The Problem with Synergistic Research

Hi Ted_d,
Thank you for your very long and detailed post. By the way, for the record, my ID on Audiogon is Sabai, not Sabi.

Not to worry. I'm old enough to have very thick skin. With all due respect, the issue on the table is not my posts. The issue is how I and other customers feel about SR products and the products of other audio companies -- both the quality and the perceived value. With all due respect, quoting my posts that praise SR products is a moot point.

I'm sorry if I was sloppy and inaccurate in my explanation about my own PowerCell purchase. It was a matter of only a few weeks after purchasing my own PowerCell that a new version came out. I received the upgraded PC (with the G07) but, I thought, not the upgraded PowerCell. By my count there have been 5 versions of the PowerCell out in about 3 years -- 2008 to 2011. That makes 7 months or a bit more per version, on average.

Thank you very much for this good news:
"Sabi if you have the G-07 wall plugs and twin Enigmas then you have one of a handful of PowerCell 10SE Mk IIs in the original chassis"

Yes, I received the old chassis. I was told by Mike that I had only received the new cord (G07 with twin enigmas) and that I had missed the new PowerCell 10SE Mk II by a few weeks -- that I was just unlucky. He was obviously passing on what he believed to be the facts. He apparently was unaware -- as I was unaware -- that some of the new MK II versions were shipped in the old chassis. Mike has always been a very kind and helpful person to deal with -- exemplary. You have a great colleague in Mike.

In an evolving audio system there are bound to be contradictions because what sounded good yesterday may change with the addition of a new product tomorrow -- like with the evolution of SR products. The Master Coupler may have sounded great in 2002 but I don't think you would be saying the same thing about it today given the evolution of your products.

Hence, my comments about the SR MiGs were relevant when I posted them. But my system evolved to the point where I sold the MiGs off when they were no longer useful in my system.

It was a similar case with the EVS. I have since upgraded my system to the point where the EVS are not in my system anymore.

I no longer have Gabriel Gold in my system.

I still have many Oyaide plugs and IECs in my system. One Oyaide plug can transform the sound of an audio system.

I now have an SR Hologram D in my system It is one of the best cables I have. I am still highly impressed with some of your products -- as I am with some Bybee products and some HiDiamond products. I run my cables in series now. I have found that there is not a single SR cable in my system that has not been greatly improved by an "upgrade" in series with another well-chosen cable from a different company.

Please note that the first remarks I made in my post were that this problem -- i.e. the problem of feeling left out by upgrades -- is not exclusive to SR and that SR makes some great products. I also commented that this problem *often* leaves me feeling like I have been left behind -- I did not say *always* left behind. $5000 is a very large sum of money for me to spend on a single audio product. If I spend $5000 and feel I have gotten very good to excellent value then I have nothing to complain about.

The Enigmas have helped a lot with my PowerCell. The problem I have with the PowerCell is that you do not appear to have designed it with customer upgrades in mind. Trade-up is not the same as upgrade. As I mentioned in my posts, my point is the pace of upgrades, and the feeling under certain circumstances that one is left behind after making a substantial investment.

Had your PowerCell line been designed as upgradeable you would have had the benefit of a great deal of customer goodwill. IMO it is preferable not to penalize customers with a trade-up policy that requires the purchase of a whole new product every time an upgrade to the line is made. It is preferable to reward customers with the possibility of obtaining the latest version at a reasonable cost.

Uptrade sounds good but if you look at the numbers there is a 30% loss with each uptrade. This would means 5 losses to uptrade to the latest version of the PowerCell if one did this successively. But if the PowerCell were upgradeable and one waited, there would be the possibility of an upgrade from level 1 to level 5. This would probably be a very reasonable way to go and would be a win situation for both customer and SR.

By the way, I am most certainly on record with SR. I live overseas. I bought my PowerCell through Sammy who is a great SR dealer. Over the years I have paid full retail for my PowerCell and other SR products including the Galileo Universal Speaker Cells.

Ozzy,
If you had the Apex you were at the top of the heap -- before the Element series came out. Is this what you are referring to when you mention upgrades?

