I think the best test of whether anything is "snake oil" which likely relies on confirmation bias with often unproven or made up benefits ("Quantum Tunneling?"), is the general acceptance in the audio community including manufacturers. If there’s a market to be exploited it will be, but the utter lack of popularity of most "magic" audio tweaks says it all...for example, most amp designers don’t care at all about "premium fuses" and you can bet they would if those fuses performed even a small fraction of the benefits hyperbole suggests. Better IC and speaker cables are accepted as an actual improvement over otherwise, and higher performance parts with closer tolerances are everywhere...but Shakti Stones, Mpingo discs, special clocks, pricey fuses, cable risers, etc., don’t get much traction because they obviously aren’t actually useful to the vast majority of careful listeners, and those listeners are often dismissed by self appointed experts as lacking hearing ability since they might not buy into the silliness.
Are Shakti Stones effective?
I have never used Shakti Stones and wonder if they really work and, if so, what do they do, I have used the Shakti Holographs and found them to magically focus the sound and tighten the soundstage. From what I have heard, even from Shakti, is that the stones make a significant difference is some usage and less in other. Has anyone used these and what do they do?