jjavan

A few months back I found myself dissatisfied with the sound of my system. I had just moved into a new apartment in Irvine, and I noticed a change in my system’s sound: it felt a little constricted, and foreshortened. In other words, the soundstage wasn’t as wide or as deep as I would have liked. My Temptations were toed-In, so I adjusted them, but that only provided a minor improvement. Furthermore, I felt the noise floor wasn’t as low as it could be; I wasn’t getting the bass extension I should, and the treble didn’t have the top-octave air I was accustomed to. Having only moved to Irvine three months earlier, I needed to find an audio dealer in the area to help me out, so I decided to crack open the Interwebs and see who was in the area. While I was looking, I noticed that Synergistic Research was headquartered near me. I thought, "What the hell, I'll give them a call. Maybe they can recommend somebody." In one of those rare cases of serendipity, Ted Denney answered the phone. First off, I was struck by how incredibly nice he was. A lot of designers of high-end gear are either crazy introverts or snobbish egomaniacs (a few are both, and are constantly tearing holes in the space-time continuum, which has become quite a problem). However, much to my delight, Ted was the exact opposite of the aforementioned types. He asked me how he could help me, so I told him how I wanted to get into computer audio, and about the difficulties I was having. After patiently listening to me whine, he began asking me questions about my system: the gear I had, which includes the rare Messenger Preamp with phonostage; what kind of sound did I like; my musical tastes, etc. After about 15 minutes discussing what I was trying to achieve, he suggested something that caught me off guard: “The biggest improvement I could make to my system was to clean up the AC power running through it.” I’m paraphrasing here, but it was something along those lines. He suggested that I try out the Synergistic Research Powercell SE MkII, and see what I think. I had been using Shunyata products for years in my system. At the time I was using the Shunyata V-Ray for my conditioning, and their Python power cords on all my gear. I had always been happy with them, so I was a little skeptical when he suggested I take a listen to the Powercell SE MKII. He invited me to meet him over at his office/factory the next day, so that I could hear the Powercell. This brings me to something very important about my first experience with Ted: first, he didn’t have one bad thing to say about Shunyata, which is atypical in the audio industry. Second, he told me that they were coming out with a new model of the power conditioner, the MkIII, but it wouldn't be as good of a match for my system, as the MkII. At that moment, I knew he wasn't just another designer trying to sell me on his product line. Instead, he actually cared about what was best for my system, rather than just making a buck. Keep in mind, he offered to let me demo the Powercell SE MkIII if I wanted to, but I chose to try out the MkII. The reason I chose the MkII was that the Messenger is a very unique preamp, which Ted was familiar with. The more we talked, he just felt that this was a rare case where the way the MkII was voiced would match my system better. We ended the conversation talking about PC gaming, FPS, etc. I didn't know if I was going to like the sound of his gear, but he was definitely a cool guy. I arrived the next day, and was greeted by Ted’s head of marketing, Peter, as well as the rest of the staff. Everyone was incredibly friendly, once again challenging my stereotypes about people in the audio industry. Peter brought me into their listening room, gave me a through explanation of Synergistic Research’s unique philosophy behind the design of all their products (including a prototype of their soon to be released d.a.c. – the Music Cable). I was a little skeptical at this point. How could a pair of older speakers, a bunch of cables with wal warts, a power cleaner, and a tiny box (the Music Cable) sound better than my system? While I sat down in an arm chair situated in the middle of the room, Peter pulled out his iPad, pressed the screen a couple of times, and my jaw hit the floor. A saxophone emerged from the darkness, as notes filled the air in front of me. Then the rest of the band kicked in, and I was positive I was listening to a master tape. The soundstage was enormous, every note was crystal clear. The music was incredibly detailed, but never analytical sounding. The noise floor was so low, that the soundstage was enormous. It was as wide as it was deep, and extremely transparent. The music was detailed, dynamic, and exciting yet it never sounded analytical. The sound as a whole was warm and cohesive, with no one frequency drawing attention to itself. Most importantly, after a few minutes of listening, the system obliterated my skepticism with its musicality. After a few minutes I found myself lost in the music. Ted came in at that point, and explained in great detail why his line of products was like nothing I had heard before. We talked at great length about the S.R. Powercell 10 SE Mk II: He explained how it use of an active, silver electromagnetic cell, and other design innovations that conditioned the power coming from the wall, but never limited it (There is a lot more to it, and I recommend reading about the design online.) Unlike a lot of high-end power cleaners, the Powercell comes with the Tesla SE Active power cell, plus three Enigma Bullets (black, grey, and silver), each of which produces subtle changes in the active shield’s voicing, allowing the home user the ability to adjust the S.R. system to his or her own personal tastes. It also comes with an MPC, and a Tesla Plex SE receptacle. Ted explained that it was a prototype, and that the Music Cable wouldn’t be available until after C.E.S. Besides, he remained adamant that the Powercell was the piece of equipment that would produce the greatest improvement in my system. Ted arranged for a Powercell SE MKII to be dropped off at my home, so I could audition it in my system. I thanked everyone for being such gracious hosts, and went home excited to hear the Powercell in my own system. Even though the demo at his studio was amazing, I still wasn’t completely convinced that it was going to best the Shunyata V-Ray. A Synergistic dealer showed up the next day with the Powercell and a few sets of Synergistic Research MIGs (they’re used for vibration reduction and, to my surprise, profoundly improve the sound of any of the pieces I’ve put them under). The dealer hooked the Powercell up for me, and we started off listening to some of my favorite CDs. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The Powercells effect was so profound that I thought I had bought a completely new system. Everything I had heard while at Synergistic Research the day before was increased by a factor of 100. I couldn’t stop listening to my CDs (keep in mind that I’m an “analog first” audiophile). The sound filling my room was otherworldly. Next we put on some vinyl. I chose Duke Ellington’s Jazz Party in Stereo. The needle hit the groove, and the orchestra was in my living room. The first track has a timpani in it that had always sounded incredible to me, but the band in the background was muffled. Now the whole orchestra filled my room, and every time the timpani was struck I felt like there were notes floating in the air around me. I closed my eyes, and sat back as the music transported me to the concert. Last, I always thought my system had an ink black background. I don’t know how Ted did it, but the Powercell MkII SE made the background produced by the V-Ray sound like a dark grey. The noise floor was so low that I heard new things on every recording I listened to. My system had greater bloom, there was greater pitch definition in the bass, microdynamics became much more audible, and transients had such a sudden attack and decay I was actually startled a few times. Needless to say, I gladly traded in the Shunyata V-Ray and Python power cord without hesitation, and not only am extremely happy with the Powercell, but I also have purchased two more Tesla SE Precision active power cords for my amps, the Tesla Tricon active USB cable, the Music Cable DAC, a Tranquility Basik, and a QLS 9 power strip. Synergistic Research is a company that is ahead of its time. They put out products that push the boundary of what’s possible in high-end audio, at the same time providing the consumer with tremendous value for the money. Justin Javan