Mrtennis,
I am concerned about SR because I like a lot of their products and I still have a lot of their products in my system. I run HiDiamond in series with SR cables.

Daveyf,
Of course these are my opinions. Of course this applies to my system. Does this need to be stated every time I post or every time anyone else posts here? Do we need to walk on egg shells afraid to express our opinions? I think not.

I am not allergic to people with strong opinions. In fact, it was Musicxyz's strong posts about HiDiamond that led me to experiment with them -- and I am very glad I did. Strength of opinion is very important for me to see. It is like a bio-marker for me. This is exactly what I look for because there are so many wishy-washy opinions that reflect nothing important. When someone has a significant experience with an audio product and they express their thoughts and feelings in no uncertain terms, this indicates to me there is something going -- and that something may be worthy of note. IMO.

Ozzy,
Thanks for jogging my memory on these details. You are correct. This is what I was trying to get at. The SR trade-up program is no gift to customers. It is well conceived to be as profitable as possible. An upgrade program would never generate the same profit margin. Just figure the math to do 4 trade-ups to get to the top level of the PowerCell. For me that's big bucks. No way I could ever afford it.

Me too. Who needs a Porsche? I would rather spend the money on better sound. I just keep fixing my old beater and it keeps on rolling.

Mapman,
You make an excellent point. To be able to afford the best possible results within our budgets we have to buy carefully -- used preferably. With a bit of patience, looking down the road at the upgrades in the pipeline, you can usually pick up a really good buy a year or 2 after product launch.

Elberoth2,
In response to your remark "Pls give me a break." May I point out that my initial post said "one of a number of companies".

Knghifi,
In response to your remark "If you can decrease the number of ICs, SCs and PCs that you run in a series from 100 to something more manageable, you got plenty of money for upgrades." I normally run 2 cables in series. Since this produces at least as large an improvement in my system as a component upgrade I think this is money very well spent.

Fiddler,
If I could afford both I would not choose a Porsche. Don't ask me what I would choose. I have no idea.

Ted_d,
You make good points from your perspective and I make equally good points from mine, IMO. This is like Rashomon -- different facets of the same subject.

Knghifi,
With all due respect, I must protect my privacy. I don't divulge personal information. I understand very well how Capitalism works. I own a business. The challenges where I live are far greater that those faced by many in the US or the EU.

Dover,
Protecting my privacy is my right. It is not "hypocracy" [sic]. This claim on your part is clearly a non sequitur. If it were not, the question remains, is everyone required to divulge where they live when they post here? I don't believe country of domicile is an issue on Audiogon.

I am not the only one on this thread and other threads who has made this same observation with regards to SR and other companies. With all due respect, if it irks you to read what people feel please feel free to skip these posts.

You stated: "If you expect all future purchases from that manufacturer to be at factory cost ..."

I did not state this and I did not imply this. I have made the very good point that the SR trade-up policy is not favorable to customers -- contrary to what SR would like customers to believe. Many others have made this same point before on Audiogon. This is not the first time that my observations have been made on the forums. The fact that Ted_d is sensitive to my remarks shows they hit a nerve.

With the SR trade-up policy, you have to buy a product or products of twice the value to get 70%. If you can, it makes more sense to wait, buy on the aftermarket -- and sell on the aftermarket, as well.

I have not given up on SR products. I have many SR products in my system that are excellent. But some people have stated on Audiogon that they have given up on SR because they cannot keep up with the upgrades and have found that their SR products have become too-quickly outdated and the value of their SR purchases has depreciated. I believe this is a reasonable point. Now, some may argue by presenting time lines, that this is not factually correct. However, customer perceptions, even though they may not agree with company time lines, are important to note. Feelings are as important as statistics.

Hey Gloria,
Long time no hear. I have no idea what you are talking about. Frankly, anyone who is trying to nail anyone to the wall on these forums needs to get that old blood pressure cuff on to check if things are within the normal range -- especially the diastolic. Too many people take things too darn seriously here. After all, this is just an audio forum, is it not?

