Further Thoughts: Synergistic Research Tesla Apex Interconnects

Posted by: Neil Gader at 11:11 am, May 22nd, 2009

Perspective can be a rare commodity in a world where the latest “next best thing” always seems to grab the headlines. I wrote about the Synergistic Research Tesla Cables back in Issue 171 and was impressed with the entire line, from the midpriced Accelerator, upper-mid range Precision Reference to the lofty Apex. They had a common voice, a persuasive and balanced tonality that made listening a musical and utterly non-fatiguing endeavor. Truly what this hobby should be about. I’ve lived with the Apex in and out of my reference system over the last couple of years, it’s presence often depending on the system configuration or whether I was tasked with listening to some new cables. Call me lazy, but with cables I have to admit that I lack the obsession to constantly swap wire to and fro–there can be long stretches of time where I simply factor in or take for granted whatever wiring is currently linking up my system components. The last few weeks however I’ve been consciously reacquainting myself with the Apex, treating them like fresh review samples–as if I’d never heard them before.

This is all a long way of saying that the Synergistic Tesla Apex have truly stood the test of time–if anything they sound even better today than they did when I wrote the original review. Certainly break-in could be considered part of this reason. But the truth is that I’ve heard many new cables in the last few months and the Apex have actually grown in status by comparison.  On solo piano for example they have increased weight in the lower frequencies especially the upper bass region. There’s more soundboard information and inner detail along with an energy and dynamism and attack that rivals anything I’ve heard in my system. The treble also enjoys a sweetness and delicacy that I think is truly the product of hundreds of hours of additional playtime. Harmonics are more settled in with fundamentals and the timing and rhythms of music have aligned more precisely. And this was not always true. Earlier on there was a bit of treble constriction and whiteness that veiled the top octave a smidge. Not much but enough to distance it from the big boys on the block like the then Tara Omega. That artifact has disappeared. Apex has always seemed the most balanced of Synergistic cabling and that’s saying a lot for a wire company that has always embraced strict midrange values first and steered clear of phony tonal balances meant to hook the unwary novice listener. Not cheap but to these ears more of a value than ever before.
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