Synergistic Research PowerCell 8 SX Conditioner Review & Overview

Why the PowerCell 8 SX Changes Everything.

“Hey… you look like me.”

Those opening words from Elbow’s Weightless float in over a gentle but uneasy drum pattern, a swirl of instruments building into a moment of pure emotional weight. I’ve always loved this track—it’s beautiful on a car stereo, on cheap cans, on basically anything. But when it’s done right, when every instrument has space and every ghost note lands, it becomes something overwhelming.

Right now, I’m hearing it in a way I’ve only ever heard on $50k+ systems.

Drum timbre. Breath sounds. Chimes sitting in their own pockets of air. Every layer tells its part of the story without stepping on the others.

So what changed? Did I buy a new DAC? A new amp? New speakers?

Or—wait for it—is this where I say it was a cable?

Not this time. The difference maker was simple: the Synergistic Research PowerCell 8SX.

I’ve always believed that power and the room are the two most important, least understood bottlenecks in most systems. But even with that belief, I wasn’t prepared for the jump the 8SX created. 

This isn’t theory. I’ve now heard it in four totally different systems:

• Ted Denney’s listening room at Synergistic HQ
• Our listening room here at TMR
• A friend’s personal setup (which we will get into further down)
• And now, as I write this, in my headphone chain with a Bryston amp, Cambridge EXN100, and Abyss Diana Planar Magnetic Headphones / Audeze LCD 4Z Headphones. 

Ted Denney himself told me that the 8 SX competes with Niagara 7000-level conditioning, and every other conditioner in the SR lineup essentially competes with itself. After hearing it in multiple systems, I understand why.

So what’s the story behind this thing? What is it doing differently? And why does it change the experience so dramatically?

Let’s get into it.

What Is the PowerCell 8 SX? (And Why Power Matters More Than You Think)

The Synergistic Research PowerCell 8SX is a high-performance, non–current–limiting power conditioner designed to deliver precisely what your system needs: clean, stable power, delivered instantly, without adding noise or restricting dynamics. It doesn’t make your amplifier more powerful, it doesn’t add warmth or sparkle, and it doesn’t change the “tone” of your DAC. What it does is far simpler—and far more critical. It lets your gear operate at its full potential.

Power conditioners are a misunderstood category. Some people believe they don’t matter. Others say they make a slight difference. Some insist one conditioner works for every system. Read more on that here.

And then there’s the camp I fall into: Power does matter, and different systems benefit in various ways.

If you live in a 50–60-year-old house that’s been remodeled, added onto, or spliced together over decades, your gear is almost certainly not receiving clean, consistent power. In those environments, gear gets starved. Noise enters the chain. Dynamics flatten. Backgrounds lose their blackness. And your system becomes a slightly dulled version of what it could be.

That’s where the 8SX comes in.

Most power conditioners create minor improvements—quieter backgrounds, a bit more bass tightness, a little more separation. But the PowerCell 8SX feels different because it isn’t trying to “improve” your gear. It’s trying to get out of the way and deliver the power your system already needed in the first place.

Think of it like using a better fuel formula. Cleaner gas doesn’t magically turn your car into a Corvette, but it absolutely helps the engine perform the way it was designed.

The PowerCell 8SX follows the same logic.

It ensures your DAC, amp, streamer, and preamp receive:

• clean power
• consistent voltage
• faster transient response
• reduced noise floor

So while the effect varies from system to system, the goal is the same goal you should be seeking when looking for a power conditioner. Your gear simply performs as intended.

Now let’s talk about what it’s doing differently—and why the results are so dramatic.

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Real-World Listening Impressions

Power conditioning is one of those categories where specs and design philosophy only get you so far. What matters is how it behaves once it’s plugged into a real system, in a real home, with real listening habits. To get that perspective, I sat down with David Pew, who’s been living with the Synergistic Research PowerCell 8 SX in his own system for several months.

What system did you drop the PowerCell 8 SX into?

David: It went straight into my desktop system. Nothing exotic — a Cambridge Audio EVO 150 driving Totem Signature One speakers. The house itself is relatively new, so power quality is already decent, which actually made this a good test. Any changes weren’t coming from a bad baseline.