Dover,
Since you have to purchase a product for twice the price I do not call this a "deal". With all due respect -- which is unfortunately not always reciprocated on the forums, alas -- you have the right to your opinions. I have the right to mine. I stand by my comments.

Theaudiotweak,
You make a good point. Since this was already in the public domain one wonders.

Facten,
The point is to stimulate discussion on a sensitive point. When you live overseas and you want to try out a cable -- or trade up -- the shipping cost can be hundreds of dollars in one direction. Multiply this by a few transactions and you are talking about a large sum of money. The problem is exacerbated by duty.

People in the US can avail themselves of relatively cheap shipping so that trading up -- or trying out cables -- is quite reasonable. If you try to do this overseas the cost can quickly become unreasonable, alas.

Mcondon,
I have found that it takes a lot of buying and selling to come up with a solution that works for my system. This has meant going against "the grain" -- not opting for a loom from one maker. I have found that there are some excellent products from non-SR companies that produce extraordinary synergy in series with some SR products. Because my approach is unconventional and I live overseas it costs a lot more in shipping costs to put this together than if I were living in the lower 48. Making mistakes is very costly. There is loss through buying and reselling products as well as the loss on the cost of shipping them back and forth.

Studiosoundman,
I appreciate your post very much. It examines the interrelationship of various factors that inform our audio choices. As you rightly point out, we are compelled to improve the quality of sound that our systems produce. But I have found that most products, especially in the cable department, provide incremental improvement at maximum cost. This goes for most high end cable companies, IMO. You can burn a lot of cash trying to find out which are gems and which are not worth the price.

For instance, how does one evaluate a product such as the SR Galileo Universal Speaker Cells? I have not read a testimonial anywhere about them. I have had them in my system for over a year. They bring a refinement in the sound that is significant. But, in series with Bybee Golden Goddess SE Speaker Bullets, the effect is much more palpable. Alone, each product offers an significant incremental improvement.

How do I evaluate the cost-effectiveness of each of these products? Well, that's the $64,000 question. Although I would not want to listen to my system without this combo I would say both products are over-priced -- compared with some other cable/tweak products I have in my system.

One nice thing that the Speaker Cells allow me to do is add one more level of speaker cables. With the Cardas Golden Cross sandwiched between ASI Liveline and HiDiamond (top-of-the-line) the sound is incomparable. Bybee Speaker Purifiers are in there too. There are 6 levels of cables/tweaks between amp and speakers. Each level makes a significant improvement to the sound. This is not for everyone.

In my system, in the cable/tweak department, dollar-for dollar by far the biggest bangs for the bucks are the old Bybee Quantum Purifiers -- AC, IC, speaker -- and HiDiamond cables. The Bybee Ultra PC (on the aftermarket) also provides excellent value -- in series with other PCs with Bybee Purifiers sandwiched in the middle the sound is elevated to a much higher level.

The SR Hologram D is a killer PC -- but at a killer price. I have yet to try HiDiamond PCs -- coming soon. I have all my PCs in series and will try the Hologram D in series with HiDiamond after A/B-ing them individually. The quest for the best possible sound -- within a diminishing audio budget -- continues.

Mcondon,
I appreciate your comments since they stimulate a deeper discussion of the matter. One can find the predictable responses to my posts:

1. Most companies do the same thing. If you don't like it move on to companies you like. Stop complaining and let us enjoy the music and the forums.
2. Way to go company!! Keep those great products coming so they can trickle down to us.

Both of these responses avoid the issues that I am encouraging discussion of, which are:

1. How much are you paying for the sonic improvements you are looking for? Do you feel you are paying too much -- or way too much -- for incremental improvements?
2. How are companies marketing their products? What motivates some companies to stick with a slower tried-and-true line that attracts a loyal following through good word of mouth and that evolves slowly -- while other companies gallop ahead with one fantastic improvement after the next --- accompanied by assertive marketing claims, to be sure, and replete with superlatives.

