[woodsyi]

That's very tempting  but I am thinking passive or hybrid to go with my tube x-over. 

I guess I am still not there (synergy), since I am drooling over every piece of gear being mentioned on this thread.   

[Affordable$$Audio]

Jeff is trying to see if the adage, "you can't take it with you" applies to audio equipment and the pearly gates with the ACT2.

[TONEPUB]

The ACT 2 will probably get passed on to my daughter.  Considering my 30 year old CJ PV-1 still works with all of those marginal capacitors, the ACT 2 with all those teflons should go 50 years as long as you can still find the tubes!  I've already ratholed a few sets...

Woodsyl...

If you can put the $$ together, that Callisto is amazing.  I believe they are going to raise the price to about 16K on a new one and I was going to sell mine (with a fresh set of tubes) for $6750 and that would include boxing, shipping (custom crates) Insurance and paypal....

You will never get a deal on one of these like this again.  The Callisto signatures normally have the four main output caps swiched over to teflon and mine has all 16 swapped, done by Jim White at Aesthetix, so it wasn't a hack job, along with a few other upgrades while he had the hood up!

[woodsyi]

Jeff man,

That is absolutely a fabulous deal and I am drooling. 

BUT I can't do it. 

If I sold a few things lying around, I can swing the money, but what am I going to play with then?  I know some of you say we, in the hobby, are forever trying to reach the audio Nirvana by putting together a reference system that one can get lost in.  Just like what this thread is all about.

I, on the other hand, am new at being an audiophool.  I haven't been there and done that.  I am still at a point where I want to try new things and enjoy different sounds I get from different combinations.  Perhaps, years down the road I will regret not taking this deal.  But I am an audio playa at the moment.  I kind of want to date around, sample the ware, you know.  I don't want to get married to Callisto (beauty that she is and I bet she puts out  aa) at this time because I haven't sowed my wild oats just yet.  And she may put an end to my philandering days.  

The bad part about all this fooling around is that I really don't get to taste the best of the best in one world class system, but I am having fun dating all different ladies who are showing me good times.  AC has some beauties that needs to be discovered and enjoyed.  I have always liked the pretty ingenue types more than the aknowledged beauty queens anyway. 

BTW, I haven't broken up with anyone either.  Each one keeps house in different rooms except one couple who share a room.   You say synergy, I am still looking; right now, I have to go scratch my sin-urge to listen to some more beauties. 

[Thebiker]

Synergistically speaking, when you make that "last" change, you start the music and just sit there with a big silly grin,  you are there.  Touch nothing else, start another system if you must tinker; that's why I have four 2 channel systems in the house.  Two of my systems do that to me, it's not about how expensive, it's about the whole thing coming together....audio nirvana. 

It would take a large technology leap to get me to even consider a change.

[ToddArthur]

I had never given much thought to synergy, that is until I started listening to a couple of friend's Naim systems.  What became apparent especially after comparing them with other systems is that when you had Naim components mixing and matching with other manufacturer's products didn't usually work out well.  Naim products are designed to really sound best when used together.  At the time I was using a Rogue 88 amplifier with an Audio Research SP16 preamp, I sounded OK but did not sound as good as I thought it should.  Next I tried a Cary Rocket 88 R amp in the system and although it sounded better, it really required a preamp with more gain than the SP16 puts out to sound it's best.  So I splurged and purchased a Audio Research VS110 amp to compliment the SP16, it made a huge difference, the two components were designed to work together and they do so magnificently!  That is not to say that well selected individual components couldn't sound as good, it would just require some hard work to try and attain the same results.  For me once your amplification, the heart and soul of your system has "synergy" it is easier to swap source components, cables, speakers, etc. and really "hear" what changes you have made.

[Telstar]

When 1+1 makes 3 instead of 2

[Zero]

To simply my earlier answer; its when the pants fly off.   

[nrenter]

I think these subjective definitions of synergy are, well...far too subjective. It's like when most people think they are above-average drivers (statistically, it just can't happen). Just because your system sounds good, doesn't mean you've achieved synergy. It just means that your system sounds good.

I think that synergy has to do with compatible execution of design principles. For example, time and phase coherent speakers (like Green Mountain Audio) are a synergistic match with source components that also respect the time domain through zero-feedback design (like Ayre). It's also no surprise that there is synergy between  Ayre amps and Ayre source components, as both have fully-balanced designs and it it recommended to use balanced connections between them.

Like an earlier poster said, there is synergy between certain tone arms and cartridges, because they have compatible execution of design principles.

- Nicholas

[jimdgoulding]

When your sensibiliies light up, when your consciousness approves, when you quit pacing to your player.