What does synergy mean?
Any preferred tonal character can, of course, be seen as a form of distortion if it isn't true to the original recording. Whether that bothers you or not is a personal thing, but I'm not sure how you can have low distortion AND a tonal character that is superimposed on to the music by the equipment.
Does this mean that you can take any system that doesn't have any obvious distortion (such as clipping) and use a graphic equalizer to adjust the tonal character until it has synergy?
If this isn't right why is it not right?
No. Like I said, depending on how you view hi-fi and the whole subjective/objective debate, 'good' synergy is a somewhat fluid concept. You can either view it as a question of whether the components chosen work well together electrically OR you can view synergy as a form of black magic that encapsulates the ability to combine components so that the whole performs above the sum of its parts. This may include the introduction of tonal aberrations, depending on your personal view of what makes a good sound.
I'm not stating where my views sit here, merely outlining the fact that so much of this is down to semantics and the context of an individual's overall approach to hi-fi. As such there is no chance that everybody will ever agree on this matter and there has to be some acceptance that 'good' synergy is impossible to define universally.
So if it's not just a case of tonal character and low distortion what else is there?
Steve, do you agree that one of the advantages of active speakers is that the manufacturer can closely match the characteristics of an amplifier with the speaker?
My interpretation of equipment synergy is when two components are put together in a system and for no obvious reason they perform much better than would be expected when they are combined but without any real technical explanation as to why.
While there may be no obvious technical explanation why certain components sound good together there must still be some logical scientic reason for why this happens. What I'm interested in undertanding what this technical explanation could be.
I agree that certain combinations of equipment can sound very good. What specifically about this sound is 'magical' though? Could it just be low distortion combined with a tonal character that the listener likes or is there some other quality?
If I new the answer to that question I would be far wealthier person that I am
If there was an obvious technical explanation then it could not be described synergy it would become logical .
Steve, do you agree that one of the advantages of active speakers is that the manufacturer can closely match the characteristics of an amplifier with the speaker?
Yes.
Any preferred tonal character can, of course, be seen as a form of distortion if it isn't true to the original recording. Whether that bothers you or not is a personal thing, but I'm not sure how you can have low distortion AND a tonal character that is superimposed on to the music by the equipment.
Does this mean that you can take any system that doesn't have any obvious distortion (such as clipping) and use a graphic equalizer to adjust the tonal character until it has synergy?
If this isn't right why is it not right?
No. Like I said, depending on how you view hi-fi and the whole subjective/objective debate, 'good' synergy is a somewhat fluid concept. You can either view it as a question of whether the components chosen work well together electrically OR you can view synergy as a form of black magic that encapsulates the ability to combine components so that the whole performs above the sum of its parts. This may include the introduction of tonal aberrations, depending on your personal view of what makes a good sound.
I'm not stating where my views sit here, merely outlining the fact that so much of this is down to semantics and the context of an individual's overall approach to hi-fi. As such there is no chance that everybody will ever agree on this matter and there has to be some acceptance that 'good' synergy is impossible to define universally.
So if it's not just a case of tonal character and low distortion what else is there?
Ultimately I think that IS the crux of synergy. You are defining what synergy is about, I am going one step further and outlining how hard it is to make a universal value judgement as to what 'good' synergy is.
Of course, the concept of synergy could be expanded beyond the choice of components to include interactions with the room - essentially the speaker/room interface. Then there is the synergy between the system, the room, and the listener and that listener's own particular hearing.
Steve, do you agree that one of the advantages of active speakers is that the manufacturer can closely match the characteristics of an amplifier with the speaker?
Yes.
So closely matching the characteristics of one component with another is a good thing?
I apologise to everyone if I'm coming accross as being awkward here.
Yes.
Yes.
So you're asking questions you already know the answer to...why, precisely?
I apologise to everyone if I'm coming accross as being awkward here.
I just believe that there's a logical scientific explanation as to why some components sound better together than others. Scientifically speaking what specifically about the sound is 'magic' when you get good synergy?
This is where you have to allow for the subjective. Surely 'magic' is diametrically opposed to anything objective, founded in science?
The truth is that one person's 'magic' might sound truly awful to another.
So you're asking questions you already know the answer to...why, precisely?
I just believe that there's a logical scientific explanation as to why some components sound better together than others. Scientifically speaking what specifically about the sound is 'magic' when you get good synergy?
Is it just a case of having low distortion and a tonal character that the listener likes or is there some other specific part of the sound that makes a difference?
I just believe that there's a logical scientific explanation as to why some components sound better together than others. Scientifically speaking what specifically about the sound is 'magic' when you get good synergy?
You seem to have a very 2D view of it all. Audio / sound quality / Hi Fi sound is far too multifactorial for a simple explanation and even if all the science is understood few of here would understand it.
Two types of synergy seem to exist here.
Electrical synergy, where the components work at their optimum
Sound synergy, where the components give the most satisfying listening experience
The two can be entirely independent of each other or one and the same, depending on tastes.
Two types of synergy seem to exist here.
Electrical synergy, where the components work at their optimum
Sound synergy, where the components give the most satisfying listening experience
The two can be entirely independent of each other or one and the same, depending on tastes.
May be another way to explain synergy to you is take you AVI to a friend's place and listen to it there. In all probability they should sound a little bit different than your home. That is the synergy of the equipment to the room they are in.
Extrapolating it to individual components is the same. If the AVIs have an analogue input, then borrow a DAC and connect it to your AVI to see how it is different, if it is different.
I am not sure what was your previous experience with HiFi equipment but if you had none and AVI is the first equipment you bought then it is even trickier to explain. It is like explaining to one of my friends who bought a Bose Dock as sales person told him Bose is the best. He has nothing else to compare and the sales person has his own reasons to recommend Bose but when I invited this friend to our home where he heard our main system as well as the Zeppelin Air, he understood what else is possible. He knows that there is more out there but he thinks his Bose dock is good enough for him which is only fair.. but I digress.
You need to step out and listen to more equipment, if not done, to know what synergy is.
And IMO, EQ is too powerful tool (and distortive in analogue domain) to address synergy. It is not impossible if there are let us say 32 band digital domain but it is more like a knife in the hands of a child, for lack of a better comparision.
My System |
HiFi: Oppo BDP-105 | Jolida JD-1501BRC | AG Strada | B&W 608 | Toshiba-46TL933G
HT: Sony BDP-S790 | Marantz SR6006 | Wharfedale DX-1 7.1 | Sony-55EX725