[morphie]

So, let's talk about synergy.

What is your opinion of synergy? How do you achieve perfect synergy?

Personally, I think synergy is about finding the sound that most pleases your ear, factor which imho does not depend on how much money you put on your setup necessarily, but in how well you pick the different units in order for them at work at their best with each other.

That's simply said, but very hard to achieve. Audio gear's sound signatures vary alot from one another, and coupling a very expensive headphone with a very expensive amp may not always be the best solution.

Here I find myself listening to Led Zeppelin out of my DAC-1's headphone out and loving it more than out of my Headroom Home. Yikes! will you say, fear not, for my opinion of Headroom amps has not diminished one bit. However, the Headroom Home has a "smooth" sound signature but deeper, more upfront bass than the dac's headphone out. The dac-1's headphone out however, gives a fast and accurate sound while keeping the "in-your-face" feeling.

I tried a few other rock bands, such as The Police or Dire Straits, Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult, Jethro Tull, etc... and prefered the dac's headphone out for each recordings.

I then switched to Jazz, and indeed, the amp did its job damn well. Every instrument just sounds better with the dac+amp combo.

All this to come down to a simple conclusion, my Headroom Home is, for the synergy I feel is suitable for rock listening, not a good unit to use. However, for Jazz, I couldn't do without.

Meaning is, before you buy stuff on the internet when youve only read reviews, AUDITION them! People's opinions about sound quality are all very subjective, to their own interpretation of the sound theyre hearing. Don't go wasting your money on a very expensive unit just because everybody says it sounds great - try it first, with your own setup if possible, with the music you like if possible, then decide wether its a worthy upgrade.

Let's hear some opinions

 

[Wil]

Well it's true, system synergy is what is the MOST impt, imho.

Doesnt matter if u have the most expensive source, Amp and Cans. If they dont match, it all goes to the dumps.

Take for example, my 325i's. I love them but others couldnt stand them, same goes for my previous 125s ( King of Brightness, anyone?

) My coupling of the 325 with tubes and a fast, transparent Interconnect has been my ticket to audio nirvana. before that, when i was using solid state, my 125s sounded sterile, bright and harsh. After switching to tubes, the highs got tamed and it was much warmer and lively.

Was listening to Clapton and Eagles on my 325i and boy.....was i smiling...ha.

Before i got my 325is i was using mostly the Beyer 880s. Now i use them mostly for Jazz and Classical. The 880s' relaxed nature simply doesnt cut it for rock/blues/metal, then again, the 325i is alittle too upfront and too intimate for Jazz and classical ( i believe these genres require "space" and perhaps a little detachment [ but not in a bad way ] in the music, the 880s provide the soundstage, neutrality and naturalness across the board ).

So i guess there must be a synergy in relation to source/amp/headphone and synergy in relation to the genre of music as well,

my 2 cents..

 

[joelongwood]

I've been a firm believer in the synergy of components for quite some time now, particularly headphone/amp. Examples I've experienced are numerous: CD3000/EMP, RS-1/RA-1, and K1000/RKV are the ones I've been aware of the longest, but ones I've recently discovered include the Ety ER-6i/Pocketamp V2 and the Shure E2c/CHA47.
Rather than audition before buying, I've been fortunate to be able to just get them and then play around to see where the best synergy is.

 

[morphie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joelongwood I've been a firm believer in the synergy of components for quite some time now, particularly headphone/amp. Examples I've experienced are numerous: CD3000/EMP, RS-1/RA-1, and K1000/RKV are the ones I've been aware of the longest, but ones I've recently discovered include the Ety ER-6i/Pocketamp V2 and the Shure E2c/CHA47. Rather than audition before buying, I've been fortunate to be able to just get them and then play around to see where the best synergy is.

Yes, if you have the money for it thats of course the most fun option

 

[mrkangpae]

Synergy is fantastic once you find it. Before that, it's a pain.

Synergy is not really the art of not wasting your money. My wallet has lost a lot of weight to shipping and return shipping fees to find synergy.

 

[10068]

Don't forget the art of rolling in the synergy scene. Tube and opamp rolling that is. Absolutely crucial

IMHO tube rolling makes a pretty big difference.

I have a question for people, do you believe it's possible to have only one system? Because my ideal goal is to have one system for everything. I don't want my "rock system" and "techno system" and "chillout system" that's just time-consuming

I will probably crack eventually, as I have with everything else on this site, but at the moment I really don't want to have multiple rigs. That just seems to be taking the whole audio thing a bit too far...

