The biggest buzz word in audio right now is synergy. The definition we all seem to have similar general explanation. But when do you know that your system has hit that sweet spot of synergy?

its kind of hard to explain, but i know it when i hear it. we have a pair of Large Advent speakers and a Sansui 2000a receiver at work that has very good synergy. the components by themselves are ok but nothing special, together they make a system that sounds much better than it has any right to. i am always impressed when i listen to this setup.

I don't know if synergy has much to do with getting a good sound. Good value yes but getting goood sound seems to be a difference issue. I like the way my system sounds. Does that mean that the system has synergy or that all the components get along well. I do know what I want to do to get my system achieve a better top-to-bootom sound. When I get all of this stuff together and it sounds good, will the system have synergy then? In conclusion, I don't know if system synergy has more to do with value or getting the sound you want. Synergy really refers to generating something that is more than the sum of its parts. That's very subjective in the first place, and even more so in the world of audio.

thats exactly what i was trying to say.

I agree too, especially with the second part.

Very, very subjective. No absolute truths can be derived of anything audio related, particularly since we all hear differently.

My opinions will only be just that, my opinions, so will anybody else´s.

Jorge

I was using a newly refurbished Yamaha B-1 in my -*test*-('") system, with a Yamaha CDX-1100 CD player, Krell KRC-3 preamp, and Energy Veritas 2.4i speakers. By all rights this amp should have blown me away, but the sound was too bright for my taste. The same setup using a Yamaha B-2 sounded lovely, as it did with a Yamaha MX-2000, and an MX-1. I'm not sure if this is due to negative synergy, or break-in.

I don't find any subjectivity in this matter. How many times you've listen to an amp or a set of speakers and you'd make an opinion...after some weeks or even months you've heard that same amp or speakers and you asked yourself "is that the same amp (or speakers) i'd listen before" ? No way...!!!
It's no subjectivity that some elements in a hi-fi chain play better with some than with others. Almost like a marriage...
IMHO i find synergy the most important aspect in a hi-fi set, nowadays!
Synergy is in fact well known between us all, even has human beings. Please do not forget that the opposite of synergy is antagonism...

Synergy is opinion, no question about it. That is why I worded the question as when you know it's happened. In my own case it's when I lose track of everything and just listen. to the beauty of the music.

Well the synergy is there now. Matching the B-1/UC-1 with the C-1 is a terrific combination.

My answer to the question is:
When you go thru a series of replacement components,
and no other combination sounds as good as the
"sweet spot of synergy" config.

When my wife says "Wow, that sounds great!"