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Synergistic Research Voodoo Music Streamer
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Synergistic Research Voodoo Music Streamer
The Voodoo Streamer Server began with the intention of overcoming the last significant barrier separating digital audio from the best turntables and reel-to-reel tape decks. Namely, a sense of compression where digital streaming sounds flatter and with high-frequency limitations when directly compared to the best LPs and tapes.
Product Highlights
- ROON Core and Bridge - employs Roon software, known for its user-friendly interface and customizable features
- EM Cell technology - developed and refined for our PowerCell line conditioners and Active Ground Block ground conditioners
- LPS Technology - utilizing EM Cell technologies, dramatically expands dynamics, sound-staging, and resolution as it improves smoothness and musicality
- ULF Technology - eliminates both digital compression and annoying high-frequency artifacts assumed to be intrinsic to the digital format
- Extensive Circuitry Comparison – we auditioned dozens of motherboards, CPU processors, and RAM options in double-blind testing, picking only the most resolved and musical options
- Low Mechanical Resonance Chassis Architecture- effectively eliminates vibrational feedback between the chassis and the internal circuits by using thick billets of CNC-machined aircraft aluminum and carbon fiber
- SR Master Fuse Included - developed expressly for full resolution, dynamics, sound-staging, speed, and impact without the need to create musicality as a system-wide fuse loom
To paraphrase Harry Pearson, “If you want to enjoy digital, don’t listen to analog.” And while we love digital, we couldn’t help but remember Harry’s words every time we performed back-to-back comparisons between our digital rig, especially when streaming on Qobuz and Tidal, and our state-of-the-art turntable and tape deck. So, for years we focused on engineering better digital and AC cables to bring our digital experience closer to what we hear when listening to analog.
This quest stretched over two decades, where we engineered some of the world’s highest-performance digital cables, but still, something was missing. So, we turned our attention to the last remaining links in the digital chain, namely, Ethernet Switches and Network Routers. And again, we took a massive leap forward. And again, something is missing. So, we set our sights on the last remaining component in the chain, the server/streamer.
Before the Voodoo project even began, we had amassed an arsenal of technologies that could be used to build the ultimate music streaming server. Namely, EM Cell technology developed and refined over the past fifteen years for our PowerCell line conditioners and Active Ground Block ground conditioners, LPS power supplies also utilizing EM Cell technologies in our Ethernet Switch and Network Router, and ULF bias technology to eliminate high-frequency distortion as first developed for our Galileo PowerCell line conditioner.
Serendipitously, we had just perfected these technologies as an ecosystem for digital applications through our UEF Ethernet Router and Ethernet Switch. So we developed the world’s most musically robust server architecture, where we listened to dozens of motherboards, CPU processors, and RAM options in double-blind testing, picking only the most resolved and musical options. We then paired our new Linux computer with our latest LPS technology, refined over the past decade, to power your new Voodoo Streamer/Server.
Finally, we adapted the ULF Bias technology from our state-of-the-art Galileo Ground Block and PowerCell line conditioners, which proved to be the ultimate game changer. By overcoming high-frequency noise all too common in digital circuits, we eliminated both digital compression and annoying high-frequency artifacts assumed to be intrinsic to the digital format. Now, instead of digital sounding somewhat veiled and with high-frequency hash, it is analog that sounds spatially compressed with high frequencies that lack extension and transparency.
Circuit, CPU, Memory and Storage
Core Harmony for Peak Performance
When crafting your new Voodoo Streamer/Server, we utilize the same low mechanical resonance chassis architecture as found in other SR Active Components like our Galileo Active Ground Block and UEF Ethernet Switch. We effectively eliminate vibrational feedback between the chassis and the internal circuits by using thick billets of CNC-machined aircraft aluminum and carbon fiber.
To ensure cool and quiet operation without noisy fans, the entire chassis acts as a massive heat sink to dissipate the considerable heat generated by its powerful Linux computer. Even the top screens are machined from bronze with a carbon fiber inlay to boost aesthetic beauty as it improves internal cooling, so your Voodoo server is as quiet and sexy as your system’s now nonexistent noise floor.
EM Cell Technology
Resonance Refined - Purity Defined
The Patented EM Cell technology, exclusive to Synergistic Research, stands as an integral feature of the Voodoo Music Streaming Server. Developed over 15 years, this patented technology has been refined through its application in a variety of our products, from power and ground conditioners to digital devices such as the UEF Ethernet Switch and UEF Network Router. In each implementation, this technology has evolved and advanced, demonstrating our commitment to andvancing audio performance.
Within your Voodoo Server, EM Cell’s condition its DC power supply and computer circuitry. This targeted action significantly reduces noise, allowing for a pristine sound that brings you closer to the heart of the music. Its proven efficacy in our other products has informed its integration into the Voodoo Server, ensuring a listening experience that’s both authentic and immersive.
FEQ Low Frequency Generator
Tuning the Pulse of Your Audio Experience
A ULF field generator integrated into Voodoo’s internal EM Cells is a specialized feature of the Voodoo Music Streaming Server, reflecting a technology Synergistic Research has been actively refining since 2013. Initially introduced in the original FEQ Acoustic Field Generator, it evolved into various SR active components, including all current PowerCell line conditioners and Active Ground Block ground conditioners.
Voodoo even allows you to tailor the soundstage and tonal character to your preference at the press of a button. Select one of three settings, Blue, Red, and Green, each with a unique ULF harmonic that cancels high-frequency noise from WiFi, Cell Phones, and ambient RF.
This adjustment capability allows for an expansive, detailed soundstage or a more intimate acoustic profile to your liking. Voodoo gives you the power to shape your musical environment, making you the orchestra’s conductor, the director of your system’s components.
Roon Core and Bridge
Navigating the Future of Digital Audio
The Voodoo Music Streaming Server employs Roon software, known for its user-friendly interface and customizable features, enhancing the overall music listening experience. Roon combines various music sources and provides enriched content like artist bios and lyrics, contributing to its exceptional sound quality. This server, with its integration of Roon, stands out for both its ease of use and the high-quality audio experience it offers.
For the highest possible digital audio quality, use one Voodoo unit as the core and another as the bridge, allowing each unit to focus on their respective functions separately. This setup enhances the overall performance by dedicating each server to a specific task within the digital audio playback process.