The Problem with Synergistic Research

Sabi I must take issue with not only the claims you make in this post, but in the way you contradict yourself from one post to another. In the interest of establishing a timeline for your claims and positions, as well as a pattern, I researched your posting history. I will now make reference to your past posts and call you on false claims and assumptions. My apologies in advance if what I write next causes you any distress however I can no longer sit idly by as you misrepresent my company or products.

First Sabi praising SR products

link to original posts

12-20-10: Sabai
I just got my PowerCell 10SE and will connect it tomorrow when my electrician arrives to install a 20-amp dedicated line from the power pole directly into my music room. In the meantime I have installed MiGs under my step-down transformer, CDP and integrated amp. Well, if there is a single no-brainer tweak in the audio world it is the MiGs -- and for the price a super no-brainer. They have already elevated my system -- sound stage width and depth -- resolution -- dynamics -- you name it -- far beyond what it was when I had my old power conditioner connected to the system -- one of the best names in the business. Before the MiGs I experienced the wow factor a few times in my system -- Ric Schultz's EVS Ground Enhancers being a recent example. But these MiGs ... man, they are outta sight.

12-20-10: Sabai
Tvad, it just goes to show you how we all have to take the measure of things in each of our systems. Sharing this information is extremely valuable but YMMV with each element added. I will not put a number on the EVS and the MiGs. I give them both a very high rating. In my system they transform the sound in a way that is not subtle at all -- like a major component upgrade.

12-30-10: Sabai
Joeyboynj and Flashunlock, I'm enjoying my PowerCell 10SE very much. I have my old Tesla Plex as my wall receptacle at the end of a 20-amp dedicated line. I had the new Tesla Plex SE plugged into the Tesla Plex on the end of a stock PC with a stock plug. Last night I took the stock plug off the stock PC and replaced it with an Oyaide P-004. NIGHT AND DAY !! SUPER WOW !! The PowerCell was transformed in every way especially the sound stage and fullness and dynamics and inner detail. I cannot over-emphasize what Oyaide plugs have done for my system. I also installed MiGs under all components -- two at the back and one at the front. I put the first set under my step-down transformer and this produced a massive change in the sound. Pin-point works best for most people so I tried pin-point under everything. I had to change to ambient under my amp and step-down transformer because the resolution was too bright with all pin-point. Now it's perfect.

01-15-11: Sabai
Hi Violin, I don't have a Hologram D in my system so I cannot comment. All I know is that the PowerCell SE (with Precision Reference power cord and Galileo MPC) has made a huge difference in my system -- sound stage, low level detail, dynamics. Bacardi, I have 4 sets of MIGS, one set under each component. They are out of sight -- very impressive. I am using the Tesla Plex SE in series with the Tesla Plex. When I removed an older power cord and swapped my Gabriel Gold Reflection power cord into the Tesla Plex which is my wall receptacle that leads to the Tesla Plex SE it was a day and night difference. The synergy changed completely. It was like taking the lid off the box. Everything opened right up. I hope this helps.

01-17-11: Sabai
Hi Tbg, sorry for the confusion. I have a 20-amp dedicated line from the pole outside the house for my music system. My Tesla Plex is my in-wall receptacle. My electrician installed my Tesla Plex SE into the Tesla Plex using a stock copper line terminated with a stock plug. I cut off the stock plug and spliced an Oyaide P-004 plug onto the end of the cord. That was a major improvement. Then I plugged the P-004 via a cryo-ed Schurter into a Gabriel Gold Reflection power cord that I plugged into the Tesla Plex. That's what made the really big difference. Previously the GG was my CDP to PowerCell power cord.

One more thing. Last night I piggy-backed two XLR ICs together and connected them from my CDP to integrated amp. I will not provide any description here about the sonic results because of the inevitable spammers who I will no longer reply to. Anyone who is interested and who has not spammed in the past can PM me.

link to original posts

02-27-11: Sabai
If your system is highly resolving and you have MIGs in your system try "super" ambient -- all 3 points in the north position. I am getting wonderful results with this.

03-02-11: Sabai
Hi Joeyboynj, I will be installing SR universal speaker and IC cells in August. I think that will be about it for me. The budget is over-the-top now. But the results so far have been worth the price. SR knows what they are doing. I also do tweaking and experimenting to get the best out of my system. So far, so good (Steely Dan).

09-13-11: Sabai
I am using the Gray on my PR power cord with very good results. There is a very distinct difference between the 3 Enigma circuits.

link to original posts

02-26-12: Sabai
Glor, you d have a problem with your system if the SR cables did nothing for you. LOL.