What did you notice first when you hit play?

David: The background got noticeably darker. That was the first thing. Even though I had an Audience power strip in there before, the noise floor dropped right away. Everything felt quieter, more settled.

There’s always some amount of noise riding on the line, even in newer homes, and the PowerCell made that very obvious once it was in place.

After living with it for a while, what stood out beyond that initial change?

David: What became more interesting over time was how it interacted with the rest of the system. I’m also using Synergistic Atmosphere SX Euphoria power cords and Atmosphere SX Euphoria speaker cables, and with Synergistic gear, the effects tend to stack.

The other big thing is tuning. I like a slightly more clinical presentation, so I’ve been running the PowerCell 8 SX in blue mode, which is their more detailed setting. Then I fine-tuned things with the tuning modules on the cables — silver on the power cords for detail, gold on the speaker cables to keep things from getting too lean.

It lets you shape the system without breaking anything.

Who do you think the PowerCell 8 SX is really for?

David: I’d say it’s for the intermediate audiophile. If you’ve got a massive system, eight outlets probably isn’t enough. But if you’re running a simpler setup — desktop system, smaller two-channel rig, two to five components — it’s a really strong fit.

It’s for someone who understands that clean power matters, but doesn’t want to spend ten grand to get there. You’re getting high-level performance without stepping into flagship pricing.

What kind of music made the differences most obvious?

David: I listen to a lot of blues, and that was where the red and blue modes really stood out. The album that made it click for me was Blue & Lonesome by The Rolling Stones.

I listened to it straight through in one setting, then again in the other, and then started switching between modes track to track. That was the moment I realized this wasn’t a typical power conditioner. It behaved differently.

Any other records that stood out over time?

David: A few, for sure.

• Blue & Lonesome stayed a reference because it showed tuning differences so clearly.
• The Rolling Stones’ debut album sounded great — very open and natural.
• And then Matchbox Twenty’s Yourself or Someone Like You. It’s a pretty raw recording, not heavily processed, and the lowered noise floor made all the little background details easier to follow.

Did anything surprise you as you spent more time with it?

David: How obvious the change was, honestly. Ted Denny makes a lot of bold claims, and I get why people are skeptical. But in this case, the engineering backs it up.

Power is the first Synergistic piece I’d tell people to hear. You notice it immediately. And being able to run power amplifiers without choking dynamics — without low bass notes changing character or thinning out — that’s not common. That’s where you really hear the thought behind the design.

Any final takeaway for someone considering the PowerCell 8 SX?

David: If you’re curious about Synergistic Research at all, start here. The PowerCell 8 SX shows you what they’re about right away. Once you hear what clean, non-current-limiting power does in your system, it’s hard not to wonder what the rest of the line can do.

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Who the PowerCell 8 SX Is For (And Who It Isn’t For)

After my own time with the 8SX, David’s experience reinforces something that’s easy to overlook with power products: you don’t need a crazy expensive system to hear meaningful gains. The PowerCell 8 SX didn’t fix a problem so much as reveal what was already there,  lowering noise, preserving dynamics, and giving the system room to breathe. From here, the real question becomes less about whether it works and more about who it makes the most sense for.

Best Systems for the 8 SX

• Low-noise, high-resolution systems
• Separates-based systems
• Streaming-forward systems
• Tube gear + speaker combos are sensitive to noise
• Homes with inconsistent or older wiring

Situations Where You’ll Hear the Biggest Difference When Using the Powercell 8 SX

• Apartment buildings
• Shared electrical circuits
• Old homes
• Systems with multiple switching power supplies

Systems That Won’t Benefit As Much

• Gear with built-in power regeneration
• Everything else will benefit. Period.

Key Features & Specifications (The Ones That Actually Matter)

• 8 outlets (non-current limiting)
• EM Cell technology
• Internal Ground Plane
• Active Shielding (if using SR power cables)

Closing Thoughts On Why the PowerCell 8 SX Is a System-Level Upgrade

I'll keep it short. You can keep chasing upgrades, but until you fix the one thing holding all your components back, you'll never hear their full potential. Fix the power. The Powercell 8SX is as close as you will ever find to a power conditioner that fits all scenarios. 

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