"An overview of Synergistic Research's product line will find something from a continuum of 'mild' to 'wild'. The divide is probably most noticeable between products in the signal chain – like the PowerCell SX tested here – and those outside (like the brand's Acoustic Dots). In fact, if you dig a little deeper, they are all part of the same developmental Unified Energy Field concept, and those who 'get' Synergistic Research will just counter that some struggle to intuit the company's whole systemic concept and just stay with the parts connected to the hardware. There are a lot of parallels between Synergistic Research and those making an ever-more intricate system approach to sound reproduction; it's that Synergistic Research goes deeper down the rabbit hole than most.

The PowerCell SX power conditioner features conditioning and filtration technologies drawn down from the company's no-longer-available flagship Galileo SX PowerCell. This means six active electromagnetic cells fed by the Galileo SX's power supply. These cells are improved over previous editions (trickle-down from the Galileo SX once again) and are a good source of power filtration (almost four times beefier than its predecessor) and EMI/RFI suppression.

That's not all If filtration, interference suppression and the consequent noise floor lowering were the only roles allocated to the PowerCell SX, it would still be relevant. But this is just the start. However, things get a little more 'out there' in Synergistic Research's classic style after this. First, it uses the company's Orange Capacitors and Purple Duplex power inlets. Then it adds field generators, bringing the PowerCell SX in line with the company's other UEF-based line. However, 24k Gold UEF circuits are drawn from the Galileo SX this time. That brings a next-gen level of fine-tuning to the PowerCell SX.

From here, the PowerCell SX adds a Schumann Resonance Generator to power and bias its active EM cells. A who in the what now? Schumann Resonances are low-frequency electromagnetic waves, caused by lightning discharges creating resonance between the surface of the earth and the ionosphere. Estimates say there are about 2,000 thunderstorms on Earth at any moment, and the EM resonance they create makes a set of spectrum peaks at 7.83Hz, with harmonics up to 33.8Hz. This Schumann Resonance has been dubbed the Earth's 'heartbeat', and the frequency is also generated in the PowerCell SX.

There is also provision to ground the PowerCell SX to a Synergistic Research Active Ground Block without using a power outlet. You also get a back-lit, semi-transparent power meter on the front panel. This is similar to the Ghost Meters used by Audio Research, but this one lacks the glowing tubes behind the glass. Still, it looks great!

Determining whether using the Schumann Resonance Generator and the like adds anything tangible beyond the PowerCell SX's intrinsic performance as a good conditioner is a bit of a tough call. If you get what Synergistic Research does, these are core elements in building a superior-sounding system. You'll know then, that the PowerCell SX and all its component parts result from extensive blind listening tests by Ted Denney and the Synergistic Research team. As a result, you'll consider the PowerCell SX as a core part of a Synergistic Research approach to system optimisation. If not, you are still left with a good-sounding conditioner.

Foundation or not? I am using the PowerCell SX in either an entirely non-Synergistic Research treated system or at most one with the Foundation SX cables (tested in Issue 217) and the Black Box bass resonator (tested in Issue 214) in the system. As a result, I will separate the PowerCell SX from its additional field-effect claims, as much as possible. As they are intrinsic to the properties of the PowerCell SX, that's a big ask, but at least I am trying not to place it in an entirely sympathetic system. Nor, for that matter, will I place it in an entirely unsympathetic system (such as mixing Synergistic and Shunyata, as they are like the Sharks and Jets of brands with 'Research' in the name, but with less dancing).

The PowerCell SX on its own does a lot for a system. Sure, it has the 'none more black' dark backgrounds and low noise presentation found in many good conditioners, and it leaves the sound in a good dynamic and rhythmic place, as befits some of the best in 'best for conditioners and filters. The 'first, do no harm' maxim is honoured surprisingly infrequently with power products, as many lean out the dynamic shading as they clean up power chow. The non-current-limiting PowerCell SX is one of the rare exceptions, and for that alone, it gets into the top tier and deserves high praise.

Where the PowerCell SX begins to step beyond 'high praise' is its ability to correctly deal with tonal densities of a note, the raw vibration that ensues, and to separate one from another. This gives the music a sense of harmonic and timbral structure that is often robbed by the juice and not fixed in many conditioners.

I made a rookie error here; I mistakenly thought the PowerCell SX was boosting the size and depth of the soundstage. However, on closer listening, it was more than a combination of better silences between the notes and the PowerCell SX's ability to tease out the structure of the music gave the impression of greater soundstage depth and width. That said, there was a feeling that music was unleashed from the cabinets more when the system was harnessed to the PowerCell SX.

Joie de vivre Most of all, however, the PowerCell SX simply brings out the joie de vivre in a recording. In making the track more engaging, it makes it more impassioned... no matter the music.

Now, back to the Synergistic Research concept album. Not only does the PowerCell SX work in that context, I'd argue it should be the beachhead for the Synergistic invasion. It brings a sense of order to even the least chaotic power, and that makes it hard to put back in its box."