Do you buy into the whole "Synergy" thing?

[Tarheel_]

After 10 years of mixing and matching equipment (basically a hit or miss approach). I'm now wondering if these matching component systems have some validity..(whether it be a HTIB or a more expensive gear combo).

Case in point...i've butchered many a systems in my home..some good -- some not so.

Well, i bought a cheap Sony HTIB for my bedroom a few years back and am still amazed at the clarity along with the integration of the Sony sub. The whole system just sounds right and compliment each other so well.

I guess I'm wondering what folks have experienced while piecing together their own HT setup?

Do you find the best results/sound while mixing or going with a package?

[poppachubby]

My personal experience with H/T is somewhat limited.

I began with a really nice Harman Kardon 5.1 HTIB speaker set up. Of course, the upgrade it represented made it sound superb from my previous set up, which was a 2.1.

I bought a Sony AV receiver, which I still have today.

It didn't take too long to realise that although complementary, it was an extremely polite sound. Music was a real snooze too. I thought it was the Sony, but after my buddy brought over his super duper Cambridge, we knew it was the speakers.

I started with my mains of course. I swapped in quite a few pairs before settling. It spread from there. Today my HT sounds great for movies and music.

Where I am realising the most synergy is in my 2 channel system. I have had countless pieces of gear, cables and speakers in many combinations. Alot of experimenting to arrive where I am today, but it was certainly worth it. It's like being proud of a child as they grow up.

[JohnMichael]

I had synergy with a Sony ES cd player, Rotel integrated amp and a pair on NHT speakers. I thought the Rotel's channel was cutting out and so I bought a first generation Cambridge Audio 640A and the synergy was gone. Went through several changes and no synergy. Today I have synergy with the Marantz SA 8001, Krell s 300i and either the Monitor Audio RS6's or the Mo Fi OML 1's.

I also have to add that the Benz Micro and the Gram Amp 3 perform well together.

[Mr Peabody]

I defintely feel same brand separates or integrated and CD player usually yield better synergy than mixing and matching. Sometimes, as in JM's experience, you can get certain units to work well together but most manufacturers tend to have a sound they go for and it's designed into whatever they make so when they play together there's a consistency to the character throughout.

If your speakers in your main HT aren't timbre matched then what you hear in the Sony system could simply be the advantage of having timbre matched speakers. It makes a real difference.