In hindsight, most improvements turn out to be no more than incremental. Customers are hyped to pay top dollar with the promise of something dazzling in return. A whole new line is usually rolled out to satisfy every budget interested and to give the illusion that no matter how lowly one's budget, everyone will participate in the latest and greatest, to one extent or another.

Frankly, I think it's all about getting audio buyers as excited as possible to motivate them to buy new. This may be an obvious point but I feel it cannot hurt to mention it. The pricing structure of new lines will be whatever new buyers are willing to bear. That is usually dictated by historical pricing -- what has become the pricing norm for individual manufacturers.

In other words, you will rarely see a manufacturer cutting the price of their top-rated new product by 50% vs. their previous comparative market entrant. You will likewise rarely see a manufacturer doubling the price of their top-rated new product vs. their previous comparative market entrant. To a great extent, once the cost of production and reasonable mark-up have been taken into account, prices are related to marketing when we are looking at the very high end companies.

Each new line is the absolute best, of course. So, when you look back, by corollary, if you bought 2 lines ago you paid way too much for way too little. The faster this marketing process is speeded up the truer the statement, IMO. Each successive line is highly touted, of course. It becomes a game that only the very well-heeled can participate in from start to end.

If one is budget-conscious, one is in a bind. It may take 2 or 3 years to get a really good buy on a line you may have a strong interest in. This means waiting longer than many people are willing to do. Patience is hard to come by when the latest and greatest is dangling before your eyes.

Facten,
I have a modest one-product business. I am rather conservative. I have made 3 revisions to my product in going-on 20 years. I obviously do not believe in making revisions unless they are important. My customers are pretty happy the way things are.

The issue at hand is not about differentiating one's product from others, nor is it about attracting customers. It is about the pace of changes in the modern world. I was brought up with ink wells and a penny bought you 3 black balls. There are many things about the break-neck rush toward technological perfection in our modern world that are very troublesome to me. High end audio has been infected with this compulsion for new products at nearly break-neck speed.

I am happy when I discover a new product, component, cable or tweak that brings improved sound to my system. But most of the products I have put money into were not worth the price. I have not been afraid to spend $5000 on a product. The only thing is that, in the end, after closer assessment, there have been few products that have been worth it. The rest have been sold off.

If I started to tell the stories of some high end audio names -- 3 in fact -- some of the most touted names in the business with world-class designers behind them -- and how they blew up and nearly took down my system I would cause more forum problems for myself than I have the time to reply to.

With regards to components, not only are manufacturing standards and testing standards often poor, the quality of parts is often a pathetic joke. I opened one unit that suddenly had a "major malfunction" and I instantly knew why I had never seen a photo of the inside anywhere on the internet including on the manufacturer's site. The quality of the parts was pathetic. A piece of junk. We're talking about a product in the $10,000 to $15,000 range from one of the top makers in the world. Shocking. I had it repaired and sold it off.

With regards to cables, I took apart a multi-thousand dollar cable from a very high end company and was shocked to see a cheap plastic dialectric, substandard plug and IEC and the cheapest manufacturing quality one could imagine. Shocking. I sold off the other cables I had from the same company.

Beyond the issue of product quality, I feel that most of what is brought to market in high-end audio could well have remained a glint in the eye of whoever came up with the brilliant new idea -- and the audio world would not have been one iota worse off. In high end audio you need to tread very carefully if you have budget constraints, which most of us do.

Someone asked me about Apple in an earlier post. The only apple I have is the one I eat. I do have a cell phone -- very convenient. It is 11 years old -- still going strong. I am looking for a used one so I can keep going with the same model. In many ways I am an anachronism in today's world. My mother passed away recently at nearly 100. I was brought up very old-fashioned. I am still very old-fashioned in many ways.

Need I say -- all the above is IMHO.

Sgr,
Your experience parallels mine in many ways. Like you, I have found there is more than one way to skin a cat. The hyping of new cable products seems to be the rule now and this must be taken with a grain of salt, IMO, for the reasons I outlined in my earlier post.

In my system I still use SR cables -- in series with cables from HiDiamond, Bybee, Cardas, ASI Liveline and Supra LoRad (as a bridge connector with Oyaide plugs/IECs) to achieve the effects I am looking for. I find that active shielding helps the sound -- especially when used in series with other cables.

