New Synergistic Research Carbon Tuning Discs

[tommylion]

Got my second set in on Thursday. Put gold discs on the ICs from my DAC to pre, and purple on the ones from pre to amp. Really enjoying the further improvements. Some get hung up on an explanation of how these, and other effective tweaks, work. To me, though, things that make me go “Wow, how do they do that?!” are what make this hobby fun. After all, isn’t creating the illusion of a live musical event in our listening rooms a big part of what it’s all about? We know it’s an illusion, but we still want something that will somehow suspend our disbelief and make us go “Wow!”

 

[kennyb123]

The lid holding my gold discs had popped off as well. When I opened the box a single gold disc popped out. There was no other gold disc to be found though. I figured that maybe one slipped out at the factory so I contacted my dealer and he will be sending another.

Today I received another box of these plus an extra gold to replace the missing disc. So it’s the first time I’ve been able to go with their recommendation to place purple on the source side of am interconnect followed by gold on speaker cables as they enter the speaker.

I went back to their website description and immediately the words “their combined application creates a full sound” caught my attention. Boy is that ever spot on. It’s more than that though as I hear an increase in density and transient speed. Images are a bit more holographic too.

I still have two purple discs and one gold disc to deploy. I wonder how much better it can get.

 

[ozzzy]

Interesting, I have the gold on my interconnects and the purple on my speaker cables.

ozzy

 

[kennyb123]

Interesting, I have the gold on my interconnects and the purple on my speaker cables.

Did you try both ways? I haven’t as it was love at first listen with purple on my interconnects so that was my starting point.

 

[Devg]

I also started with a purple pair on the interconnect but didn't have the gold on the speaker. it made the sound more detailed and little unnatural. Then I replaced the purple with a gold pair on the same spot and liked what I heard. I then tried the unused purple pair on the speaker cable but did not notice a difference. Today I replaced the gold on the interconnect with a purple pair and put the gold on the speaker - surprisingly, it sounded better than just the gold on the interconnect. It seems the result of using a combination of gold/purple can be quiet different, better or worse, than just using a purple or a gold pair. Well, this means if I put another one (gold or purple) somewhere, the SQ needs to be evaluated in the context of the ones that already exist in the system or you can start from the scratch to see which 6 combination yields the best result. If you add another pair, the combination explodes to 24 and so on.

 

[highstream]

I followed Ozzy's suggestion and moved the Purples to the ATC end of the XLRs. This time there was plenty of life in the sound, with the sense of presence of being seated in the first row. The catch-22 of that position is there's the clarity of physical immediacy, but not the separation of instruments and delicateness one gets from a row G or H perspective. A Gold disc at the wall outlet connector or at the P15 didn't help. Time to give the Golds a shot on the XLR run...

 

[Devg]

one question for Ted (or someone if they know the answer) - if the IEC has a fuse and its upgraded to, say SR Purple, does the CTD on the IEC becomes redundant ?

 

[tommylion]

What has worked well for me so far is to alternate purple and gold in the flow of my system. I found a purple worked well on the digital cable from CD transport to DAC. I then put golds on the ICs from DAC to pre, and purples on the ones from pre to amp. Haven’t got to my speaker cables yet, but when I do, I will try gold there first.

 

[ozzzy]

Now you guys have got me wonderin'. I'm going to reverse the discs. That is, to now place the purple on the interconnects and the gold on the speaker cables. I'll post the results.

ozzy

 

[ozzzy]

So, I just tried the reverse placement.
And to my equipment, and ears I prefer the Gold on the interconnects at the source end and the purple on/at the speaker ends. This could be due to a lot of reasons but one being that I already have many discs placed throughout the system and this requires a balancing act between the purple and gold discs.

ozzy

 

[kennyb123]

This could be due to a lot of reasons but one being that I already have many discs placed throughout the system and this requires a balancing act between the purple and gold discs.

I bet that's right. It does seem to be more about finding the optimum way of balancing them.

 

[tommylion]

Well, I have had 2 sets (4 purple, 4 gold) in my system for over a week, and I seem to have found a really good balance. Wonderful sound, more natural, more involving, and just plain fun

 

[kennyb123]

Wonderful sound, more natural, more involving, and just plain fun

I couldn’t agree more on all counts. I’d also add that they brought me a bit closer to being in the same room as the musicians.

 

[kennyb123]

One thing I keep forgetting to mention is bass. I thought the Purple discs placed only on my interconnects added a bit of boominess to the bass. The subsequent application of Gold brought that under control nicely. I was listening to Dave Holland’s album “Prime Directive” earlier and his bass has never sounded better. It seems both a bit weightier and bit more articulate.

 

[Willgolf]

Based on what I am reading I should just buy a cheap Denon receiver and use the Purple and gold discs and my music will be phenomenal. Does that mean that your high-end speaker cables and interconnects were a waste of money? How about the power cords? Should we be buying inexpensive cables and a cord and just stick the discs on them?

