April 2025

World Premiere Review!
Synergistic Research PowerCell 14 Power Conditioner Review
Raising the performance of audiophile gear you plug into it.
Review By Rick Becker

  The naysayers on internet forums will have a "hey"-day with this review. They complain about reviewers who proclaim that each new product they review is better than the last one. Well, I'm here to plead "guilty" as this is the third power conditioner I've reviewed in the past seven months, along with an incredible 650 photos and 59,000 words in the reviews of the Toronto Audiofest 2024 and Capital Audiofest 2024. Each power conditioner was better than the last, as well as significantly more expensive. Let me give you an overview in case you haven't been following along.

My longstanding power conditioner, since July 2017 when the review was published by Enjoy the Music.com, had been the Synergistic PowerCell 8 UEF SE with an Atmosphere Level 2 power cord, a unit that sold for about $2000 at the time. Then, in November 2022 I did the World Premiere review of the Audience Hidden Treasure In-Wall AC Power Cable and High Definition Wall Receptacle (duplex outlet), further upgrading my AC power supply. I had long been lusting for a better power conditioner when Synergistic Research announced the PowerCell 8 SX and we published the World Premiere of that in August 2024. At $4,000 it was a league above the original PowerCell 8 and I awarded it a Blue Note Award for 2024.

Shortly thereafter, I reviewed the then new Furutech NCF Power Vault, Project V1 Power Cable, and AC Duplex Wall Ensemble — a power conditioner that is twice as expensive as the Synergistic PowerCell 8 SX with a power cord that was seven times as expensive as the Synergistic power cord (when bundled with the power conditioner.) Synergistic likes to bundle an appropriate power cord with each PowerCell and offers power cord upgrades at very attractive bundled prices as a value-added incentive. In my experience upgrading a power cord to a power conditioner adds sound quality to the entire system and is usually worth it — up to a point. That point being either the level of power cords you currently have installed in your system or the higher level you aspire to.

The Furutech NCF Power Vault took me deep into high-end territory and I was thinking very seriously about buying the review sample, although the $10,00 power cord was not a good value in the context of my system. Out of curiosity, I was comparing the Furutech with similarly priced Synergistic Research power conditioners when I noticed the recently announced PowerCell 14 with much of the technology of the yet-to-be-introduced flagship, the SRX PowerCell. The PowerCell 14, at $14,000, was considerably more expensive than the Furutech and far more than the PowerCell 8 SX. It also looked to contain even more leading-edge technology. A little research showed me a review had not been published. Back in my retail furniture days people never complained when I sold them more quality than they expected, so applying that mantra, I gave Andy Wiederspahn a call to see if I could hear what "more quality" might sound like. It was "game on."

I was still slugging it out with my Audiofest reports and a review of the LessLoss Giant Steps footers at the time. Without the use of AI, I managed to get the Furutech review out for the November issue and finished the Toronto Audiofest report the day before I drove down to Rockville MD for CAF. The PowerCell 14 arrived on my doorstep on Friday, right as I was visiting Ted Denney and Andy at the show. My wife rolled the large box into the house.

Andy Wiederspahn showcasing Synergistic Research PowerCells

Ted and Andy (seen above) were premiering the forthcoming SRX PowerCell in the rooms they share with Scott Walker Audio, a premiere Synergistic dealer with shops in Anaheim CA, and the Dallas/Fort Worth area in TX. Andy gave me the rundown on the two power conditioners.

Immediately noticeable were the much larger Power Cells encased in carbon fiber tubes. The material folded up inside is much wider and longer than in the PowerCell 8 SX. The SRX version contains 16 of these larger cells while the PowerCell 14 contains seven. To give you an idea of the relative electromagnetic capacity of these three SR PowerCells, the 8 SX has 1096 square centimeters of the Gen 2 SRX electromagnetic cell area, the PowerCell 14 has 5187 square centimeters, and the SRX unit jumps up to a whopping 17,340 square centimeters. This material stores energy that can be used on dynamic peaks, delivering relative levels of additional current. As great as the differences are between the 8 SX and the PowerCell 14, I never sensed any clipping with my low-powered SET amps or my 100W (8 Ohms) AGD GaNFET monoblocks — admittedly, not ultra-high-current amps, but they are what I love.

The SRX PowerCell ($65k) is actually two separate power conditioners, each with its own SRX XL power cable (retail, $26k/pr) so you will need at least two outlets at the end of your dedicated line. The PowerCell 14 comes with a 5ft Atmosphere SX Euphoria PowerCell Power Cable (retail $3,895) which is the next level up from the power cords I use. The circuit boards of both power conditioners are identical but the SRX gets two of them in keeping with the theme of two separate power conditioners in one box. The SRX gets twenty outlets while the PowerCell 14 gets fourteen.

