IsoTek has launched an upgraded ‘EVO3’ Special Edition of the Syncro.

Originally launched in 2010, the Syncro is IsoTek’s most advanced mains cable which incorporates “unique performance-enhancing” electronics housed in an anti-resonant aluminium cylinder positioned part way down the cable’s length. This is essentially a ‘pre-filter’ designed to “synchronise the mains supply in order to promote a perfectly symmetrical sine wave, delivering significant sonic improvements when used with any hi-fi system”.

DC on the mains is what the Syncro aims to cure by rebalancing the AC sinewave.

IsoTek’s research has led them to the conclusion that mains electricity should be a pure sine wave of either 50Hz or 60Hz of correct voltage and good symmetry about the zero volts line, in order to power audio equipment with maximum effectiveness. “The Syncro was therefore designed to centre (or synchronise, hence the name) the mains sine wave on the zero volts line, thus removing any audible transformer hum or buzz from an amplifier”.

“Syncro is not a mains conditioner or filter in the accepted sense,” says Keith Martin, IsoTek’s founder and managing director. “It can be used on its own to power a single hi-fi component and will bring significant improvements if used in this way. However, it’s primarily designed as a ‘pre-filter’ device: for best results, plug the Syncro into a wall socket and use it to power an IsoTek mains conditioning unit. The Syncro takes the mains electricity supply and realigns its waveform prior to filtration of contaminants – RFI, EMI and so on – by the conditioning unit, which then feeds each hi-fi component and improves the performance of every link in the audio chain.”

The cable in the new EVO3 edition of the Syncro is now IsoTek’s EVO3 Optimum. It features three 3.0sqmm silver-plated ultra-pure OCC (Ohno Continuous Cast) copper conductors arranged in a  square-shaped configuration of 40 strands, each strand also being of square cross-section.

A Teflon FEP dielectric (insulation) is extruded over each conductor, providing a very low dielectric constant over a wide frequency range. The three conductors are given a slight rotational twist to aid RFI and EMI rejection, and are then surrounded by IsoTek’s cotton filler. The whole construction is then double shielded by first enclosing it in a Mylar wrap before applying an active OFC copper shield. A durable, heat-resistant PVC outer jacket finished the cable off.

The cable is terminated by hand using IsoTek’s audiophile grade 24-carat gold plated connectors.

Total cable length including central cylinder 2.2m and priced at £1,195 (including VAT).