Synergistic Research ART Basik, any opinions?

Lougiants,
I understand how you could feel the Acoustic ART System's ability to tune a room's acoustics unlikely however I would never have spent the time and money to develop it nor the political capital to market it if it did not perform as I say it does. It is in fact the single most important product I make for improving a systems overall performance. Since you have a dealer who can demonstrate it for you may I suggest you audition it or better yet send me some photos of your room and I will mark them in PhotoShop for placement of the ART pieces and you can audition them in your system and decide for yourself?

As to cost the Acoustic ART basik system is very inexpensive- less then the cost of just one Bass Station from the full blown ART System. The difference is that the basik system is just that, basik and does not require the significant amount of time to tune each individual resonator and several other labor intensive steps that contribute to the original ART Systems price. It also (the basik system) does not have the same performance potential but absent the full blown ART System in your room, you'd never know.

Joeyboynj is correct, all SR products are made available through authorized SR dealers for in home audition. There are many reviews and personal testimonies from people who have long established posting records on numerous audio discussion groups all claiming to hear significant improvement with the ART system in place, and a degradation when removed. There are also a few posters claiming to have tried the system and to not hearing any benefit but they are almost always first or near first time posters and many times, users who's only posting record is to detract from the ART System. At the end of the day the ART System is just like everything else, you need to audition it for yourself and then decide.

OK back to CES :)

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

The Sell-A-Thon is on.

Led by the Pied Piper.

Play that tune big boy.

Well Bill at least he is here not pushing the same old crap that kills the music... convoluted foam and fiberglass. Some text books need to be set next to the toilet and there pages put to some good use. People should listen and think beyond the proverbial dictates of a shoebox they listen within. Much can be done with hard material angled devices that can redirect and refocus pressure within the confines of a listening room. These devices can be mounted on walls, ceilings and even set on the floor. A little creative thought and geometry may be involved. After all the highest pressure points are along the room boundarys. Why not use the energy generated and redirect its focus and adjust its phase. Smaller devices can be simply constructed to sit atop speakers or attached to their sides or back. None are made of soft materials that suck the dynamics and air out of the music. None cost more than a hundred bucks to make. So if someone cares to think outside the confines of the dark ages I'm all for it. I wouldn't burn them at the stake. Tom

Theaudiotweak, I agree. It's all about resonance. The principle of resonance applies in many ways in the world of audio. After all what are receivers? They are resonance devices. Various room tuning devices are simply the other side of the same resonance coin. Shakti and SR ART are the first that come to mind at the high end of resonance devices. Others that come to mind are SR MiGs and Totem beaks. There are many more. Those whose attitude is "look at those little things ... how could they possibly ... where is the science ..." have no idea. In an earlier era they might be heard saying the same thing about the quartz crystal.

Ted, since you have chimed in I will pose a few questions directly to you, if I may.

I came across the ART system in researching your cables, including some of my non-industry "audiophile" friends that have or are using your cables, as part of a decision to determine if I should pursue said cables.

Ted, which would have a bigger impact on performance, installing your cables or the ART system? FYI - for interconnects and SC I run Transparent (not Reference or Opus). My room is lively. My speakers are highly resolving/detailed (Wilson).

My experience with cabling is that rarely do I find performance changes being "significant", but typically only noticeable with very, very careful listening and typically over a notable period of time. Is the ART system supposed to be notably obvious upon installation or removal of the components? Almost equivalent to changing out speakers?