But, like you, I find the "Active Shielding mess" with SR wires a problem. The MPC wires are all over the place and with my equipment close to the wall (until we remodel the house) it is very difficult to squeeze behind the components to see what's what and try to untangle things.

I have not had Signal Cable products in my system. I will look them up.

Studiosoundman,
The kind of trial period you describe would be very helpful -- with special terms for overseas customers because of the shipping time lag. In my own business, I have an extended trial period and word of mouth keeps the return rate extremely low. I rarely get a return. I am not in the audio business, but this same thinking applies.

Your observation about companies being extremely confident in their products, many of which have not changed for ten to twenty years, hits the nail on the head. There are products out there that have stood the test of time. Some of them have taken my system to a new level -- at an aftermarket cost that is a fraction of the price of a new high-end cable -- Bybee comes to mind. And there are some products out there that are new to me that provide superior results and superior value -- HiDiamond comes to mind.

Dover,
With all due respect, on the contrary. The cables in my system are the cardiovascular system of the system. When the series is well chosen it brings the perfect synergy. Everything falls into place in terms of the continuity and the naturalness of the sound. There is no explaining this except that the ears know this to be true. It is never a question of band-aids. I have never tried MIT cables.

Fplanner2010, Gloria, Knghifi,
I feel you're being a bit unkind here. I don't think it would have cost much for SR to do this repair and the goodwill extended would have come back to them -- whereas now they have to deal with bad publicity that may be worth a lot more than the very small sum of $50.

You see, it does not much matter who was right about this. I can understand SR sticking to the letter of the law. But by going the extra few yards they could have had a win-win situation instead of having a lose-lose situation. A little graciousness and generosity can go a long way in the high end audio business. IMO.

There are people who have gone the extra few yards for me in audio. I appreciate it very much and I always have a good word to say about them -- even if things were not 100%. They deserve a good word. Those who have not done business with me in the same way are written up differently.

Regarding SR, they get top marks from me for customer service. But as for policies and some other matters referred to earlier, they still have some work to do. IMO.

Facten,
You state "I don't think that anything any vendor would do would satisfy Sabai". This is a very broad statement, would you not agree? It opens the door to a broad response.

With all due respect, there have been many vendors that have more that satisfied me over the years. Among them are Merlin, HiDiamond, AMR, Bybee, Cardas, Oyaide and, yes, Synergistic Research. The points I am making only relate to part of my interaction with SR over the years. I have never had a single problem with their customer service. It has been exemplary in my case. And I have been very happy with quite a few of their products -- but not all. It is their trade-up policy and other related matters discussed in earlier posts that I have brought up for discussion.

Knghifi,
With all due respect, you are now addressing your comments to Joncourage and Mapman as well.

Mcondon,
You stated "When is Audiogon going to kill this thread? All this bad press is going to hinder SR's ability to separate fools from their money."

I think this thread has brought out a number of salient points -- and it sounds like some others agree. I think this can only be good for SR because they are a great company with some great products. IMO they need some encouragement to develop more user-friendly policies. This lively discussion may stimulate some movement in that direction.

Onhwy61,
With all due respect, I believe you have misunderstood. This thread is about getting the best possible value for your audio dollar. I feel many high end audio companies are in the process of pricing themselves out of the ballpark for audiophiles who are in the "modest budget" category -- people like me who are not high rollers. This thread was initiated to stimulate discussion about the ramifications of various issues around this central issue. It was not initiated to elicit pity. You may be one of the very fortunate who does not have to worry about budget concerns when purchasing their equipment.

Photon46,
You put this very succinctly in your post.

Pops,
You mean it's that good?

Regarding SR's trade-up policy, it is clearly a good deal for those who have the cash and who want to purchase more than one new SR product. But it puts those on a modest budget in a bind.

Firstly, when SR brings out a new product to replace a current product the latter has already depreciated in value by a significant amount due to the new product being introduced. OK, this is normal. But then SR requires you to purchase a product twice the value of the one you want to trade-up for.