I am not saying they do not work. My guess is that most people who have commented have multiple tweaks in their system. How do you know what tweaks are making an impact? It would be interesting for someone to take all of the tweaks out of their system and see what it sounds like. Then add one tweak at a time with the same song and tell me when the law of diminishing returns takes place. I do not believe for one second that it is cumulative. I have 20 SR HFT's in my system. To be honest, I think they were a waste of money. The same with Schumans Resonators. Some tweaks just don't work in your system.


I am not a naysayer because I have upgraded fuses, cords, cables, footers etc. I will try these magic discs because they are only $200. In a year SR will come out with the Red and Blue version lol. It is a great marketing platform. Audiophiles are always in the pursuit of perfection. When will it end?

 

[kennyb123]

Based on what I am reading I should just buy a cheap Denon receiver and use the Purple and gold discs and my music will be phenomenal. Does that mean that your high-end speaker cables and interconnects were a waste of money? How about the power cords? Should we be buying inexpensive cables and a cord and just stick the discs on them?

Exactly no one is claiming that the benefits are that great.

Audiophiles are always in the pursuit of perfection. When will it end?

If we are having fun, why should it end?

And who says it’s perfection audiophiles are pursuing? I think for many of us it’s musical enjoyment that we pursue with the gear and tweaks just a means to that end. Why is it a bad thing that we want maximize our systems‘s ability to deliver us as much musical enjoyment as possible for what we are willing to spend?

What I don’t understand is why someone would dump a huge chunk of money into a system and not try to get as much out of their investment as they can given for what they are will to spend. The willingness to spend is a big part of it, but for me it’s more about bang for the buck. The Synergistic fuses and AC outlets are two of the biggest bang for the buck items I’ve come across in my several decades in this hobby. These discs may be right up there with them. These are items we should be celebrating as it usually costs a much bigger investment to move the needle this much.

A few of us have mentioned that we are having fun with these discs. Did that bother you?

 

[Willgolf]

A few of us have mentioned that we are having fun with these discs. Did that bother you?

Kenny
It does not bother me at all. I agree that we are all trying to get the most out of our systems. I have had every SR fuse color except purple and multiple QSA fuses and I agree fuses have made an impact on my system. I also have had the Blue and Orange outlets. I think the old PPT products were really good. However, not all tweaks work. It is nice to read about people experimenting and I always learn a lot. It is why I am willing to try the P&G Discs. Probably the reason for my comments are because I have at least $150k invested in my total system. Lately, the tweaks I have tried have not generated much return on my investment. Which goes back to my theory on when does the law of diminishing returns take place? I will report back my results once I get the discs and try them. And if they don't work, I will simply send them back.

 

[kennyb123]

Which goes back to my theory on when does the law of diminishing returns take place? I will report back my results once I get the discs and try them. And if they don't work, I will simply send them back.

Ok then we are on the same page. I apologize for misinterpreting your intent.

I think it's rare that we find the point of diminishing returns in this hobby because the better our systems get, the better we can observe differences. Plus there remains so much room for improvement because there remains so much noise to dispense with and some of it is actually generated by our components and cables themselves.

I agree also that not all tweaks work. I will return a tweak if it doesn't deliver a meaningful bang for the buck. Life is too short.

 

[nirodha]

. When will it end?

this is simple: it ends when you start enjoying your music and put the never-satisfied audiophile to bed

 

[highstream]

Based on what I am reading I should just buy a cheap Denon receiver and use the Purple and gold discs and my music will be phenomenal. Does that mean that your high-end speaker cables and interconnects were a waste of money? How about the power cords? Should we be buying inexpensive cables and a cord and just stick the discs on them?

I am not saying they do not work. My guess is that most people who have commented have multiple tweaks in their system. How do you know what tweaks are making an impact? It would be interesting for someone to take all of the tweaks out of their system and see what it sounds like. Then add one tweak at a time with the same song and tell me when the law of diminishing returns takes place. I do not believe for one second that it is cumulative. I have 20 SR HFT's in my system. To be honest, I think they were a waste of money. The same with Schumans Resonators. Some tweaks just don't work in your system.


I am not a naysayer because I have upgraded fuses, cords, cables, footers etc. I will try these magic discs because they are only $200. In a year SR will come out with the Red and Blue version lol. It is a great marketing platform. Audiophiles are always in the pursuit of perfection. When will it end?

The easy answer is to make one change and listen to music one is very familiar with. At least, that's what I'm doing.

I'm having a mixed experience with these discs. I've yet to find a location where the purples are not destructive in one substantial way or another. I've liked the Gold's effects a lot more on a dac to powered speaker XLR run. They've enhanced the sound of most music in noticeable ways, but they've also have made some decently recorded music unlistenable. I haven't quite figured out the latter, but my sense is that one of their effects in this location is to add a tad of upper midrange glare. Until my preamp returns from an upgrade, my placement options are somewhat limited.

If I understand correctly from the SR site, the theory behind these discs is that they deal with the electrical and magnetic waves around cables that are believed to carry much of the immediate current. The problem is that the relationship between those waves and the placement of these discs is not established yet, so it becomes, or is at *this stage,* a wholly labor intensive trial and error process, i.e., experimental for the user. I'm not sure that I approve of charging retail for this.