This paper presents an articulatory modeling of the alternation between Romanian diphthong [ea] and unstressed vowel [e], starting from the hypothesis that the representation of Romanian diphthongs is that of two vowels synchronously coordinated. Stimuli are created to examine the effect of this synchronous coordination in the absence of stress, and two perceptual experiments show that synchronously coordinated vowels [e] and [a] result in the percept of an [e]-like blended vowel – the same outcome as reported in Romanian phonological alternations.