September 2017


Best Of 2017 Blue Note Equipment Awards

Synergistic Research PowerCell 8 UEF SE, Atmosphere Level 2/3 Power Cords
Price: See Review
Click here to read the complete review.

  So what's most important in a system – the front end or the speakers? Where should you put the most money? These are the kinds of questions that arose for me when I first became aware of the High End. And the answers were as numerous as the sales people that I spoke with. Without a lot of experience or knowledge, what seemed like outrageous prices were daunting barriers to investing. Fortunately, I lived in a town with a few high-end dealers who were sympathetic to my thirst.

Some audiophiles are engineering types who like to see evidence of a scientific approach to product reviews. Others follow the approach of British Empiricists and like to read a more subjective assessment of the (as yet) unmeasurable variables of music reproduction. I kind of have one foot on the platform and one foot on the train. So I charted out a series of steps that would give me a quasi-scientific analysis as a basis for differentiation among the older products and the new ones with enough breathing room left in for personal opinion.

That the products reviewed here surpass my other Synergistic Research products of only six years ago by such a wide margin attests to the fact that this entire category and Synergistic Research in particular, is making enormous progress through their research and development. I mentioned their recent expansion to a new facility earlier and their investment in more efficient production equipment has not only advanced the technology they offer, but made it more affordable. If you can't afford these particular models I've reviewed, or if they are not appropriate for the level of gear you currently own, there are models below these that may fit your needs. The PowerCell 12 UEF series above the one here approaches the performance of their previous ultra-high-end Galileo series. That series has recently been re-engineered as the Galileo UEF level for the very wealthy. As I've written before, this is not a company that is standing still. They are on a creative roll and appear to be having a lot of fun and success doing what they do. Nonetheless, research and development costs money and those costs must be passed along to enable future R&D.

It's not like bloom or no-bloom is the "right" way to listen and the other is not. It's more like the same group of musicians is playing in a different venue. At the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival earlier this evening I attended four shows. Each of them featured a pianist and three out of four featured upright bass and drums, so there was a lot of commonality of instrumentation. Each venue had its unique sonic signature that was additionally affected by the location of the seat I took. They included two churches that featured ample bloom and a corporate auditorium that was heavily damped with a lot of drapery. Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music was exceptionally fine sounding, as you would expect. All of the performances were obviously live, but the listening experience was vastly different in each venue. The particular recordings you listen to at home will also contain varying degrees of spatial cues that will be amplified or attenuated by your listening environment. The point here is that the Atmosphere Level 3 power cords all have the Gold UEF Tuning Module to bring your recordings more in line with your personal preference.

As a cutting edge Boomer, that note rings as loud and clear to me now as when I bought my first motorcycle in my early twenties, or started climbing mountains in my forties. The time for music is always now, even as one's choice of genre matures. The PowerCell 8 UEF SE and Atmosphere Level 2 and 3 power cords revive the goosebumps with my favorite music and let me feel the bass vibrations through the leather of my listening chair. This is great gear and it's staying right here!

Click here to read the complete review.

Previous Annual Blue Note Awards

Product of the Year Awards 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001.