences brought about by the cords didn't wear on me with time. In fact, the more I listened to my system with [these power cords] in place, the more difficult I found it to believe I had tolerated my system without them. Whenever I removed [them] from my systems, I found myself shaking my head and wondering, "Have I been listening to this?" To say that [they] moved my system toward the absolute sound is true, but doesn't really capture the magnitude or sense of that movement. Suppose, for example, that you went from having one penny to having two. One way to describe this is to say that you went from 99 cents short of a dollar to 98 cents short, not a big change with respect to the dollar. However, another way to describe the change is to say that you doubled your wealth a big change from where you were. The absolute sound is a long way out there ... But oh what those things do for a system! The only way to capture [their] impact is to concentrate on the doubling of wealth, to describe the differences themselves. These differences, in decreasing order of apparent magnitude, were an increase in the dimensionally of individual instruments in the soundstage; an opening up of the soundstage, or increase in air between individual instruments; replacement of the smog between images in the soundstage with crystal clear air; an increase in the sharpness of the leading edge of transients, both spatially and temporally; and increase in bass extension and precision; and a decrease in high-frequency garbage. Although all of these changes are inter-related, first I'll try to describe each individually and give examples I noted during my listening sessions. The most immediate and noticeable effect of [these power cords] was an increase in the dimensionally [sic] and body of individual images. This was most apparent with vocals, solo instruments, or small groups ... the vocals took on palpable dimensionally [sic] and body, whereas with the standard cords in place, they were somewhat twodimensional [sic], layered on the front edge of the soundfield [sic] ... With [these power cords], the voices became three-dimensional, surrounded by a cushion of air ... ... In this case, the added dimensionally [sic]seems to result from an increase in inner detail intricacies of the sound of the air moving through the horn give it size and presence ... With [these power cords] in place, subtle shifts in the instruments position are clearly evident as such. With the standard cords in place, the shifts are barely perceptible, and then only as changes in tonal character. With record after record, the added dimensionally [sic] and detail were nothing short of dramatic. [These power cords] also opened up the soundstage. I dont mean to say that the outer boundaries of the soundstage moved outward they did, particularly in terms of depth but thats not what Im getting at here. The difference was more an increased perception of separation between, or distinction of, individual images in the soundstage. With [these power cords], the image centers weren't significantly farther apart, but the edges, of the images and spaces between them were now real, distinct, and three-dimensional ... this resulted in the instruments having more body, and the space between becoming more obvious as a separate entity, filled with the mixed resonance and decay of not only the solo instrument, but also the surrounding instruments and hall ... Here, the combination of dimensionally [sic], detail, and the soundstage opening made some of the denser passages seem more like individual instruments combined, rather than simply a canned, congealed sound. The heightened awareness of the space added a bit of the charged excitement of a live performance. On multi-miked rock, the empty space between images was just that empty, really empty. Further, the emptiness had a clarity and sharpness that made it apparent that, with the standard cords, the space had actually been filled with a cloudy film. This is the third wonder wrought by [these power cords], the removal of not a veil or film over the soundstage, but rather the greasy, cloudy, grungy matrix that the images were suspended in. I know, I know your system doesnt suspend images in a grungy matrix. Well, neither did mine, until [these power cords] showed me what the soundstage could be like without the grungy matrix! ... imagine ... crystal clear air, like a window you have to touch to make sure its there, or for we westerners, a crisp, clear morning at about 8,500 feet when youd swear you could see someone in Kansas if they stood on their roof. This clarity is further augmented, or more likely supported, by the fourth difference I attributed to [these power cords] an increase in the sharpness of the leading edge of transients. This increase had two aspects. The first is temporal, meaning that the transients sound faster. The second is spatial, in that transients seem to arise from a more specific, and rigidly fixed, point in space. One of the major shortfalls of recorded music is an incorrect handling of transients. It's easy to identify a live band down the hall, around the corner, and at the other end of a bar. One rim shot is all it takes. Why? I think a big part of it has to do with transient performance. Maybe it's micro-dynamics, maybe absolute rise time, or maybe phase coherence at the leading edge of the transient ... Additionally present, however, was a significant increase in bass extension, definition, and power ... which brings me to the last effect of [these popwer cords], a reduction in high frequency garbage ... To me, the decrease in grunge was most apparent in the increased clarity, dimensionally [sic], and body ... For whatever reason, [these power cords] allow a system to better preserve the fine detail and phase integrity of a signal, simultaneously reducing spurious noise that results from either external sources or internal interactions. The result is a huge I repeat, huge leap forward in the realism of the sound coming out of a system. The difference between, say, the sharper ring and decay of an Ovation guitar and the deeper body and resonance of a Martin take on a new level of prominence. With the Master Couplers, you get a much better sense of hearing the body of the guitar, rather than just a sound emanating from an area in space. Similarly, the spatial dimensionally [sic] and layering of multiple images within a soundfield are