Synergistic Research Black Box Carbon

Updated Chassis & Resonator Array - Resonance, Controlled
The Black Box Carbon exhibits a new pinnacle of mechanical resonance control. SR approached a redesign of the internal resonator arrays hand-in-hand with improvements to the chassis. The research and exploration, inherited from chassis designs of the current components like the Voodoo music server / streamer and PowerCell 14 line conditioner, encouraged SR to continue experimenting with the combination of carbon fiber and aluminum. In its final design, the more rigid chassis is effective at dissipating mechanical vibration and retaining purity of the sound waves that interact and are projected by the internal resonators. Based on those improvements, tuning refinements were made to the internal resonator design and UEF technology material construction. The result is both positive and significant, eliminating any ringing that may have previously hindered additional performance, while working even more effectively with room resonances and harmonic resonant frequencies.

Bronze Contact Inserts - Performance, Stacked
Per the suggestion of one of SR's partners, SR started listening to Black Boxes stacked on each other, and SR witnessed greater, more positive impact. To continue along the leadership in resonance control, SR designed metal contact inserts after listening to about a dozen different contact point materials. SR found using bronze helped achieve the perfect balance of increased resolution and liquidity and the most realistic sonic representation.

Not only can you stack Black Box Carbons, but SR encourages you to stack an original Black Box on top of the Black Box Carbon. Both products compliment each other sonically, and if you already have one or more Black Box in your room, you’ll find you may not need to replace them with two Black Box Carbons to make a stack - a Black Box Carbon on the bottom and an original Black Box on top is nearly as effective!

Place Black Box equal distance between speakers, 3″ or more off the front wall.

Place Black Box off to either side behind speakers and in corners, 3″ or more off the walls. Please note! DO NOT PLACE DIRECTLY BEHIND SPEAKERS.

When installing 2 each Black Boxes place first unit equal distance between speakers, 3″ or more from the front wall. Place second unit on either side wall, slightly in front of listening position, 3″ or more from the wall.

Optional placement of second Black Box. Place Black Box 3″ of more from the rear wall behind your listening position.

When installing 3 each Black Boxes place first unit equal distance between speakers, 3″ or more from the front wall. Place second  and third unit in each back corner of the room, 3″ or more from the wall.

Optional placement with installing 3 each Black Boxes place first unit behind listening position, 3″ or more from the wall. Place second and third unit in each front corner of the room, 3″ or more from the wall.

Alan Sircom of Hifi+ writes (12/2022):
"...It becomes clear why the fine-tuning of placement matters almost the moment you put the Black Box in the room. Ignoring the bass for a moment, careful tuning snaps the soundstage into sharp focus, adding significantly to the air around instruments within that stage. We can’t ignore bass for too long as that ‘snapping’ into focus has a significant impact on soundstage solidity. Instruments that were seemingly ‘floating’ around the stage are now so ‘planted’ in 3D space, you’ll feel like watering the musicians. This is helped by a distinct sense of improved midrange clarity and even high-frequency extension. And it’s now that we get to that bass; the Black Box excels at defining the shape and texture of bass notes, whether they are bowed, plucked, struck or electronically derived. Bass notes don’t just ‘start’ and ‘stop’ with greater precision; the physical ‘thereness’ of bass sounds are so precise you will be more able to recognise the difference between both instruments (like a Fender Jazz and Fender Precision bass) and the different style of otherwise very similar players. And, as ever, it’s outstanding at portraying musical intent; letting the musical presentation of the audio equipment do what it does best..." 
CLICK HERE to read the entire review

Audio Bacon wrote (June 2018): "...while the Black Box seems like it’s advertised as a bass tuning and improvement device — it’s more than that.  It seems to build upon what the HFTs were doing and takes it up another notch. Wynton’s trumpet in the Feeling of Jazz rips seemingly out of nowhere and was a bit startling.  The bass is tighter and comes with focus and definition. The individual voices in Childish Gambino’s This is America track become more individualized, wider and more forward.  That track really shows off the impact of the Black Box.  You really get the sense of terror in the way the bass rolls a minute or so into the song, and the explosion towards the end of the song pops into you with a sense of dimension and velocity. Without the Black Box, the bass roll is a bit muddled and loses that sense of calamity and terror; and that pop whithers a bit like a confetti gun and less like a cannon..." CLICK HERE to check out the entire review

Mike Girardi, The StereoTimes, wrote:

"...there is no other room acoustic enhancement device that I know of that can transform your listening room in the way that the SR Black Box can deliver. Once you hear The Black Box and how it can affect the music and the listener, you’ll be hard pressed to take it out of your system..."

"...with The Black Box in my system, the bass response was clearly better in all ways but the magic really occurred in the midrange and high frequencies. The improvement in soundstage was undeniable with each recording displaying a greater sense of depth … the music sounded liberated in a way while percussion instruments displayed a faster transient response.  'Synergistic' is one word I would use to describe the combination of SR HFTs, Atmosphere, FEQ and Black Box working together in my listening room to eliminate the negative impact of my listening room. The Black Box is a must have component if you really want to hear your system at its full potential..." CHECK IT OUT

Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief, PFO, November 2015:
"...when the Black Box was added, well, damn me ears! The bass did seem to lock in, becoming more precise and more focused, all at the same time. We confirmed this by having Peter move the Black Box out (Rats! Bass improvement lost!) and back in again (Yes!). There was no doubt about the gains that the Black Box offered…that bloody thing had to stay..."
CHECK OUT the entire review.

The Synergistic Research Black Box dimensions are 9.5 inch x 9.5 inch x 8 inch (WxDxH) and the weight is 9 lbs.