With the SRX, the idea is to keep digital and analog on separate built-in power conditioners while on the PowerCell 14, there are three isolated circuits. Two outlets are for high-current amplifiers on the first bank, while six outlets on each of the other two banks can be used for either digital or analog components to keep them separated. While I was able to connect all my main components to the PowerCell 8 SX, I was grateful for additional outlets for bi-amping and subwoofers which occasionally come my way. Having separate circuits for analog and digital components likely contributed to the higher sound quality I experienced with the PowerCell 14. Other differences include solid silver wiring in the SRX while the PowerCell 14 gets silver-plated copper.

All three of the Synergistic power conditioners here are equipped with 32A Neutrik IEC AC inlets which have become the standard AC inlet for all Synergistic PowerCells except the models One and Two which have captive power cords. This works very nicely with my 30A Audience Hidden Treasure In-Wall dedicated line. No sonic congestion and no accidental power cord disconnects. All three PowerCells mentioned here also have an external banana plug ground connection for Synergistic's active and passive Ground Blocks. I currently use the original Active Ground Block and find it produces a noticeably lower noise floor. It has been further improved with the current SX version.

Inside the PowerCell 14, the power supply and the ULF (Ultra-Low-Frequency) generator are improved with the UEF Ground Plane that was developed for the flagship Galileo SX PowerCell to further lower background noise and improve stereo / immersive soundscaping. I pirated a ground cable from my Synergistic Tranquility Pod to connect the UEF Ground Plane in the PowerCell 14 directly to the ground wire of a dedicated AC line. The improvements were readily apparent. The opening bars of Eric Clapton and BB King on "3 O'Clock Blues" were startling and the noise floor was subtly lowered. Routing the ground cable to an Active Ground Block or a dedicated ground rod driven into the soil outside your home would likely be even more advantageous.

Serious grounding technologies have become more popular as audiophiles strive for the blackest background for their music. Don't expect them to be a transformative device, but they are valuable in achieving the highest potential of your components.

Whistles And Bells
In the whistles and bells department, the PowerCell 14 has a button on the upper right faceplate that cycles through three different settings for a Dual Channel, Dual Setting SRX ULF (ultra-low-frequency) Generator that is also found on the other two power conditioners. (The PowerCell 8 SX has only two settings.) A fourth setting turns the ULF generator off if you don't care for it. I'll get back to this in a minute. Finally, on the back right upper corner (where it is very easy to locate by touch) there is another button that cycles through a more than ample number of light settings to illuminate the electronic village within. This allows you to match various illumination themes of major component manufacturers or plunge the inner landscape into darkness. Windows on the face and top of the unit make the internal construction highly visible.

I overheard Ted explain to a young couple looking at a banner featuring the unit, that he did this for connoisseurs who, like the collectors of fine watches, like to look inside and see the mechanism. I found it cast just the right amount of light to safely walk across the room when listening in the dark. But if you don't care for it, like the ULF generator, the internal lighting is defeatable.

The chassis is machined from aircraft-grade aluminum and the top plate that supports the top window is carbon fiber, a material well-known for its vibration-absorbing capability. The window itself is Plexiglas, so I covered it with a piece of leather to keep it from getting scratched in the review process. If you use a microfiber cloth to dust your components, be sure to cut off the sewn edges that are bound with a thread that can scratch the Plexiglas or put swirl marks on polished aluminum chassis. While I think of it, the footers are short carbon fiber cylinders though I ultimately bypassed these with an aftermarket solution which I will get to later. The unit never gets warm to the touch, so ventilation is not an issue.

At shows, the intriguing Synergistic Research PowerCells are frequently placed in front of component racks where they can be prominently displayed. In my situation, with a relatively tall rack of components and 5' power cords, I stacked the various power conditioners being reviewed on top of a tube monoblock beside the rack so all the power cords could reach it.

The seven duplex outlets are Purple 2.0 versions that seemed to have a much better grip than the original Purple duplex that I reviewed when it was first introduced. It takes an extra push to seat an AC connector, fully. The heavy-ish Synergistic Atmosphere Excite XS power cords caused the AC connector to droop slightly when the cable dangled a foot and a half to the floor behind the unit but they never pulled out of the duplex. To prevent the drooping you could place a strip of 1" X 3" wood on the shelf directly behind the unit as I did with the PowerCell 8 SX. If your power cords lie directly on the floor or are supported with cable risers, drooping will not be an issue.