And now Sabi you take a turn just one day after telling another AudiogoN member his system must have a problem if SR cables did nothing for him. It seems you are upset because we upgraded the PowerCell 10SE (first version) to the Mk II version…

02-27-12: Sabai
The 10SE is basically a very good product but the retail price was excessive in light of subsequent events. It looks like SR brought it out with the marketing plan of bringing out a 4-module version a few months down the road for the same price -- the MKII. I agree -- by the time you got to the end of the block and turned the corner they came out with the MKII that made recent purchasers of the 10SE holding an already obsolete product with a resale value of less than 50%.

Ted, will you upgrade my 10SE to the MKII? Mine was actually shipped with the G-07 and twin Enigmas -- so I missed the MKII cut by a hair. Unfortunate and disappointing. When we're talking about a low or mid-priced item this may be something one can grow to accept. But when you are dealing with a $5000 product it is a lot harder to swallow -- especially for those of use who have to work very hard to earn the asking price. Yes, some (not all) SR marketing is at a gallop-too-fast, IMO.

Sr's marketing does not mean that SR products should be casually dismissed. They should not be, IMO. The 10SE should not be dismissed, either, when compared to other high-end power conditioners. In my experience, SR make some of the best high end power cords on the planet -- and they market them at a trot instead of a gallop. Which makes the obsolescence issue less of a problem. For instance, the Tesla SE Hologram D is a game-changer, IMO.

Talking about Quantum Tunneling, if you compare SR MPCs that are Quantum Tunneled versus those that are not QT-ed the difference is not subtle. Quantum Tunneling is not merely a marketing term or a low-value process. On the contrary. But the $500 price tag for each MPC means this is a serious purchase versus the standard MPC. SR products are not for those with a light wallet. But if you have the money and create the right synergy in your system with them you can end up a very happy camper.

I run SR cables in series with cables from other makers. Even though some SR cables are top-of-the-heap I have not found a single SR cable that performs nearly as well on its own as when it is in series with another high end cable, IMO. Of course, you need to experiment to create that very special sound -- and that can be a lengthy and expensive process.

Sabi you made a lot of claims and assumptions in that post.

You write:

The 10SE is basically a very good product but the retail price was excessive in light of subsequent events. It looks like SR brought it out with the marketing plan of bringing out a 4-module version a few months down the road for the same price -- the MKII

Sabi the original PowerCell 10SE was on the market for two years, not a couple of months before launching the PowerCell 10SE Mk II. For the record the Mk II came about as a result of research that developed our Galileo System cables and in particular, an accelerated development of the EM Cell technology as found in our PowerCell line conditioners and Galileo Universal cable cells. We had also recently launched our TESLA SE power cords with Enigma tuning circuits that you were raving about only a few months before. Since we had exhausted our supply of PowerCell 10 SE chassis’s, and needed to order new chassis’s, we elected to incorporate several new technologies recently developed during the Galileo research program as well as bundling in our new TESLA SE Precision AC power cord; all this without increasing the cost of the new PowerCell 10SE Mk II.

And now some good news. Sabi:

Mine was actually shipped with the G-07 and twin Enigmas -- so I missed the MKII cut by a hair

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

This was an interesting exchange between Sabi and Glory…

02-27-12: Glory
I remember Steve at GG let me demo his Reflection IC and as I remember it was as good and in fact better than the SR Apex cable with out all the BS MPC dookickies all over the place.

SR knows how to keep a $$$ flow going with SE/MK/Gold/silver/copper/QT MK3 ect... $1200.00 cable now is better than $3600.00 Apex of yesteryear.

02-28-12: Sabai
Everyone upgrades. That's not a valid criticism, IMO. It is the pace of the upgrades that is sometimes irksome. I don't think you can argue with quality when it works in your system. If SR didn't work in your system so be it. But for a large number of people -- including me -- SR products work very well when you pick and choose well. They are indisputably one of the very best cable companies out there.

The dohickies are part of what makes their cables work so well. If you don't like a bunch of wires snaking like a spider's web all over the place I can understand that. My wires are a mess and there is no way to change that except to get rid of some wires. The sound is more important than the aesthetics for me.

Sabi what you may not know this but between 1992 and 2006 Synergistic Research was a cable manufacturer exclusively- interconnects, speaker cables and power cords, that’s it. In October 2006 we launched TESLA Series cables to replace our X2 Series. At that time people were excited when they found the new $1,200 Accelerators outperformed their $3,000 Designers’ Reference X2 interconnects (a long standing pattern for new SR cable launches i.e. non Active Designers’ Reference vs. Active Designers’ Reference -or- 1st Generation Active Designers’ Reference vs. Designers’ Reference X Series which included the MPC power supply for the fist time and at no additional cost, nor has anyone ever before complained when we deliver greater performance for less money). It was not until Q1 2008 when we launched our first PowerCells: the PowerCell 6, PowerCell 10 and PowerCell 10SE that we became a manufacturer of non-cable related products. 2008’s PowerCells were then followed by the Acoustic ART System and TeslaPlex in Q4 ’08 and their offshoot MiGs in Q1 ‘10, Galileo System cables and their offshoot, Galileo Universal Cable Cells launched in Q4 ’09 which developed the technology to launch the PowerCell 10SE Mk II and TeslaPlex SE in Q1 ’10.

