Most people new to Synergistic Research will start with the HFT series or the Quantum Fuses as their gateway to the brand. Both are tremendous products that belie their size and cost to deliver major performance upgrades.
The Synergistic HFT webpage https://www.synergisticresearch.com/acoustics/passive/hft/ offers loads of information on the various types of HFT and they have solid guidance on how to go about deploying them.
Having set these up in a bunch of rooms over the years, my opinion is that HFTs are an absolute necessity to get full performance out of any high-end audio system and they are an incomparably great value. Everyone could benefit from them!
This posting will touch on a number of common questions those new to the product may have.
Do they work regardless of my room and equipment?
My firm opinion is that they work in any setting and whether you have other Synergistic items or not and regardless of whether you have other acoustic panels or not. There is no other product that does what they do to open up high frequencies and make your system and room sound more detailed and spacious than you ever thought it could, so these will fit in anywhere.
How many are needed?
That varies and depends on the extent to which your room and system need “a pick me up”. At one point I’ve had a very high number of them in my own room but then decreased the number as other substantial equipment upgrades occurred and as other Synergistic acoustic products were deployed (which for simplicity are not discussed in this posting).
Where to start?
A 10-pack of standard HFT is practically a given. I recommend not putting up all 10 at once before giving it a listen though. Take your time and put them up 1 or 2 at a time and listen to get a sense of what they do. While Synergistic’s placement guide is a good starting point, moving them a few inches this way or that is usually quite audible and a preferred placement will emerge. The 10-pack will liven up your room and if you take a few down to see how you miss them, you won’t be long be putting them back up.
Possible next steps?
The Speaker Kit is usually a great next step. As it bundles 3 types of HFT it’s a chance to see what each does. Before trying any on the speakers, you could try the 2.0 type as direct replacement for some standard HFT already in the room just to get a sense for how they are different. I’ve found the placement recommendation on the speaker is a solid way to start and again, you can tweak with it a bit to find your own optimal arrangement. You might be conservative and share one Speaker Kit across two speakers but full deployment of two kits is frequently going to be preferred. My view is that they make a speaker, even a great one, sound like a more realistic multidirectional sound sources. Transparency, soundstaging, and detail all substantially improve.
In a highly damped room, or if the system tends to be a bit on the damped side or the speakers have narrow dispersion, more HFTs will likely help, particularly the type 2.0 which have a punchier effect. With a 5-pack of the 2.0 type, to go along with the 10 regular HFT, you should get decent coverage of the room in general. Likewise, the Wide Angle types, 1 or 2 sets, can really extend the soundstage in all dimensions. Getting the locations right will increase system dynamics as well.
What if my room is not a simple rectangle and has other obstructions to the recommended placement?
Every real room I’ve worked with over the years has several departures from a plain rectangular one. I believe the more irregular the room, the more there is to gain from HFTs to restore a natural acoustic balance within them. Whether it’s windows, doorways, non-rectangular walls, or other irregularities, some creativity with HFTs near the problem spot can improve acoustic symmetry like nothing else can can.
Get A Consultation
There are an infinite number of ways to deploy HFTs. That may seem daunting but look at this as purely a positive. Unlike many other products, an array of HFTs is fully customizable to your unique needs and it can be adjusted and relocated to retune your room and to suit other the sonic traits of hardware changes that you may subsequently make.
Given a few minutes to understand your situation some recommendations and options can be offered to get you on your way. Island Audio has an extensive demo stock on hand and the experience to provide you with the support and flexibility you need you get great results you never knew were possible!
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