Synergistic Research Acoustic ART Tuning Bowls

Wayne Donnelly has posted a review of the Synergistic Research Acoustic ART (Analogue Room Treatment) system ($300-$1500 each) at Superior Audio.

His conclusions:

All of this improvement comes at a price, of course, and in my case the price is higher than usual. My two extra Magnetrons and one extra Bass Station take the retail price of my installation up to $4700. That is a lot of money for a tweak. But I don't regard the Acoustic ART as a tweak. It's a transformational upgrade to my audio listening. The magnitude of change it has delivered is more significant than I can imagine resulting from any similar expenditure in new hardware components or cables.

The prices of the Acoustic ART are what seem to bend a lot of people out of shape about it. I've seen this kind of reaction many times in the past. Around 15 years ago, when I first encountered and soon embraced Jack Bybee's quantum purification technology, the Internet was filled with self-appointed iconoclasts bent on exposing Jack's inventions as fraudulent. There are still Bybee naysayers, but most of that nonsense has quieted down as his technology has proved itself. But there are still plenty of complaints about the prices of his devices as well.

I've noted over the years that many audiophiles tend to be willing to spend big for big stuff. A few thousand for a preamp or an amplifier? OK. But high prices for little lightweight accessories? Outrageous! Add to that, there seem to be lots of audiophiles out there who don't think manufacturers are entitled to make a profit. A Jack Bybee or a Ted Denney, breaking new ground in audio technology, is investing considerable sums in research, failed prototypes, etc., and they are entitled to make a profit for the game-changing innovations they bring to market.

The other category of negative commentary I've seen on Acoustic ART is plain old derision. Something like, "are you kidding me? That's ridiculous!" I notice that almost all the most vitriolic responses to Acoustic ART — as with Bybee technology years ago — comes from people who have not actually heard the product in question, but simply 'know' that it can't possibly work. Such comments also typically attack the character and honesty of the "snake oil" designer.

I've always felt that one of my advantages as an audio reviewer is that I am not a trained engineer. When confronted with a new concept, an unusual product, I don't reject it out of hand because I didn't study it in engineering school. I try to approach anything new with an open mind and judge it by what I hear. That's what I've done here.

The Synergistic Research Acoustic ART system won a Superior Audio 2010 Product of the Year Award.

You can read the full review here (scroll to the bottom).