My HiFi Cable Reference. Synergistic Research Foundation XL
By Steve Huff
It has been a few months since I acquired the Synergistic Research PowerCell SX12 power conditioner (my review), which is quite different from the others in the HiFi audio power game. Different can be good, and in this case, it was a home-run smash for my system and space. The finest power conditioner I have had here, as it does not add shine, bass, or warmth, but rather creates the environment for your gear, all of it, to perform at its all-out best. I am so impressed by the PowerCell that I knew I would have to delve further into the brand.
Synergistic Research is an interesting company with some very unique offerings for the audio community. Some of what they offer, some feel is “snake oil,” but so far I have not seen this in my experience with the PowerCell or the cables I am about to talk about. Rather, it has been quite the opposite.
Yeah, I now have a full loom of Foundation XL cables from SR, and this truly transformed my system, the sound, and added the final finishing touch. Yes, cables can offer a small change or a huge one, sometimes not for the better, but sometimes it can be a revelation. In this case, the full loom of cables, and I mean every cable in my system, being changed to Foundation XL was astonishing. Oh, and these cables are not thick and unruly, nor are they heavy. They are so easy to install and place. It is interesting that my favorite audio system cables in life have all been light and thin.
Cables of the Past
For the first 20 years of my audio life, from around age 17 to 37, I used very cheap cables. I did not believe a piece of wire could change or alter the sound in a way that would make it vastly “better.” Back then, most thought that cables did nothing, and the “great” cable of the day was made by Monster. It even came in a suitcase and cost a whopping $399, which I thought was insane back in the early 90s.
It took me 20 years before I started to explore serious cables in my system, and yeah, I did eventually try those Monster audiophile cables back then and disliked them immensely for a few reasons. But later on, when my system finally amped up in quality, I felt I should at least try some of the better stuff out there to see for myself.
Also, it is sad to see so many in this hobby trash things like cables as “snake oil” when they have never tried or experienced the product for themselves. I know why some do this, as it is all psychology, really, but I will not delve into the negativity that surrounds some audio products. I like to try as much as I can, to see for myself, stay positive, and if it is junk, I simply never mention it. I judge for myself before trashing any product.
Over the last 20 years, I have experimented with cables because I found that the better my setup, the more cables really mattered. As long as each piece was matched to the rest, I always heard a change with different cables. I mean, if I have a $10k amp, $12k speakers, and a $500 DAC, I would not bother upgrading cables until I had a DAC that matches the setup. Synergy is important as well, but when your system is sounding superb, and all is matched in quality, then adding new cables can really show you what that system can do, especially if you are currently using $20 wire from Best Buy and then upgrade to the good stuff.
Over the last 20 years, I have tested cables from many brands, too many to remember, but I always enjoyed and came back to, or went back to I should say, Nordost. After I experienced Valhalla speaker cables with Valhalla ICs, I was hooked. I never heard such an improvement in all areas, from bass to mids to treble and soundstage. Immersion is high with this set, and for the original retail price, heck, it should be. Back in the day when they were released, I knew of a guy who spent $30k wiring up his entire system with Valhalla. Yeah, that sounds ridiculous, but his system was otherworldly at the time, and those cables had something to do with it. I should know, I was there, and when he removed them and we placed in cheap copper cables that cost $30 for speaker cables and $20 for RCA cables, the sound quality was destroyed.
A high-end system with cheap cables really hinders the performance of your components.
While I had those Nordost Valhalla cables, I had a mishmash of others in the system, from various brands. Generic power cables, cheap digital cables, cheap Ethernet cables, and well, due to spending so much on the used Valhalla, I could not afford to upgrade the rest. I had great sound indeed, but I had no idea it could get so much better. It has, by removing those Nordost cables and going to a full loom, from power to digital to speaker to IC to Ethernet.
What I mean by “full loom,” for those who have never heard that term, is that every cable I have in use is from the same brand and lineup of cables. In this case, the Foundation XL line from Synergistic Research. I have a whole setup now to test, as SR wanted me to experience what a full loom would do for my setup, and they seemed confident it would best my Valhalla speaker and IC cables once the entire loom was in place.
What I Installed
When the box showed up, it included the following, all Foundation XL cables:
- 12-foot speaker cable. I love these, as they are thin, light, easy to maneuver, and come with four cables, as each line is separate, which is awesome. I refuse to ever go back to thick, heavy, hose-like speaker cables, as they can weigh down the cables, bend banana connectors, and pull at your amp and speaker connections. Lightweight is the way to go, and these are just that.
