Voodoo as opposed to? Like what exactly? The first mega power cord success- The Synergistic AC Master Coupler? The first active cables back in the late 90s? X Series? X2? Synergistic Research has NEVER been like other cable companies, never, ever. When other companies trot out more expensive versions of the same design or cable geometry with bigger and better, or more expensive materials as the dividing line, SR stresses system compatibility and careful cable system matching. They have never to my knowledge posted measurements, detailed geometries, or sold the line that their most expensive cables are best for all systems. They have always stressed synergy and matching their cables to your system before making up your mind.
The problem with taking the stance that SR cables or technologies are hokus pokus is the fact it flies in the face of the facts. Simply put their different cables and technologies are demonstrable. Take Active Shielding for example. Listen to a system cabled with Active Synergistic Research cables and then turn off the Active Shielding- do you hear a difference? Now listen to that same system but this time with the new Galileo MPCs. Again do you hear a difference? Try comparing their old X Series or X2 cables to the new Tesla Series, do you hear a difference? Which cable do you prefer? Which is the better value? Compare the Accelerator to their previous top of the line Designers Reference and Absolute Reference; when was the last time a cable manufacturer released a new line of cables that out performed their old line of cables, at half the cost? Quantum Tunneling a myth? Really? Listen to their rather plain looking Teslaplex and tell me Quantum Tunneling is not a revelation. Now compare the Teslaplex to much more expensive audio jewelry duplexes on the market, which duplex do you prefer? Which has the bigger soundstage? Which is more transparent? More dynamic? The fact you can compare any SR product to any product you may consider BEFORE you buy allows you to make up your mind based on what sounds best to YOU and this speaks volumes.
How about system-cable matching? Have you ever compared an Acoustic Reference IC to an Accelerator IC between your CD player and pre-amp? Did they sound alike? Which would you prefer in a system that has a warmer balance? Which would you prefer in a system that has a leaner balance? Would your choice be based on the interconnect that has the most expensive price tag or would it be based on which cable sounds best to you, in your system? How about power cords? Does the most expensive Tesla power cord automatically sound best when run throughout a system, or do you match different Tesla power cords that complement your different components? How many cable companies (other then Synergistic) routinely try and talk you OUT of buying their most expensive models?
I have had many, many different systems over the years cabled by an even wider array of cables. All have been different- tubes, solid-state, class A, class AB, class D, analogue, digital, single-ended, balanced, you name it and Ive tried/owned it and Ive cabled them with as many different types of cables from as many different manufacturers. All have allowed me to experience music in different ways, some showing me one part of a recording, say inner detail and air, while others illuminated warmth with rich harmonic structure. Some grabbed my attention with earth shattering dynamics while others seduced me with subtle, before hidden detail and nuance. The problem is I have always wanted to have it ALL. Inner detail, dynamics, precise imaging, massive soundstages, black backgrounds, air, layering and on. So I would build one system, fall in love for a time and then be tempted when I caught a whiff of another with a new charm that my then current system failed to deliver. All this changed when I went with SR Tesla cables; Id had their X Series in the past and they were very good in some respects but lacking in others so I went elsewhere until I tried Tesla. The more Tesla cables I added to my system, the closer I got to my ideal- the absolute sound I had been striving for. Then as I added Tesla power cords. The picture came into clearer and more vivid focus until every last cable in my system was Active Tesla. I later added a PowerCell 10SE and this was as big a revelation as my original journey to the Tesla series cables had been in the first place. Now Im experimenting with their new Galileo MPCs and the Teslaplex and my system continues to improve.
For me Synergistic Research has been the end of one road, and the beginning of a new appreciation and love for music. Judging from the size and scope of this tread Id say Im not alone.
