[Eduardo AAVM]

As we know this is the main goal behind much of Odyssey's and Klaus' philosophy, I think I have some knowledge but all the knowledge and experience here is enormous and very valuale for me, so I want to ask you all, mgalusha, marbles, Tyson, etc. and Klaus also, if he can type something about this, if there is a "xx points" guide to create a sinergestic (or sinergistic?) system ?

Where does one start ? What to do if only we can read the specs ? How to integrate a system from a "total" perspective instead of little bits of gear ? Or is this only a matter of listening trial and error ?

Thanks

[Marbles]

Where does one start ? What to do if only we can read the specs ? How to integrate a system from a "total" perspective instead ...

The first thing I do is read about the most bang for the dollar components.  If I think that say my source is the weakspot, I will research all the source's that are getting great internet buzz and discard those outside my price limits.

I will narrow my choices down to say two, then try them out making sure there is a return policy.  I will generally keep one IF it sounds better to me than the one I have.  If neither really sound about perfect to me, they both go back and I keep looking.

Same thing with cables, amps, speakers etc....

The best thing is just to try as many in your own system as possible.

This will not be as easy for you as most of the products I tried were from the USA, or had a facility in the USA.

[mgalusha]

This is a tough question Eduardo for several reasons, the main being that sometimes components that should work well together don't.

I recently had the opportunity to listen to a system using a Conrad Johson Premier 17LS driving an Edge M6m and some JM Lab speakers. I was very unimpressed, the bass was loose and boomy and the sound was lifeless and flat with very poor dynamics. We substituted a Rouge Magnum preamp for the CJ and the difference was stunning. There was no part of the system that was not much improved.

We then put a different amp in the system (an Usher I believe) and tried both the CJ and the Rouge preamps. Both sounded very good but in this configuration the CJ was superior. The thought occured that perhaps there was an impedance mismatch between the CJ and the Edge. A quick check of the manuals indicated that this was not so. For whatever reason the CJ sounded pretty bad when mated with the Edge, which sounded great when fed by the Rouge. I say all this to illustrate the point that even when componets should work well together there is sometimes no way to find out without actually giving it a try.

This probably doesn't help much.

Some common items for your list might be:

If the speakers of choice have significant impedance and phase changes and the amplifer does not have a fairly low output impedance you can be reasonably certain the frequency response of the amp will change with frequncy.

If the amp has a low or fairly low input impedance, say less than 10K ohms it may not be a good match with a tube line stage if the line stage has a fairly high output impedance, say > 1000 ohms or so.

If both the amp and preamp have a lot of gain, the volume control may be hair-trigger sensitive. Not so much a synergy issue as an operational one. Not being able to advance the volume past the 9:00 position and or not being able to set a low level easily for some nice background music detracts from the enjoyment of the system, as least IMO.

The converse is also true, having an amp with low gain and a preamp with no or low gain may not give one enough volume.

Hope this helps as a start.

mike

[satfrat]

This an excellent question Eduardo, one that I have thought of often. Is it all just a crapshoot where you hope n' pray that with a little research and a LOT of luck, your choices can create positive synergy? For many audiophiles, this is where all the fun is derived from. For others like myself, it's do or die. I neither have the resources to audition any equipment or the deep pockets to play merrygo round with monthly switching. This was one question that I had planned on asking Klaus about at NY HES next month. Frankly, I don't see a clear cut answer. To me, SYMERGY is just a word used to descibe a perfect blend of components in the right envirement. How is this accomplished??? Got a pair of dice? Regards, Robin

[Anton]

Hi, Eduardo, that is an excellent question and one that probably has no right answer.

Synergy has a lot to do with the emotional impact of whatever you are listening to in addition to other factors. I have heard music concerts through a table radio that have raised goosebumps and they are an experience which will never be repeated again. At that moment there is a synergy between the listener and the music that transcends the equipment. And for me that is the most important kind of synergy possible.

In terms of the synergy of an equipment, there are many factors to consider.

First, and for me foremost, is the room where the equipment will be located. Many persons make the mistake of buying enormous speakers and superpowerful amplifiers and then place the equipment in a small room. Then, they experience no refined bass, too boomy, no soundstage, glare, etc. The room is part of the equipment. It influences speaker behavior and response. Thus it is the first element to consider.

Some people work from the speakers towards the sources. That is, after considering the room, the first thing they consider are the speakers. Then they work their way upstream: speaker cables, amp, interconnects, preamp, sources. Others start at the sources and work their way downstream. I have seen excellent systems done either way.

After all that work, comes the real test. The equipment must be able to recreate the original musical experience and make you part of it. If you can feel the emotion of the musical experience and at the same time be able to satisfy the usual audio parameters (soundstage, clarity, speed, pace, definition, etc.) you may be able to say that the result is much more than the mere sum of its parts. You have a synergistic system.

But, this is very difficult to achieve. That is why we all keep changing parts of the system frequently. And sometimes we discover that something we have just abandoned provided an element of synergy in the system and the new one doesn't.

Hope this will contribute in a small manner to enrich the dialogue.

Happy listening!

[Eduardo AAVM]

Thank you very much guys it is really nice you share your experiences and approach into this subject and system integration, in general we are on the same ideas but I'll read with much attention your posts.

At this point well it seems that deeply and in general it depends on trial and error.