So, for instance, if you want to purchase the latest version of the PowerCell, you have to purchase $10,000 in SR products to take advantage of the SR trade-up program. Well, that's a lot of money for many of us. And what if the PowerCell is the only product you wish to purchase? You are left with having to sell your PowerCell off on the glutted aftermarket where the price of PowerCells has dropped drastically.

You are lucky to get much more than $2000 for a used PowerCell these days on Audiogon. But you are better off in the end because if you do get $2500 for your PowerCell you have to come up with $2500 for the new PowerCell instead of $6500 with SR. In the end, unless you are really hot on a new SR product besides the PowerCell, you are much better off not going the trade-up route. It is no gift to customers of modest means.

SR might want to consider two options to make their policy user friendly to audiophiles of modest means. They could introduce an upgrade policy for some of their products such as the PowerCell. They could formulate a policy that does not require the purchase of a product that is fully double the price of the new product a customer wishes to purchase.

In the end, a more "understanding" policy would end up being be a win-win situation. It would not be as profitable for SR but it would come back to them in volume to make up for the lower mark-up. Most importantly, it would sow the seeds of goodwill. This act of generosity would be appreciated by many audiophiles and would end up bringing many happy customers to SR that they would not otherwise have seen. And, over time, the results would naturally be compounded.

These suggestions are meant to be helpful.

Flashunlock,
Please note that I initiated this thread and the topic is The Problem with Synergistic Research -- but not exclusive to SR. Also, please note that not everyone who has posted on this thread may agree with you -- according to how they have responded here. You have the perfect right to your opinions.

This is not an urban pedestrian sidewalk where a disturbance has been caused and where the local constabulary comes by to bring order to the scene. I am merely a poster on Audiogon eliciting ideas. With all due respect, those who find this thread disturbing may easily avoid reading the posts here -- and they can easily move on to threads that do not disturb them.

Flashunlock,
What you characterize as moaning is a thread that was initiated to elicit ideas and opinions. And it has done just that. I am certainly not the only person who feels as I do.You may note that there are others besides me who have expressed themselves in this thread in a manner that is contrary to your opinions. Nevertheless, you have the perfect right to hold and express your opinions -- as everyone does.

I would not presume to tell you that others are tired of listening to you and that you should shove off. We may not always like what we read here. That's the way life is on the forums. No one is forced to read threads and opinions they do not want to read. If we all conformed to certain ideas this would be a very boring place to visit.

I don't believe we need to walk on egg shells worrying about SR or other manufacturers when we express our opinions in these threads. Ted Denney and others are very capable of defending themselves and of rebutting statements that they feel are inaccurate. Many manufacturers take the opportunity to do so here. As it should be.

Neither you nor I know what affect this may actually have on SR or other companies. If it gets them thinking about these matters, that is a step in the right direction, IMO.

Gloria,
"Dropping ways". Very well put.

Flashunlock.
Thank you.

Gloria,
You have the right to your opinions about Ted's submissions. Everyone has the right to interpret them as he or she wishes. Ted expressed things in a positive light for SR -- which is understandable. And I expressed my opinions. Please note that others have chimed in -- on both sides.

Glorious, there seems to be an underlying tone here. I believe this is quite clear. Let each reader judge for himself and herself what is going on here.

We have seen time and again where posters complain that threads have deteriorated. I do not believe they deteriorate because of the difference of opinions being expressed. After all, that's what the forums are for. I believe that threads deteriorate because of lack of respect and the various ways this manifests itself in the language posters use.

You can see this pattern emerging when the issues are no longer the focus of the discussion. When posters start to personalize their comments then respect is lost. "Linguistic indulgences" then begin to emerge and a trend develops where juvenile responses begin to dominate the discussion. Thus, the issues become subsumed and posters who would otherwise be contributing to the threads back off. Understandably.

Tbg,
Reiteration of points cannot be the cause of deterioration, IMO. People may want to skip what is being reiterated -- but that's about it. Deterioration comes from a decline in the tone. If people are not respectful then the tone destroys meaningful discussion. This can be seen in the personalizing of comments instead of the thread remaining focused on topics and issues.