Hi Rick, I replied to your original post, but upon scanning through the rest of the comments it appeared Joust had explained himself/herself, and so I felt there was no need to keep my comment up. However, you can't delete a comment on this site as far as I can tell, so I just left a couple of letters up. I agree with what you had to say about people in general, but on the internet I've found it's a whole different ball of wax. People can be downright vicious. Again, I really did find what you had to say interesting. While I don't own any Audio Research gear you never know when I may come across something similar. Thanks Again, JJ

I've only had my Mac for about a month and a half, so I would like to know from Mac users if there are any programs for the Mac that are on par with E.A.C. or dBpoweramp? The reason I like those two programs is there are so many options that I can set for my rips, drive analysis etc. The two most popular ones I found for the Mac (Max and XLD) didn't compare. While I still have both programs on my PC it would be much more convenient if I could do it all on the MAC, as the PC is in the other room. Translation: I'm being lazy. If anyone is familiar with either Windows' program, and has a suggestion I would appreciate it. JJ

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I don't want to misinterpret what you said, because it was quite profound: Could you take this train of thought a little farther: " I wonder if our pursuit represents more of a reflection of what we expect out of ourselves, than what we want to get out of our music collection? JJ

Do you know that last year I decided to upgrade my Integra 9.8 pre/pro to the 80.2 Keep in mind I hadn't upgraded my system in three years because of the economy. So, I bought the Integra 80.2 pre/pro for my home theater, and less than eight months later they came out with the 80.3, completely redesigned, with several key improvements that made a night and day difference in the sound quality, plus they added 4k, and a few other features etc. I had a fit. I called Integra to voice my complaints, who, by the way, couldn't care less. The response I got was, "go call your dealer!" On the one hand, it's not their fault, but on the other I don't care. I had just dropped $2,600 on a pre/pro figuring I was set for a while. The dealer really wanted to help me because I had given him a good review on Yelp, and his business increased. He contacted Integra several times, and they basically told him to pound salt. So, in the end, the best he could do for me was sell me a new one at cost. I thanked him, but I wasn't going to lay out another two grand. That epitomizes my disenchantment with high-end audio. As you said, "...why bother chasing at all?" JJ