- 1.5-meter set of XLR cables, which are also well made, solid, and built to last.
- 1.5-meter set of RCA cables, same as above. Still light, easy to place, and easy to maneuver.
- 2-meter USB cable, same as above.
- Six power cables, 1.5 meters each. Every piece of gear, from streamer, amp, DAC, clock, switch, and whatever else, is powered by one of these, all plugged into the SR PowerCell 12SX.
- 1- and 2-meter Ethernet cables. Again, thin, easy to place, and yes, these sound different from the AudioQuest and Mad Scientist cables that I also have here.
- Two digital BNC cables for clock connection to streamer and switch.
All in all, this covers my entire setup, which is set up for streaming only.
What did I pull out and replace with the SR cables?
Before installing the SR cables, I pulled out the following:
- Nordost Valhalla Speaker Cables
- Nordost Valhalla XLR
- Puritan Audio XX Ultimate 3M Power Cables to amps
- Galion P400 Power Cables to everything else
- Generic Amazon $13 BNC cables for clock
- Mad Scientist White Magic Prime USB
- Mad Scientist Black Magic Ethernet
With the setup above, I have listened for months and months and loved what I got back from it all, even being a mishmash of brands. I did have the Mad Scientist White Magic RCA in, but three sets failed within three weeks, as they are not the best built, I mean, for swapping. After four swaps, they just broke. Sounded amazing, though. Anyway, I took all of this out. What happened?
The Difference
I do not need to make this complex at all. After I installed the Synergistic Research Foundation XL full loom, there was a transformation, and it was pretty drastic. The sound changed for the better with a much more spatial presentation, even more immersion, and even more refinement. The sound was just all-out deep, with more layers easily heard in the stage. It seemed as if the music all came together just right, and as a whole, it was just simply “final.” Yeah, there are much pricier cables up the line at SR, but these sit in that sweet spot, I feel, where you get the most bang for the buck. This is high-end sound indeed, and while I did not think my setup could get better for my room, this full loom proved that it could.
There is more extension up top, but it is silky and has some slight glow. Details emerge in a sweeter way as well, with better separation and more fluidity. It is a little more alive, whereas before, it was leaning more toward the warmer side. Now it is more neutral, but with body and soul. There is plenty of body here, by the way, but it is not bloated or overdone.
The System
- Burson Voyager mono amps
- ModWright KWH 225i
- Audio Mirror Wave DAC
- Imersiv D1 DAC
- Matrix NT-1 streamer
- Matrix SC-1 clock
- Matrix SS1 Pro switch
- SV Audio Gro speakers
- T+A Talis R330 speakers
- Fleetwood Helios speakers
This system truly saw huge gains just from switching the cables to a full loom of these Foundation XL cables. It also showed me that this is the way to go, as when all cables are the same, as in the same lineup, the sound benefits greatly. There is one common goal here, and it all works together to achieve that goal.
I was blown away by the Synergistic Research PowerCell 12SX, and it bettered all conditioners I have had in the past. I have always had power issues, and the PowerCell 12SX did the best here. As for cables, I have tried so many over the decades.
Analysis Plus – Nice, bang for the buck.
Nordost – High-end, but even Red Dawn is nice.
Transparent – Not my favorite, but it has been over a decade now since I tried their cables.
Tara Labs – An old favorite from 20+ years ago. I always lusted after these back in the day but had some of their more affordable options.
Kimber – Love the higher-end lineup, but it can get pricey.
Acoustic Zen – Never wowed me but solid cables.
Cardas – Love the quality, but on the thicker, heavier side. The connections started to bend from the weight and pulled at my amp connectors.
I have also tried Anti-Cables, Blue Jeans Cable, Monster cables back in the day, Morrow cables, and dozens of others in the more affordable range.
I once had two suitcases full of Nordost cables, all of them in the lineup from cheapest to Valhalla 2. It was so easy to hear the changes in what happened as I climbed the Nordost ladder, so I am a 100% cable believer, as I know what they can do in a well set up system. Again, I try for myself before I talk about anything, as that is important.
Cables can be just as important to your system as your amplifier is.