Could be worse.

Gloria and Flashunlock,
Who's forcing you to read my posts? If they hurt your eyes you can move on before any damage is caused. Just scan down for my name before reading. I would not want to have on my conscience any ocular problems caused by reading my posts.

Tbg,
What nonsense?

Flashunlock,
Glad you appreciate my humor.

My system has further evolved since my earlier posts. I have recently added a Bybee Stealth, an isolation transformer and a power regenerator -- all up front.

While the SR Powercell sounded good on its own when I purchased it two years ago things have changed dramatically. I have been running it in series with a Bybee Stealth that I purchased recently. When I took the Powercell out of my system a couple of days ago it was immediately clear: the sound stage opened wide, so much more low level detail was coming through and the harmonics bloomed as I had never heard them before. Taking the Powercell out was like a breath of fresh air for my system -- and more. There is no question in my mind and ears that the Bybee Stealth is the superior power conditioner for my system. I will be selling off the Powercell.

Tbg,
I also need to do a lot of testing. I have been using the two power conditioners in series because I bought the Bybee Stealth on the hunch that it would best the SR (and it has, since I took the SR out of the system and can listen to it alone.) I didn't want to sell off my Powercell because I hate taking haircuts. And I figured that the sound would be good if I ran the two conditioners in series with my isolation transformer and power regenerator. Everything sounded pretty good. But since I have a maze of wires -- you can imagine with all cables in series -- it is really hard for me to squeeze between the wall and the cables to fiddle around.

I honestly didn't hear any need to get rid of the Powercell -- you know how you get used to your "house sound" -- until I added the SR speaker cells and they killed the sound completely. Then I figured it would be worth the effort to squeeze my belly back there and yank out the Powercell. BINGO !! Everything opened up -- low level detail, sound stage, harmonics. You name it. The Powercell is history.

Thankful,
You stated, "If "any" audio company is going to introduce frequent upgrades they should provide their customers affordable upgrades path/options. Without judging motives here they can devalue their customers investments." This is the very point I have been making on other threads. The trade-up policy of SR is punitive. Devaluation of the SR investment hurts a lot. What they have done with their new Element line is to render unsellable all your expensive Tesla cables they used to ballyhoo.

If their retail prices were not so darn prohibitive or they offered an upgrade or a better trade-up policy this would not hurt so much and they would have a better chance to hold onto loyal customers. But the way things are, people are eager to run for the door when a company like HiDiamond comes on the scene with superior products at very reasonable prices.

Ozzy,
You stated, referring to getting off the SR ride, "This is because the old Synergistic Research products lose their value tremendously once the new products are released and the fact that Synergistic Research does NOT have any realistic upgrade path." You hit the old nail on the head here. I imagine a lot of older SR cables go unsold each time SR leapfrog's itself. I have been left in the dust more than once with SR products.

Regarding pulling the SR Powercell from your system, I also found that the SR Powercell "sucked the life" out of my music. I would highly recommend putting a high quality medical grade isolation transformer up front. I picked up a honey of a tranny on Ebay (made in Germany with dual voltage -- good for me since I am on 230 volts) for only a few hundred dollars -- mint. I have a Bybee Stealth power conditioner plugged into the tranny and a Monarchy power regenerator plugged into the Bybee. The Monarchy is the best bang for your regenerator buck anywhere. It is rated at 100 watts. I have my transport and DAC plugged into it -- stunning.

Joeyboynj,
You stated, "The Powercell is only as transparent as the power cord that it is plugged into." This may be true. But if so, what explanation is there that an $1,800 power cord -- the Precision Reference -- is not transparent enough and cannot do the job properly? Why would SR market and ballyhoo this power cord with the Powercell if it were not up to the job? This confuses me. When it came out the Precision Reference was a tiger -- and then suddenly it becomes a pussy cat? Will the Element series -- now as ballyhooed as the Tesla line originally was -- become transformed in a similar fashion into a shadow of its former self with the advent of a newer line?