The Problem with Synergistic Research


The problem is one that a number of cable makers suffer from. I preface my remarks by noting this not a problem that is exclusive to Synergistic Research. I use SR as an example because I am more familiar with their cables than with the cables of other companies that have the same problem.

The problem is the cost of incremental improvements. SR makes some great products. But, in spite of their copy writing, not all SR products are great, IMO. Some SR products have made great improvements in my system -- like the Tesla SE Hologram D power cord. That having been said, in retrospect, despite the bally-hoo that surrounds SR product launches, most of their products have brought no more than incremental improvements to my system. Products from other cable companies have brought equal or greater improvements for me -- often at much lower cost.

The problem is that SR has such fast-paced marketing with products coming out at a gallop supplanting recently released products -- such as the SR line of PowerCell conditioners -- that I sometimes feel I have been left in the dust.

We cannot stop the relentless march of technology. But at the high price of most of SR's offerings one is often left with sense of being left out instead of left in when new products come on the heels of products one has just purchased. The SR trade-up program does not remedy this problem at all, IMO.

There are many other cable companies without fast-paced marketing that provide equal or better value for the money, IMO. Companies like Bybee, HiDiamond and Cardas. I am probably not the only one who feels as I do about SR and other companies with fast-paced marketing.
sabai
For those who feel that SR should repair these old used cables for free, not to mention covering the return shipping, imagine how you would feel if you were expected to work for free. When the shoe is on the other foot your perspective changes quickly.
Ted Denney did not get his PhD in audio cable physics to fix his masterworks for free. Time is money, and when not in the "lab", Ted needs spare time to dig up old posts written by naysayers like Sabai. If you don't like him or SR or snake oil, you must be a Democrat. (I gather that is what Knghifi and Glory are trying to say in their barely literate political commentary.)

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.
What I dont understand in this story is :
Why would anyone spend time and money sending an interconnect back and forth from the manufacturer to simply solder a connection. Any competent local technician could do the job in less than 2 minutes and probably would not even charge.
I am surprised that even with no warranty, that a cable manufacturer would not simply take a few minutes to fix the joint.
I also note that the author also mentions making home made cables in other threads, therefore it seems odd that he wouldn't just fix it himself.
I can only surmise that there may be more to this story than the author is saying. or the whole story is pure bunkum.
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.