I feel this, but I always focused solely on speaker cables and interconnects. I just never could believe that power cables and digital cables could make a change, yet they do. If I switch out the SR Foundation XL USB for my White Magic, the sound smooths over, warms up a bit, and it is easy to hear. So yes, even USB cables can make a change. If I took this system now and swapped in generic cables, the sound would collapse. I know, as I just did this. This loom would be an expensive investment, although it is a one-and-done kind of thing.
I took out all of the Synergistic Research cables after two weeks and placed in the following:
- $39 specials from Amazon for speaker cables
- $49 XLR cables from Amazon
- Stock plain thin black power cables that came with the gear
- Generic BNC cables for clock, $20
- Generic USB from Amazon, $25
So now the cost has been reduced by several thousand dollars, and I start to listen. I cannot listen for long now, as I hear some harshness in the treble, a serious flattening of the soundstage, all depth has vanished, and the refinement has vanished. I am now using very expensive speakers and choking them out. The DAC is also being hindered. I last 20 minutes, where I normally can listen for six hours without any fatigue. Now I have fatigue, and it is not enjoyable anymore. Argh. YES, cables matter.
After that experiment, I placed in the SR cables, and ahhhhh, there it was. The full body, the sweet refinement, the layers to the stage, the depth, the height, and the immersion. Zero grunge or dirt. Amazing.
After some time with the Foundation XL cables, I can say with authority that these are going nowhere. This full loom has been an eye-opener for me, and while costly, so were my speakers, my amp, my streamer, and whatever else I have in. When you go to these levels, it is a must to finish it off with the right cables. No matter what you go with, a full loom will put that extra whipped cream and cherry on top, and you can rest easy knowing you have zero bottlenecks.
So exciting to have these in, and no, Synergistic Research, you cannot have them back. In fact, now I want to try more of what you offer. I did not even mention the tuning discs that come with these, as I cannot wrap my head around the concept. I have a very open mind and always have, but these discs. You simply stick them to the cables to tune the sound? Sounds like sci-fi, but they are serious about this here. I was sent a gold and purple disc for each cable set, and I tried them one night at 2 AM when all was quiet.
Gold is said to bring more warmth, flow, and richness. Purple is said to open up the soundstage even more, with more depth and a more open and holographic presentation. I started with gold on the speaker cables and purple on the others. Now, I could have sworn I heard a change, but was it in my head? It was not like going from my past cables to the new ones, but it was more subtle. I swear I hear it. When swapping to all gold, again, I hear more organic flow. With all purple, I hear what seems to be more electricity, more aliveness, and a more 3D approach. Now, it could be expectation bias due to the small changes, but I do not know. You should be the judge. Sounds nuts, right? Does not mean it is.
They also sent me some cable elevators, or what they call Carbon Elevators, to raise the speaker cables off of the floor. I used to use elevators back in the late 90s, and back then, they did nothing for me. It is said that if you use these, the sound will improve further.
Here is what SR says these will do: “We found the same improvements as all SR products using carbon fiber, namely, increased resolution, inner detail, and clarity. The included HFTs (Red Dot visible in photographs) use a new UEF compound first developed for SRX speaker cables and Purple fuses, which interacts with your cables’ EM fields for lifelike soundstage scale with enhanced dynamics and high-frequency extension.”
I have four on each side, and again, I cannot say 100% that these are doing something here, but I also cannot say they are not. When in, the soundstage does seem a tad more resolute and larger, but only slightly. Not as “wow” as the powerful 12SX or the Foundation XL loom, but tweaks are like that, and these elevators are a tweak. The cool thing is that Synergistic offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. Try them out, and send them back if they do not work for you. Me, I love it all, as the system finally sounds complete.
I have been working on this system, what I call my “retirement” system, for 40 years, lol. But mainly since November 2025. I knew it would take a while to get it finished, as I test so much gear, but now it is, and these cables helped me get this done and make it the best-sounding setup I have ever had in over 40 years. In the past, I have changed gear often, mostly due to reviews and my channel on YouTube, but I am “settling down” with my personal system and will be starting a new room and setup for reviews. The main “retirement system” will be used for ultimate comparisons and my enjoyment.
The Synergistic Research Foundation XL cables are just what this system needed to complete the audible picture, and I am proud to call the Foundation XL and PowerCell 12SX my reference for HiFi Huff. This company blew me away with its quality and technology. I love those who think outside of the box, as I do as well. I look forward to hearing more from Synergistic Research!
You can see more about these cables at the Synergistic Research website HERE.
