Im with ya. I own a Hurricane, Cardas, Kimber and a Tucson. Not fancy by any means but they get me where Im going.
I have a friend who builds his own power cords and claims they beat anything heās tried. His system has things like those big Halcro monoblocks, top of the line Boulder source gear, top of the line Transparent speaker cables, TechDas Air V TTā¦ way above my pay grade so Iām assuming heās tried some of the better cords. Iām tempted to ask him to make me a power cord to see how it compares to my measly Front Rows, Stealth UNIs, and Dragonsā¦
Hello andynotadam
Okay you and others have me convinced to seriously consider SR Foundation interconnects (along with Iconoclast) when I buy all new ICs. 6 mths. ago I purchased a Foundation SX power cord (10g.). I am satisfied with it.
I have always been turned off by all of SRās buzzword-marketing. Even when I read their explanations of their buzzwords, I donāt go away feeling informed. Kind of like reading the explanatory gobbledygook on my wifeās fancy make-up. I shake my head and wonder, what the hell does that mean?
PS Audio, and other companies of all kinds, have buzzwords, but I usually understand the explanations (even if I cannot always repeat it 20 minutes later!)
andynotadam, May I ask what the components of your system are, so I can further understand your affinity for āSR soundā?
I share your feelings about much of the marketing copy for many SR products (though theyāre not entirely alone in this it might be said), but for me the proof is in the listening.
Mine is an all streaming system. My source is a Innuos Zenith Mk3 set up as a Roon server. I use an AirLens as an endpoint, and from there I go I2S to a DS Dac Mk2, then to a BHK preamp. Amplifiers are AGD Gran Vivaces (which I absolutely love), speakers are Fyne F703s supported by three REL Carbon subs. All cables are SR, save for the HDMI cable I use for I2S, which is a Wireworld Platinum Starlight 8, as SR does not have an HDMI offering. In the past year I have used three different amps in the system, all with great results. My most recent upgrade was to swap out the Atmosphere SX Alive (Level 1) power cords on my amps for SX Euphoria (Level 3) which I equate to a component-level improvement.
Not sure if the foregoing really helps to really clarify anything. SRās stuff definitely has a āhouse soundā (regardless of the associated gear) that greatly appeals to me. Iād characterize it as having a vanishingly low noise floor allowing for great clarity and unforced detail, outstanding bass performance both in terms of definition and weight, a very even and musical overall tonal balance along with a huge soundstage extending in all directions. In my experience, going up their cable hierarchy simply brings much more of the same, yet it never becomes too much. I also appreciate the ability to fine tune the sound of my system by means of the different "tuning bulletsā featured on their better cables.
Finally, SR offers a 30 day free trial on all their products (I personally have never sent anything back) and they have a generous product upgrade program.
And I will now hereby be forever known around here as, Andy, our resident shill for Synergistic Researchā¦
Andy
PS Forums are the place for opinionated people. As long as we are respectful of other strong opinions/personalities. You have been both, and thereby may have altered my system trajectory. Thank you.
This summer I am focused on acoustics. In the Fall or Spring maybe SR interconnects, next summer (funds and boss allowing) I will be thinking about upgrading my Maggie 1.7s to 1.7X or 2.7X to complement my 2 REL Ti9.
You have amazing power amps. I have M700s. Love them. Will be interested in the PS M1200 successor when it comes in a year or 2. Then I will be finished.
I donāt know about thatš. I have iconoclast cables and am a āHappy Camper.ā Actually, I donāt camp anymore, the Hilton is more my speed.
Princess camping.
How many of you listen and your system is bad, and then the next day you canāt leave it? Maybe my old ears acting out. I definitely seem to have days stuff just isnāt right. But maybe 14,000 songs on random play I just get a bunch of bad ones that chase me away. I can listen to awful music if it acoustically sounds good, not the other way around. That may be it.
Galen
I definitely have days where my system is lacking a few percent in sound quality.
When this happens I put on most familiar music and thatās my best gauge for system ups and downs.
It could be my ears, my system, water molecules in the air, barometric pressure, a funky piece of branzino the night beforeā¦
Me too.
My system usually sounds worst after a day of golf; it could be because I was dosing off in the couch a few minutes after the music was on.
Cheap wine!