I spent my thirties upgrading, wasting money, getting hustled by unethical dealers, learning, upgrading, figuring out what sound I preferred (analog), upgrade again, and again, and again, blew tons of money on audio equipment, and then the recession hit, life changed and the music stopped (literally). I still enjoyed my system, still loved listening to music, but couldn't afford to upgrade anymore, and found myself listening less and less. Now I'm forty, recently went on a mini-upgrading spree to a computer based system for digital playback, it's been fun, but I just don't enjoy the hobby the way I used to anymore. I'm sick of the ridiculous prices, finding dealers I can trust, the constant reviews stating, "product x is the greatest piece ever". "You have to have it or your system will suck." But most importantly, I have most of the music I want, and I've listened to it more times than I care to count. Plus, as someone else posted the re-issues on vinyl are coming less and less. Most of the computer audio I want is just up-sampled copies of the 16-bit, 44.1 KHz stuff I already have. So, here I am laying in bed last night, at 3:00 a.m. and I'm thinking, "Why do I have these gigantic, Dynaudio Temptations in my living room that are a pain in the arse to move (which we have had to do twice in the past two years), when I hardly listen anymore? Why am I holding onto all of this stuff? Am I hanging on for the wrong reasons?" How ironic to see your topic first thing this morning. Every word you wrote resonated deeply inside me. I'm really depressed now; I think I'm going to listen to some music! JJ

Mike, I was a big skeptic when it came to their gear, but they're equipment has completely transformed my system. I'm even trading in my beloved Lector Digicode 2.24 MkII for their Music Cable D.A.C. I never thought I would get rid of my Lector because it was the most analog sounding DAC I had ever heard (I'm much more into analog than digital.) I could use all of the audiophile terms to describe the sound, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter one wit whether I tell you about an increased soundstage in width and depth, greater low level detail without sounding etched etc. But, at the end of the day,you really have to hear it. If your near Irvine CA your more than welcome to come listen. Justin

Mike, It's under Tesla Power>Tesla Power Cell MkII SE I know it's confusing. Their site isn't setup, so you can find things easily. The MkII has been replaced with the MkIII, so if you can find a dealer with a demo model of this unit you can get them for $2,500 rather than $5,000. The MkII is perfect for people like me who are much more into analog. Here is the link directly to it:http://www.synergisticresearch.com/tesla-power-products/tesla-powercell-10-se-mkii/

Dear WGSCOTT: Thank you so much for creating this second blog. I wish I had you as a professor when I was in school learning this stuff. You actually inspired me to pull out my old Chemistry books last night, and do some reading. I have a question for you: I've heard a lot of audio equipment over the years, so when Scott Walker of Scott Walker Audio, brought over the Synergistic Research power cleaner, (which comes with a Tesla series power cable)I was extremely skeptical that it was going to sound better than my Shunyata V-Ray and Python Alpha power cord. He hooked everything up, and my jaw dropped. The soundstage increased dramatically,low level cues became more prominent, transient signals were also more prominent without sounding etched, I could go on and on about different areas where there was improvement, but most importantly the improvement of my systems musicality was dramatic. After a few minutes of analytical listening I found myself so involved in the music that I abandoned the analytical portion of the listening session, and found myself just listening to the music (which is the whole point of being an audiophile). Of course I came to my senses and did my due diligence: A/B/A testing, new recording B/A/B testing. The results were always the same. Their gear sounded better than mine. After boring you with all of that exposition here is my question: Can you explain what effect, if any (excluding QT), applying two million volts through a wire would produce? Granted your moving electrons, but is their something I'm missing? (by the way, they use three different metals in their cables: Copper, Silver, and Tungsten)

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it's nothing that exciting. Though your post had me LOL!

The Audioquest Coffee USB cable; however, as you know, the theory and implementation is completely different. Justin

I'll only read the blog if we can solve equations afterwords. God, I can't believe I actually pulled out my chemistry books this evening over this subject. Well it's my own damn fault now isn't it? Justin

They're very nice over there from top to bottom, and their components have had a profound effect on my system. In the end, that's all any of us should care about. Justin

My cat is doing his graduate thesis on QT!