more apparent. With a densely orchestrated work, the effect is an increase in both the body and overall acoustic envelope and the ability to distinguish individual voices or edges of the soundfield. The effect is sort of a "virtual reality" spatial and temporal interplay of the voices ... To summarize, I can't possibly recommend [these] Synergistic Research [power cords] more highly ... for what they do, they represent the biggest bang for the audio buck I have seen ..." WOW! I'm glad I found this review. These power cords sound absolutely amazing. I can't wait to audition them in my system. Brian Damkroger must be talking about the game-changing Element series. No? Then he must be talking about the game-changing Tesla series? No? Then what? This is a review of the game-changing Master Coupler. The moral of the story is not to be enticed by reviews -- or by manufacturers who publish these reviews on their sites and who mirror what reviewers say in their own sales promotional material. Trust your own ears -- unless you need someone else to tell you what you are supposed to hear. |
Joeyboynj, The article you are referring to by Robert S. Youman states, "Most importantly, over all sound quality surpasses every other wire offering that I have auditioned in my system." I wonder why he does not mention the name of even one other wire "offering" he is comparing the CTS to. I have an innate suspicion of reviews. It is well known that the so-called audio review network is corrupted by advertisers. And it is also well-known that Ted Denney is not shy about hyping every new product that he brings out. You may remember that the Master Coupler was God's gift to the audio world. And, in the past, he has never been shy about trying to suppress any "overly" negative comments on Audiogon about his products. All this goes a long way to explaining the Synergistic Research buyer-fatigue comments one read on the forums. Wait till the next line of SR cables comes out -- with superlatives heaped upon superlatives. The steady flow of CTS offerings on Audiogon will increase. So, caveat emptor. |
Anyway, bad energy is wasted energy. Has any Synergistic Research fans here tested or heard the new Synergistic Research High Frequency transducer and Frequency Equalizer?? There are some great reviews from RMAF 2014 and The Audiostream website. And I found a few other VERY positive reviews. Here is the article to check out: http://www.audiostream.com/content/synergistic-research-high-frequency-transducer-and-frequency-equalizer And here is another VERY positive review of the NEW Element CTS Power cords and cables. This explains more exactly how I feel and find these new cables. This articles puts into words for me. As I totally agree with the review. http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue70/synergistic_cts.htm |
Also, if you have not heard the CTS Element Digital and Analogue power Cables, then don't even comment here because these are better many current line PC's out today. I have both these PC's in my system and they blow everything out of the water. And I'd demo'ed many and many PC's form The Cable Company. |
This thread is about Synergistic products and how we like their products and the ways we use them. Go start another topic discussion somewhere else if you don't like em. This forum thread is for people who like Synergistic and help other people who prefer Synergistic products. Thank you. Sabai please take your useless posts elsewhere like to the hifi Diamond waste of a page. |
Audioman58, Here is a quote from you on SR from a couple of years ago - "I can tell you that Synergistic Research is one of the best in research And their new products are getting better and better per value. After the CES in Jan they have a true high value cable coming out For people who cannot afford the new Element series. I love the active shielding it makes a Big difference in keeping the performance locked on" I assume from the quote above you thought SR were very good cords at one time. Now you have found better cords to your liking, does this mean SR was a ripoff? If so, your post perpetuated the 'rip-off' for SR. |
I owned the whole deal all power cords 3 ft power strip ,plus another strip to Plus in 12outlets with live shielding.the Copper Element cables and one Tungston intern connect sounded very good ,but I tried after Ihad already purchased the Synergistic Element cables with the 3 bullets to change the balance. I auditioned The MIT - HD cables ,they were a slightly less moneys ,adjustable impedance matching to your equipment.the realism was apparent right away,and just got better over 200 hrs.I sold the whole lot of Synergistic And never looked back ,and also got rid of all those spaghetti wires. And the hidden what I call scams, the live shielding has wall warts. If you want your system to sound better you have to spend another $300 each for the Deluxe wall warts .i bought a couple it did improve everythjng but these without question should be standard,especially after seeing what was inside,one of my friends deluxe units stopped working he dremmeled It open a little board resistors and a maybe $10 worth of parts. They are quantum tunneled-So What it is a ripoff to charge the faithfull Buyers ,.myself and other guy bought the MIT cables and never looked back,and with the adjustable impedance,no matter what you change in your system it locks in the signal .a much deeper soundstage and imaging. |
Wig, The Sony Modwright 5400 has two power cords to power the CD playback system. One for the PS 9 power supply that powers certain components of the CD player and the other PC directly on the Sony 5400 unit itself. So where are you using the Tungsten PC? And why to you like it where you are using it and have you ever have switched it to the other power supply. Modwright suggests to use the best power cord you have on the PS 9 power supply unit first. I did and noticed the better cord benefited the entire system while on the PS 9 power supply and a cheapest cable I have worked best on the Sony 5400 unit itself. Thanks, Joe |
In my system and too my ears, the SR Element Tungsten cables didn't work out. They throw a huge soundstage and do many impressive things but regardless of which tuning bullets I used, my system became slightly fatiguing with long-term listening. I can see the appeal of the sound and in a different system and room I might actually love it. |