Synergistic Research PHT - Phono Transducer

A friend purchased the PHT; the Purple Haze and Blue Velvet and I was amazed at the sound improvement they made. Each was different sounding even though the same size and weight. I am not sure what Ted Denny is doing but these work. My friend has a very revealing VAC system with King Sound King electrostatic speakers and the improvement is amazing. I tried them on my smaller turntable and since I couldn't put the PHT on the actual cartridge head I didn't hear as much improvement.

Thank you for the response, Hifimaiac ... much appreciated.

Anyone else care to comment??

Just to say there are others who perceive no difference, with vs without their PHTs. If you are really curious, it is my understanding that Synergistic offers a free home trial. "Free" in the sense that after you pay for the PHT, you have the right to return it for full refund within a specified time interval. I should think that such a using one's own system and ears would trump a collection of opinions you might get here from total strangers.

For me, the question has been one of mechanism. How does the PHT work, assuming it does work? If it's just affecting resonance at the headshell, then there are cheaper solutions.

I tried these and was pretty amazed at the improvement. It was not subtle at all in my system. I kept them and never looked back.

Do they do what they do forever. In other words
if you put them in storage for a couple of years
does the technology or process still work. I'm
tempted to try them I mean what have I got to
lose. Do you have to readjust your settings on
your tone arm.

Qdrone, As I understand it, the "functional" unit of the PHT is a crystal that probably has been lying around in nature for eons. So, if it works, it probably works forever. Obviously, you may have to re-adjust the VTF of your tonearm to accommodate the added weight of the PHT sitting on the headshell. Supposedly, the weight is trivial.

Lewm thanks for the info.

A friend and I heard the next potential generation of these at Newport in a Beta Test presented by Ted. Yes, they make an audible difference and you will prefer one over the other in your system. However, the one thing I was unable to determine during that test was the real need for them in the first place. In other words, are they a change that is a step forward or just a sideways move altering the sound slightly? BTW, Lloyd Walker offers his own version of this product and while a bit more money are very effective. I don't use either the SR or Lloyd's.

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dkzzzz, I hear you.

I recently tried the Black Widow and Green Dream PHTs on my cartridge, which is a My Sonic Lab Signature Platinum, connected to a Manley Steelhead preamp.

I tried each version for a couple of days and concluded that they were not for me.

Yes, they did alter the sound, and differently from each other, but they did not improve the sound for me.  In fact, I thought they took away the purity of the sound it produced without them.  

Perhaps they work better on lower end carts?  Perhaps some of the other versions would work better for me?  Whatever the case, I sent them back for a refund.  

I still wonder how they could have any effect at all, of any kind, except by perhaps changing the resonant frequency of the headshell/cartridge, and even that is a stretch of my imagination. But I have not tried one so I won't go any more negative than that.

@lewm I also wonder what the technology is behind these tiny things.  They seem to be made from machined aluminum.  If they were magnetic, or made from special ferrous metals that could interact with the flow of energy within the cartridge I could imagine how they work, but aluminum would not cause anything to change that I could ever envision.

I'm also surprised that Michael Fremer gave them a positive review, but I guess his findings were more positive than mine.  His positive review is the only reason I tried them, in fact.  

I thought each PHT contained a crystal of some kind or another.

Fremer's comments:

“but adding that blue PHT produced an ear-popping, Cinerama-like, wraparound soundstage, and an overall sound even less tethered to the speaker positions. The image focus was increased without producing razor sharpness, and there was greater front-to-back separation of sources within the soundstage."

That result on a Caliburn Continuum/Atlas($200K+) So before the thingie the sound was just...okay?

Rolling my eyes.