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Bologna OR Baloney How does this work? Please fee

Hello everybody once again, with my questions :)

Well I am curious about the Cable Elevators and how they work!
I have been into high end audio for almost 20 years now and only started believing about Power Cords around 5 years ago, I tried it and realized they made a difference unlike before that, I laughed about it.

I am one of those who don’t get roped in easily but can anyone out there tell me ( their own experience) how this industrial grade porcelain works, I would like to get some feedback before trying some out my self, my options are to place some of my high grade china ware I have collecting dust in the dining room than to buy something for $150 or maybe even using blocks or bricks or wood.

They say:

Cables come in contact with a wide variety of flooring surfaces. Each can have a different effect on cable behavior. By elevating cables off the floor you eliminate static charge and you lower capacitance. The net effect is lower noise and increased dynamics. Another factor is the dampening of the natural modulation inherent to all cable. That is an electrical signal passing through a conductor (cabling) produces a desirable mechanical resonance that is dampened when placed on the floor. This also constricts dynamics and low-level detail. Placing cables in free space would be ideal.

Any input is appreciated

Rapogee
rapogee
albertporter's avatar
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albertporter
4,949 posts
 
It depends a great deal on the materials covering the floor, what brand of cables, the amount of vibration (proximity) to speakers and if interconnect or speaker cables.

I have had improvement with the ceramic cable elevators with Nordost cable but it actually harms the sound of Purist Dominus. I can only guess its due to the design of the two cables.

This winds up like most things high end, the user should experiment and see if it helps their system. You can begin with crossed Popsicle sticks, Styrofoam cups or even small drink glasses from the pantry. If you get better sound then perhaps it's time to invest in a finished product that looks nicer.
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
Albert, here's a really inexpensive and effective (they can't fall over!) cable lifter solution:

Buy (as many as necessary) polypropylene foam children's pool noodle play floats in your choice of color (including grey if you look around).

They come in 6 foot lengths, round or hexagonal cross-section (about 5" dia.) and most have a hole in the middle.

Cut them into 4" sections and thread as many as necessary onto your speaker cable.

Much more effective (and attractive IMO) than the porcelain insulators, which BTW are available for pennies at most used building or electrical supply yards.
iamsuperking's avatar
iamsuperking
8 posts
 
The easiest and cheapest way to check for a difference is to buy a pack of styrofoam cups. use these to raise all of your cords/cables off the surface and listen for a week (to allow your brain to adjust to the sound), then remove the cups. it's my understanding that raising the cables keeps them from developing capacitance (sp?) over time.

I'm not sure vibration theory makes sense, wouldn't the vibration just travel up the elevators?
albertporter's avatar
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albertporter
4,949 posts
 
Nsgarch, great idea. I think I would prefer the look of gray noodles to most of the commercial versions.

Iamsuperking, perhaps the foam or ceramic touching the cables in limited spots effectively work as an isolation device, providing fewer entry points for vibration to enter the body of the cable. If the raised cable and isolation devices are in the direct path of the speaker (airborne vibration) then your correct, probably would not be any help, maybe even worse?

In my system, none of these isolation devices work. Perhaps it's my stone floor, the room treatment or the design of my cables.

As I said, go for a cheap test with any of the materials listed and see if it helps. If not, throw away the foam cups or put away the glassware and be happy you don't have more clutter in the floor.
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