And while we released one new product category after another, we continued to build TESLA Series cables. In fact TESLA Series interconnects and speaker cables were in continuous production for over 4 years before we added Enigma Tuning circuits in their 5th year of production, at no additional cost. It was not until the beginning of their 6th year that we introduced the Element Series and only as a result of technology developed during the Galileo Research program. I can understand why you could be under the impression that we are continually upgrading existing cables but the fact is we are continually introducing new products in new categories with only one evolution to the TESLA Series in over 5-years of continuous production.

As to how we compare to other cables and products from competing manufacturers, we make our products available for in home audition with the option for anyone to return our products to their dealer for any reason should they not work to their satisfaction with a 100% money back guarantee. We also have the longest running (20-years) and least restrictive upgrade program in the business; the Lifetime Passport Protection Plan with a 70% trade-in allowance toward ANY SR product. Unlike other manufacturers who either have no upgrade program what-so-ever, or who restrict trade-ins for like products (power cords can only be traded in toward new power cords and so on) we make no such restrictions. If someone wants to trade-in their TESLA Apex SE (or 20 year old Mark I interconnects) toward Element Copper Tungsten Silver interconnects, no problem. And if they need to make up the 2 to 1 trade-in qualifier they may add any SR product they wish including PowerCells and Tranquility Bases to make up the difference. In this way we make it easy for the long term SR user to take full advantage of all our different products and technologies, now and in the future.

Finally Sabi if you wish, contact me directly at SR so we can discuss whatever it is you have an issue with. I am especially keen to learn where you purchased your SR products as none of my dealers or distributors have any record of you as a client.

Yours in music,
Ted Denney III
Lead Designer / Owner
Synergistic Research Inc.

All PowerCell’s are based on my now patented EM Cell technology. To my knowledge the EM Cell is the first completely new technology to filter AC in over 20 years- all other forms of filtration are based on variations of old technologies like inductive chokes, transformers, regeneration, capacitors, and so on. As with any totally new technology, one can expect a rapid growth curve in the beginning that tapers off as a technology matures. That said, the original PowerCell 10SE won The Absolute Sound’s Product of the Year Award in 2009 and is still a world class power conditioner today. It does not limit current on demand nor is it subtractive in nature as is the case with virtually every other line conditioner on the market. That this brand new, never before thought of technology has undergone 2 revisions in a little over 4 years is understandable for a research and technology based company like Synergistic Research.

PowerCell roll out history:

PowerCell 6, PowerCell 10 and PowerCell 10SE launched 2008
PowerCell 6 and PowerCell 10 discontinued 2010
PowerCell 4 launched 2010
PowerCell 10 SE upgraded to Mk II 2010
PowerCell 4 SE launched 2011 (Both PowerCell 4’s are still in production)
PowerCell 10 SE Mk II upgraded to Mk III 2012

Clearly we have not upgraded our PowerCell 10SE’s every 7 months. We simply discontinued the PowerCell 6 and 10, added a new 4 outlet PowerCell, and upgraded the 10 SE to Mk II and again to Mk III.

Factors behind upgrading our original PowerCell 10SE to the Mk II version:

1. The EM Cell evolved during our Galileo Research Program that created among other products, our flagship Galileo System cables and Galileo Universal Cable Cells.
2. Enigma Tuning Circuits were added to our then 3 year old TESLA Series power cords (this upgrade was added at no additional cost).
3. After two years of production we had exhausted our stock of large PowerCell chassis’s and needed to order new chassis’s. Ordering chassis’s is a huge commitment of capitol and because we had recently improved both our EM Cell technology and Precision AC power cord, we elected to launch a Mk II version with the aforementioned upgrades.

Factors behind upgrading the Mk II to Mk III:

1. The EM Cell evolved significantly during the development of the Tranquility Base. In fact this latest evolution, which deals primarily with the EM Cells internal ground plane, is the most significant upgrade to the PowerCell since it was first introduced in 2008.
2. After a little over one year we sold our entire production run of chassis’s that took two years to sell through in the original PowerCell’s three versions- 6, 10 and 10SE.
3. Now 6 months into the Mk III’s production cycle we have again sold through our chassis production run- in half the time it took to sell that many Mk II’s and 1/4 the time it took to sell as many of the Original 6, 10, and 10SE PowerCells combined. For the record we just ordered a second round of chassis’s for the Mk III with no plans, or new technology, to build a Mk IV.