Red, Blue, Green, And Off
By using the ULF Generators Ted Denney has created a variety of sonic signatures from which to choose. They are not unlike the FEQ Carbon ($1695) or the Atmosphere Infinity ($3595 w/Red ATM, Atmosphere Tuning Module, a $495 value). The Atmosphere Infinity can be supplemented with any number of Satellites, either XL (52" tall) or Mini (14" tall) for $1195 each. The Satellites are daisy-chained to the master unit with an Ethernet cable. I'm told the power conditioners work synergistically with both the FEQ Carbon and the Atmosphere towers, but if you are averse to having towers spread about your room, the PowerCell 14 is a way to incorporate the sonic effects inconspicuously and without the additional cost.

The changes I heard from the different colored sonic signatures replicated most of the comments and the YouTube provided on their website, though the colors have changed since the YouTube was made. Whether you agree about which color is best for which type of music, is open for debate as this can be very subjective.

The Blue mode is the default mode whenever the PowerCell 14 is turned on. Note this is the color of just the round button in the upper right corner of the faceplate and does not correlate to the color of the interior of the unit which is controlled separately from the back of the unit. Usually, I left the PowerCell on full-time, turning it off only when swapping out components. The unit requires a few days of break-in, just as most electronics do in this hobby and it took me a few minutes to initially recognize the sonic signatures of the different colors. Sampling various types of music on my compilation CD made this process pretty simple. Once everything is broken in and you've identified the signatures, it still takes a few seconds for it to kick in when you change from one to another. It's not like flipping a light switch but rather like a vacuum tube coming to life. But by the time you get back to your listening chair, you should be locked into the change you've made.

The Blue mode came across most like a multi-mic recording with an expansive soundstage and more pinpointed and holographic images of the performers. I could sense the space between the musicians in small to medium-sized groups. With large orchestral music, the groups of individual instruments were more easily heard and located on the stage. The soundstage of well-recorded classical music provided more layering and depth with the Blue mode. It was like being seated up close to the proscenium where you were subjected to more direct than reflected sound and could easily identify where each instrument was positioned. This closeness was also manifested in somewhat greater transparency and a greater sense of being in the presence of the musicians, especially on live recordings. Likewise, as you would expect from a product in this price range, the resolution was as outstanding as the recording would permit. The timbre of instruments was brilliant on great recordings and along with the great macro and micro dynamics provided a "you are there" experience.

The Red mode also provided a "you are there" experience with classical music, except you were seated much further back in the theater. The music was more homogenized as if it were recorded with a purist two-mike recording technique that captured more reflected sound that slightly smeared the acoustic image. The front soundscape was further recessed and lacked the greater sense of depth of the Blue mode. I could bring the orchestra closer by simply turning the volume up, but the integrated image with both direct and reflected sound remained. The macro-dynamics remained strong, but the micro-dynamics were a little lost.

The Green mode was a lot like the Blue, except the singers and musicians were more forward on the stage. I didn't notice any increase in the bass as was mentioned on the website but the treble seemed to roll off slightly — something I am more prone to notice with my aging ears. The separation of musicians and singers on the stage and their holographic image was very much like the Blue mode. I felt like I was sitting closer to the stage, which I normally cherish, but I kept reverting to the Blue where the superb detail of cymbals, brushes, and violins with the more present treble lured me into the music, making the whole experience more involving.

Presence with the music is an element I cherish, along with resolution and transparency. Presence is the end product of a lot of variables — probably most of them. Think dynamics, inner detail, timbre, shading, and proximity to the soundstage. The result is that the musical image reaches out from behind the plane of the speakers all the way to my ears with a continuous sense of reality. The Synergistic Vibratron goes a long way toward bringing that image forward, but the sound from the speakers has to be excellent to begin with. In lesser systems, the music is confined behind the plane of the speakers and the reality of the recording venue fails to break through that plane to reach the listener. The music is ‘back there' behind the speakers and not in the room in front of the speakers. The PowerCell 14 brought most of my music right into the room with me. I could play it softer than normal because of the greater resolution and transparency, and I could rock the joint because it was so clean and dynamic. With some listening sessions lasting several hours, I never tired or became irritated unless the recording was really bad — and there is an easy cure for that.

But wait! I almost forgot to mention the "Off" position! There are guys out there who think you shouldn't need a power conditioner because the expensive gear should be designed to filter out all the nasties in the first place. And others bemoan the use of any kind of Schumann resonator because the earth's resonance keeps shifting. All those whistles and bells are just colorations, they scream. Well, Ted Denney has not forgotten you, gentlemen. After the Green position comes the "Off" position that takes all that frosting off the cake. I did my due diligence and tried it….briefly. It was kind of like going from color TV to black and white. The resolution remained pretty good, but the orchestra backed further away and the soundstage lost depth. My emotional connection with the music fell close to zero.