 

[morphie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrkangpae Synergy is fantastic once you find it. Before that, it's a pain. Synergy is not really the art of not wasting your money. My wallet has lost a lot of weight to shipping and return shipping fees to find synergy.

it can be if you do things the right way (ie: AUDITION stuff) which most people dont do... thus i make such a thread

 

[10068]

auditioning stuff can be hard. or impossible. depending on circumstances. i would rather buy off educated guesses than to have to wait to audition everything. waiting sucks.

BTW, the more you have been here, and the more you've heard, and the more you get to know the people, the more these "silly subjective opinions" can be filtered and actually become highly useful. eventually i believe it's possible to get a pretty good idea of how something sounds without hearing it.

still not as good as hearing it, but eh. people "blind buy" other products all the time. get over it

 

[morphie]

Bah dont encourage them

I'm just saying, you can as easily make friend with someone here, or attend a meet, and audition stuff, than waste money on alot of gear in order to find the perfect one for you, and I dont think you will disagree with me when I say that NOONE on these forums has yet been completely satisfied with their gear's sound without changing anything in it...

 

[hentai]

i think synergy is far more important for speaker set up than headphone set up. My brother has bought a budget hi fi setup and complained thats its sounds too bright, later he bought a pre amp as his elac speaker needs more power , the sound becomes brighter still , he's clueless about speaker set up , just buy whatever he thinks its good and combined them hoping they sound good , in the end? my mini compo sounds more balanced than his hi fi.

 

[10068]

Quote:

Originally Posted by morphie Bah dont encourage them I'm just saying, you can as easily make friend with someone here, or attend a meet, and audition stuff, than waste money on alot of gear in order to find the perfect one for you, and I dont think you will disagree with me when I say that NOONE on these forums has yet been completely satisfied with their gear's sound without changing anything in it...

Yeah, that's true. Had I never started the "Hey let me audition your RS-1" thread, I may never have known that I love the RS-1!!!

Then again... I wanted to audition them because I was pretty sure I would like them.

So like I said, with a keen mind and patience, you really can make educated purchases without auditioning stuff.

 

[Glod]

I am a believer too. Not very hard to be one, if you ask me.

I think it is very difficult to get it right if you have a source, or some other component early in the chain, which is not linaer or has other traits, by adding compensating elements afterwards.

Mind you, there are headphone amp manufacurers who offers tailored solutions to certain headphones, at least.

 

[Jahn]

The way I see it, the most efficient thing to do is to stretch that wallet as far as it can go for the best possible source(or amp, or can, depends what team you are on) that fits your needs/preferences. Then, build a rig around it, that is scalable to where it performs at the limit- not overperform(pricey) or underperform(waste of cash).

For instance, if I have an ipod, and i don't see myself moving from an ipod ever, it's a waste of cash to get even a $300 HD650. I'd be perfectly happy using a used SR225 for $150 at home with the ipod, with a little portable amp to help out as a bonus.

If I get a EMU sound card, now I'm thinking desktop. Meaning, I can shell out for a nice juicy home amp. I would go up to, hmm, a $1400 PS-1 tops as a can for such a rig.

Meridian CDP? Cary Tube Amp? Qualia? That kind of thing is not in my range, so I wouldn't even bother buying ICs that would be deserving of any of the components of such a rig. Heck, some ICs out there are worth more than my entire home rig right now lol.

 

[morphsci]

I think the synergy of a system (or the non-linear interaction of system components) is vastly under appreciated. One of the reasons I like headphones is that it is much easier to own a whole bevy of headphones and mix and match with different music and amps. Much easier (and less expensive) than with speaker based systems to explore those interactions.

 

[morphie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn The way I see it, the most efficient thing to do is to stretch that wallet as far as it can go for the best possible source(or amp, or can, depends what team you are on) that fits your needs/preferences. Then, build a rig around it, that is scalable to where it performs at the limit- not overperform(pricey) or underperform(waste of cash). For instance, if I have an ipod, and i don't see myself moving from an ipod ever, it's a waste of cash to get even a $300 HD650. I'd be perfectly happy using a used SR225 for $150 at home with the ipod, with a little portable amp to help out as a bonus. If I get a EMU sound card, now I'm thinking desktop. Meaning, I can shell out for a nice juicy home amp. I would go up to, hmm, a $1400 PS-1 tops as a can for such a rig. Meridian CDP? Cary Tube Amp? Qualia? That kind of thing is not in my range, so I wouldn't even bother buying ICs that would be deserving of any of the components of such a rig. Heck, some ICs out there are worth more than my entire home rig right now lol.

Good point. Expensive ICs for mid-fi gear are pretty much overkill