At Synergistic Research we don’t upgrade for upgrade’s sake nor do we obsolete our products prematurely. TESLA Series interconnects and speaker cables were in continuous production for over 5 years with only one running change to the LE version which included Enigma tuning circuits from our TESLA SE power cords at no additional charge. As for TESLA SE power cords, they are still in production with no plans at this time to upgrade them nor are we in development of a new line of power cords so, 6 years running and still going strong.

In the case of our new Element Series interconnects and speaker cables, technology developed during our Galileo Research Program existed to build a new breed of cables with higher performance that would be more flexible while offering never before achieved price to performance ratios, so naturally we retired our 5 year old TESLA IC’s and SC’s in favor of the new Element Series.

As for our upgrade program I don’t know what else I can say other then I am very proud of the oldest and least restrictive program in the industry. Back in 1992 when I was a young man sleeping on a futon in my factory to make ends meet I started the cable industries first lifetime upgrade program and called it the Lifetime Passport Protection Plan. Combined with the first line of cables designed to create synergy with target components, instead of the then standard (and now) hierarchy of price points where more expensive always equals better (according to the marketing engines behind most high end companies) Synergistic Research was and is different. Back then we offered four different interconnects and two different speaker cables. The interconnects all had the same price as did the speaker cables. My idea was simple- loan out four different interconnects or two different speaker cables and allow the end user to make his or her decision based on my cables subjective performance in their system. They kept what they liked and returned what they did not, or if they wished, returned all the cables for a full refund. Later as SR grew we introduced new cable models and users traded in their old SR cables for my newer designs- with a 70% trade-in allowance when they doubled up. This program has helped keep the supply of used SR cables relatively low and the resale value relatively high compared to competing brands. Do an AudiogoN search for Synergistic Research and then for other cable brands and you’ll see what I mean. Granted the plan is not perfect and we all wish our used high end audio purchases held their value better then they do, but at SR we do what we can to work with our customers.

The impression that we are aggressively marketing products with planned obsolesce is misplaced and based, I believe, on our development of new products in markets other then audio cables and power cords. This trend started in 2008 (from 1992 to 2008 SR was a cable manufacturer exclusively). I suppose all these new products in new categories have created the impression for some that we are continually introducing new products to replace old. This is simply not the case. What we’ve done is develop new products outside of cables like:

•Isolation devices (MiGs)
•Power conditioners (PowerCells)
•Active Electromagnetic platforms (Tranquility Bases)
•Upgraded power supplies for Active Shielding (Galileo MPCs and Enigma)
•Acoustic Treatments (Acoustic ART), and so on.

Many longtime SR customers like to experiment with our new technologies and products so we make them available through our dealers. When they find something they like, they can take advantage of our Lifetime Passport Protection Plan with no restrictions on like products being traded in for like products. For example many PowerCell 10SE users are upgrading to Mk III and purchasing Tranquility Bases or Element Cables to make up the difference. This also occurs with cables and everything else we make. For people who do not want or need to double up when making an upgrade, they benefit from a used market that has less products and hence better resale value compared to most other brands.

At the end of the day it’s all about the enjoyment of music. Very few of my personal friends have high end audio systems and while I don’t care for the way they sound, they seem perfectly happy and that’s as it should be. We should all enjoy our systems and not obsess over new products or fall into sour grapes just because something new enters the market. Personally I love research and the development of new technologies. Audio is what I do for a living and when people make new high end audio purchases, I want Synergistic Research products to be among the most competitive products on the market. Lately this means branching out into new markets with products I could not have dreamt of only a few years ago, while dramatically improving the performance of my interconnects and speaker cables. The fact is, new products are released every year in all markets, not just audio. Should a new product mean that we suddenly become dissatisfied with what we were completely happy with prior to a new product release? I still love my 1998 BMW M Coupe (the hot hatch based on the Z chassis that I later had modified by Steve Dinon with a blower and suspension work). Sure better, faster, lighter and more powerful sports cars have entered the market in the 14 years I’ve owned “The Bomb” as I call it, but I love that car and drive it every week.

Yours in music,
Ted Denney III
Lead Designer, Synergistic Research Inc.

Analogbrother,
Yep Estoril Blue with the blue / black interior, 1 inch lowered, 385 bhp with 350 ft lb torque. The spiritual successor to the last of the air cooled 911's FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

Yours in music (and speeding tickets),
Ted Denney III
Lead Designer, Synergistic Research Inc.