Black Box Carbon

The original Black Box was a revolutionary technology. In the early 2010s, tall and heavy Bass Traps were the only way to tame out of control low frequencies in a room. Awkward to place and visually obtrusive, these behemoths were only of moderate efficacy unless used in pairs or quads.

Enter the Black Box. A compact and square box elevated on elegant stiletto spikes, this was not your father's bass trap. The Black Box didn’t look like any other low-frequency mitigation device on the market, nor did it operate on the same principles. A fully passive device, the Black Box leveraged Synergistic's impressive knowledge of resonance control to develop a low-frequency mitigation device which used engineering and ingenuity instead of simply throwing mass at the problem.

Sonically neutral, natural and incredibly effective, the Black Box took the audio world by storm. Placing a Black Box in any room transformed the low frequencies in a way which no other device to date ever had.

Nestled inside the elegant aluminum chassis Synergistic had engineered a broad spectrum, low-frequency resonator array designed specifically to eliminate bass nodes and room modes. When strategically placed in the room, the Black Box eliminated bass nodes, reduced room modes and expanded the room’s ability to accurately portray low-frequency information and spatial content.

Working from the principle that all frequencies in the audible bandwidth are linked through harmonics, the original Black Box used a mathematically derived algorithm based on tuned sympathetic resonance to balance low frequencies within the room, and thus simultaneously balanced the mid-range and high frequencies.

For instance, correcting bass phase within the room at 20Hz aligns all the harmonics above it, i.e.  40Hz, 80Hz, 160Hz and so on. This is why correctly placing a single Black Box within a room generates such an immediate effect, it removes congestion across the audible frequency spectrum. This alignment tightens bass definition and performance, while simultaneously improving the room’s ability to preserve detail, and delineate more accurate sonic images and a more realistically proportioned soundstage.

The Black Box Carbon features significant improvements to the core concept first introduced by the original Black Box. First, Synergistic substantially reworked the mechanical resonance control of the chassis. By providing a more stable platform within the device, Synergistic found they could more finely tune the resonator and thus expand its capabilities.

Placing a Black Box Carbon in your room delivers audibly superior resolution, tighter and more textured bass, with an astonishingly open and natural presentation. To further enhance its capabilities, the Black Box Carbon is also optimized for stacking, which provides a more profound impact than might be expected. Stacking two Black Box Carbons is ideal, however, even stacking an older Black Box on top of the Black Box Carbon provides substantial improvement!

Working from the principle that all frequencies in the audible bandwidth are linked through harmonics, the original Black Box used a mathematically derived algorithm based on tuned sympathetic resonance to balance low frequencies within the room, and thus simultaneously balanced the mid-range and high frequencies.

For instance, correcting bass phase within the room at 20Hz aligns all the harmonics above it, i.e.  40Hz, 80Hz, 160Hz and so on. This is why correctly placing a single Black Box within a room generates such an immediate effect, it removes congestion across the audible frequency spectrum. This alignment tightens bass definition and performance, while simultaneously improving the room’s ability to preserve detail, and delineate more accurate sonic images and a more realistically proportioned soundstage.

The Black Box Carbon extends this principle even further, with optimizations to reduce the internal resonance of the Black Box Carbon as well as enhancements to the transducers themselves. The effect is that of focusing a lens, low frequencies become tighter, deeper with better impact, midrange focus and clarity become more life-like and palpable and the top octaves have effortless grace to them. The Black Box Carbon fulfills the promise of the original in ways its predecessor never dreamed possible.

When designing a box which will incorporate an acoustic resonator, controlling chassis resonance is paramount. Synergistic has always focused on resonance control, but gained tremendous experience when developing and building non-resonant chassis during the development of their Voodoo music server and PowerCell 14 line conditioner.

Working with a combination of carbon fiber and aluminum, Synergistic developed a very rigid chassis which is highly effective at dissipating mechanical vibration. This is critical to retaining the purity of the sonic waves with which the Black Box Carbon interacts. This allowed for far greater refinement to the performance of the resonators than would otherwise have been possible. This is why the Black Box Carbon is so effective.

Stacking a pair of Black Boxes vertically offers far greater performance than having two Black Boxes in separate parts of the room. If you’re lucky enough to have four Black Boxes, stacking them in pairs is even better than having four placed around the room!

The downside of stacking the original Black Box was the inevitable damage the stiletto spikes would inflict on the aluminum top, but Black Box Carbon is built to be stacked!

Embedded into the top of each Black Box Carbon is a Bronze spike cup. After exhaustive listening tests with over a dozen materials, Synergistic determined Bronze to be the ideal material, as it had the perfect blend of resolution and liquidity, plus it delivered the most realistic sonic presentation.

If you have one or two older Black Boxes, stack them on top of Black Box Carbons and hear what you’ve been missing!

Also, please check the placement images above for suggestions and ideas. These are merely suggestions as every room and every system is different, so feel free to experiment!

Black Box Carbon measures only 9.5″L X 9.5″W X 6″H (8″ when using the included Stiletto feet) and weighs about 8 lbs.
Shipped weight is about 12Lbs, due to the size of the box.