When my good audio buddy Tom came for a visit I thought he might like the Off position, given he is an engineer and is initially skeptical of every new tweak I loan him to try. But no, he liked the Blue mode the best, too.

More Cowbell
Over the course of thirty years, I have tried a lot of tweaks — many of them from the mind of Ted Denney. His UEF (Uniform Energy Field) concept is explained in depth on their website. It includes a wide variety of products ranging from the Electromagnetic Cells in the power conditioners, to little doobies to stick on the walls, speakers, and even your tonearm. Then there are standing items like the FEQ, the Atmosphere towers, and the infamous Vibratron. Whether by design or coincidence, these products are said to work in concert, underscoring the name of the company, Synergistic Research. I've tried many of them and found most to be of significant benefit as well as significant value. At this point, I'm probably in danger of being called a fanboy.

But Ted Denney is not the only wizard in the night sky. I've explored components from LessLoss in Lithuania where Louis Motek has developed technologies that are very effective in sucking the EMI/RFI out of my listening room. Holger Stein of Stein Music in Germany is another one. I've yet to review any of his products but rooms at shows with his speakers and tweaks have sounded awfully good. And products from a new company, A.R.T., seem to hold some promise. Such competition is healthy as it validates the entire category even if the various technologies differ. A rising tide will raise all ships as the saying goes and these tweaks can make your music float.

Most recently for Enjoy the Music.com, I've reviewed the Giant Steps footers from LessLoss in the January 2025 issue. Unlike the original Stillpoints footers I covered in a world premiere review in 2003, the Giant Steps go far beyond the mechanical reduction of vibration featured with most footers. They incorporate much of the effect of their BlackGround and BlackGround for Speakers boxes — lowering the noise floor and creating a more holographic sense of space in the recordings. I still had these footers in my system when I first completed my review of the PowerCell 14.

At that point, I realized most folks don't have Giant Steps in their rigs and feared my findings may have been grossly colored by their presence in the rig. I decided to remove them and start over. Since the effect of the LessLoss Giant Steps and BlackGround devices takes about three days to build up and as long to dissipate when they are removed, this delayed me even further. I also felt compelled to reinstall the Giant Steps for additional verification of changes wrought by each component.

As it turned out each component contributed more of the same, making them very synergistic. One amplified the other, which got me wondering about the effect of placing a set of Giant Steps under the PowerCell 14 itself. The Giant Steps are most effective under source components so I removed the set under my Backert Labs preamp and placed them under the PowerCell. The rig blossomed and I was sucked into the music more than ever before as the effect of the Giant Steps was now spread throughout the entire rig through the PowerCell 14. Louis Motek will be delighted to read this.

As I thought about it, the result of placing the Giant Steps under the PowerCell 14 should come as no surprise to Ted Denney. At shows, he typically places the power conditioners on an amp stand with one of his Tranquility Carbon Bases directly under the PowerCell. The Tranquility Carbon Bases (and Tranquility Carbon Pods) are an active combination of several Synergistic Research technologies that need to be connected to an AC line. It is an entirely different animal in terms of technology, physical application, and cost but I expect the results to be similar in quality if not also in magnitude. I thought about trying my original Tranquility Pod under the PowerCell 14, but the new Tranquility Pod Carbon is vastly improved and any observations would likely be misleading.

A little more exploring on the Synergistic website brought me to the ATM (Atmosphere Tuning Module) used atop the Atmosphere Infinity tower causing me to wonder what effect they might have on top of the PowerCell 14. So many toys; so little time.

Value
Fourteen thousand dollars ($14,000) is a lot of money for a power conditioner, though Synergistic Research offers the Galileo SX ($28,000) and the flagship SRX ($65,000) above it. In comparing these three, the PowerCell 14 and the SRX have the latest technology. The SRX goes several steps further with the advantage of separate conditioners for digital and analog components plus better power cords and enough outlets for a much more complex system. Most of us will never need to go there. Don't forget the PowerCell 8 SX at a much lower price for those who find the PowerCell 14 beyond their needs or means. There is plenty to appreciate there at a real-world price.

At Capital Audiofest 2024 last November I had one of my most memorable listening experiences that brought me to tears — not sobbing out loud, but quietly rolling down my cheek. The music was an audiophile pressing of Ricki Lee Jones' first album and the rig was comprised of the SAT turntable, VAC electronics, and the Acora flagship VRC speakers ($218,000) — bringing the total to north of $500,000. Cabling was by Cardas Audio and their Nautilus power strips with passive RFI / EMI protection were used. I have no arguments with the cost of that rig though I'm sure I will never own anything in it.

I'm happy to say that my rig is fundamentally similar with a wall-mounted turntable, tube amplification, and now, Acora QRC speakers that cost a small fraction of the gorgeous flagship model. The monoblocks I primarily used in this review were the Manley Mahi that I reviewed back in 2003. I had taken them out of mothballs and dusted them off with the intention of selling them. When I plugged them in to make sure they still worked I was astonished by how good they sounded. Of course, the rest of my rig has been seriously upgraded since those days and the price is now $6500 — still, far less than the VAC amps at Capital. Most of my cabling is Synergistic Research Atmosphere Excite SX and the PowerCell 14 has certainly taken my solid, mid-level rig to an all-time high.

The bottom line here is I took out my garage sale 33 rpm version of Ricki Lee Jones' eponymous album and in the comfort of my listening chair found those same tears rolling down my cheeks. No, I'm not selling listening chairs anymore, and I'm not saying my rig is as exquisite as the one at Capital Audiofest 2024, but damn if I'm not connecting with my music in a much deeper way than with the two power conditioners I've recently reviewed. Therein lies the value.

Summary
One of the most important lessons that has evolved over my audiophile journey here at Enjoy the Music.com is the importance of quality electricity. I'm lucky to live in the suburbs with buried cables and a moderately new substation nearby. I'm also lucky to begin my system right at the electrical panel in my basement with a world-class 30 Ampere dedicated line. In the listening room, I've stepped up over the years through multiple duplex outlets with increasing sound quality. Likewise with multiple looms of power cables, fuses, interconnects, and speaker cables. Almost always increasing in price, but never venturing into the realm of the outrageous — though a few purchases have seemed that way at the time.

My extensive exposure to products at audio shows has enabled me to choose carefully and spend wisely, not turning over products at a rapid pace. Power conditioners have lagged behind in my rig until recently when I reviewed three since last August. I certainly wasn't expecting that. Each took a significant price jump and delivered significant value in return. Choosing is a matter of finding your comfort zone and on occasion, stepping a bit beyond it if it is likely to be a product you are willing to live with for a long time.

Synergistic Research has been a very prolific company with an outstanding reputation for innovation. It is easy to give a very high recommendation for the PowerCell 14 here at Enjoy the Music.com based on its performance alone. It has brought my system to a level comparable to systems with components that cost far more than mine. That's a key point — it raises the performance of everything you plug into it. Add in the build quality to the likely longevity it will serve you and the value escalates impressively. Suddenly, I don't feel I need that $20,000 preamp, that $30,000 power amp, or those $100,000 speakers. What's that? You say you have those components already? Well, good for you! You'll be in for a real treat.

Specifications
Type: Solid-state power conditioner
Aircraft Aluminum and carbon fiber chassis.
All 10 AWG Silver Matrix point-to-point discrete wiring
Fourteen Purple 2.0 UEF Outlets (Two stage Quantum Treatment)
Three Isolated Outlet Banks
One High-Current Isolated Outlet Bank
Galileo SX ULF Generator
UEF: Graphene treatment throughout the unit
Internal "Active" linear power supply for biasing EM Cells 
Two each SR Power Transformers
Seven Second Generation, SRX Folded EM Cells
Five each SR Quantum Capacitors in EM Cell power supply and ULF field generator
Galileo SX Ground Plane
5187 sq/cm Gen 2 SRX Electromagnetic Cell Area
Internal Active UEF EM Horizontal Plane Cell Area: 387 square centimeters Flat EM Cell
Two Internal Active Second Gen SRX UEF EM Folded Carbon Fiber Cell Area: 709.67 square centimeters total
Connector Input: One Neutrik 32 Ampere PowerCon
99.995% Pure Silver Ground Strap with connection port for SR Active Ground Block
Voltage and current Rating: Input rating US: 20 Ampere / 125 Volt
Input Rating International (EU/AU/UK): 16 Ampere / 250 Volt
Front and Top view window with 12 color options
Weight: 28 lbs.
Dimensions: 5.2" x 17.5 x 14.2" (HxWxD)
USA Version: Rating is limited by the USA Outlet rating of 20 Ampere / 125 Volt
Price: $13,995 for 110 Volt
         $14,495 for 230 Volt 
Included five-foot Atmosphere SX Euphoria PowerCell Power Cable: $3,895
(Bundled power cable upgrades are available.)

Manufacturer
Synergistic Research Inc.
11208 Young River Ave.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708

Voice: (949) 476-0000
Website: SynergisticResearch.com