My second impression of the Sort Kones is that they are as impressive as advertised. I was told to use a duet vocal CD to demo and specifically listen to the seperation of the vocals. I have the CD The Priests that is perfect because it's an excellent recording and great music, but I've had the thought that it was difficult to distinctly hear the individual voices due to the tight harmony. I heard things tonight that I hadn't heard before.
My plan is to leave the kones in for a few days to get use to them and then see how much I miss them once removed. I seem to realize negatives easier than positives. |
When I swap things like cables in my system I try not to make any snap judgments. The placebo effect is too strong. After a few weeks of listening though, I seem notice the differences, both negative and positive, which I believe to be real.
One of my test tracks is Jane Siberry's Calling All Angels which is on her cd titled When I Was A Boy. On this track she does a beautiful duet with kd Lang. When I hear the two women side by side I know things are working, and this doesn't happen all the time. |
I think I'm sold on the Sort Kones. I just spent some time listening to four specific songs with the Sort Kones, then without and now again with. It's difficult to describe the difference other than to say that something big is missing when I take them out. I would compare the difference to what I heard in the $2,000 Nordost speaker cables I listened to compared to the $7 ones I took in to represent the hardware store. I think my $180 plus tax for the Sort Kones is a much better investment.
I guess the best description is would be to quote two things I've heard different saleman at the store say.
(1) You can hear farther into the music.
(2) The seperation in the voices is much more clear and distinct.
It give the effect of smoothing the sound make it another step closer to the wonderful vinyl sound and also makes the music sound like it's coming from somewhere beyond the wall.
I don't really know much of the audio jargon yet, so that's the best I can do. |
Mceljo, you should also try the Audioprism Ground Controls on your speakers. |
Which kones did you buy? Thanks. |
2nd that on Ozzy's suggestion for Audio Prism ground control |
I got the AC kones. They are the 2nd step up and the only ones I've seen in the store.
I asked an electrical engineer friend of mine about the ground controls and he actually thought the concept was pretty sound other than some of their specifics were absolute BS. His biggest concern was that the product didn't look big enough to peform the function they were intended to do.
He commented that based on the advertisements alone he'd probably choose them over the Sort Kones. I'm pretty certain that he'll approve of the Sort Kones once he gets a chance to listen. |
Mceljo, I agree completely with you about the Sort Kones. I have the aluminum steel, aluminum ceramic and the Bronze (the titanium are stupidly expensive).
Do you have yours pointed with the narrower end on the component? I had originally placed the narrow end downward,onto the platform the equipment was on, and thought it good until I realized the ambience was gone. I went to Nordost's site, saw that the narrow end is supposed to be against the component, changed it and was pretty surprised that it sounded better.
These are excellent devices, but Nordost's pricing is somewhat expensive, as it usually is.... |
I have mine big end down, I wouldn't have guessed it would be possible to do it any other way.
I've only had two people come over to see if they could hear a difference and one heard no difference and his girlfriend thought she could hear some differences, but wasn't convinced that the kones always made for a positive difference. I think it was simply a recognition of the music itself and she wasn't really hearing anything related to the equipment. I couldn't hear much difference that day either. Sitting on the opposite end of the couch is almost like turning headphones around for changing what you hear.
I have one other friend that I expect to be able to hear a difference if anyone can. |
How tall are the Sort Kones? |
A couple of inches I would guess. |
I like Snow Kones.
Cherry is my favorite. |
mjelco, usually cones fit with the wide part under the component and the spikes downward. The Sort Kones, however, are not cones, so they don't follow that rule. The Goldmund cones, which I have, are also a pyramid-type design, but I don't think Nordost's design was intended to drain the vibration out of the component in the same way.
I just listened to the Nutcracker Suite, one by the Kirov, I think. Hadn't heard it in a year or so. Was astounded by how pure it sounds. Never sounded that way before, was always a bit thick in the bass. Not anymore.
I'm using Hurricanes, Nordost Tyr interconnects, Shunyata Andromeda speaker cable, First Sound preamp and Nola Elite speakers right now with an Arcam CD player. Excellent sonics, but more to the point, the lines of instruments -- and instrumental groups -- make more sense. I'm simply hearing the music more clearly and distinctly. In other words, the music just makes more sense, which means I get more "involved" and emotionally connected to it with the Kones.
People could easily get the ceramic kones (as you did), which are only $10 more per cone than the aluminum, but well worth the difference, as far as I can hear! They outperform my Goldmund Cones, Nordost Pulsar and Quasar Points and even the (more expensive) Finite Elemente feet I have. |
I wonder if the concept of placement has as much to do with the improvement as the actual physical design does. Don't the Pulsar points just replace the exisiting equipment feet? |
i assume that the nordost kones are hard objects. my experience with such devices is that they harden the sound and provide more resolution, which may be beneficial if one's stereo system is on the "soft" side.
since i have not auditioned this product i cannot presume that the material used is hard or that its shape is conical.
i prefer more compliant materials, e.g., polyeurythane, as they render timbre in a more realistic manner.
of course , if the nordost cones are relatively inexpensive. not much is lost if someone doesn't like its effect. |
Mrtennis - According to Nordost, "Sort" is Danish for black and the concept is that the kones remove low level white noice from the audio signal. Ironically, that's almost the excact feeling I get during the times that I am convinced that I'm hearing a difference. I'll admit to not hearing a distinct difference every time I do an A/B comparison.
When I first got my Focal speakers I clearly noted that much of the improvement was simply the "blackness" of the sound when there isn't supposed to be sound. It was like the speakers stopped moving exactly when they were supposed to instead of continuing to cycle. The Sort Kones simply enhance this difference.
I find it difficult to attribute it all to placebo when my impression of the difference is exactly what they advertise. |
I find it difficult to attribute it all to placebo when my impression of the difference is exactly what they advertise. Well, that's sort of the whole idea of the placebo effect -- it does what you expect it to do. |
True enough, but I fairly confident that I'm enough of a skeptic to avoid the majority of placebo effects. I wasn't really expecting to be impressed having heard them previously in the store. I figured I could always take them back. I do think that the change is fairly subtle (i.e. my wife can't tell a difference but she didn't notice a difference when I significantly upgraded my reciever). |
You can tell I'm from the south, because I went the redneck route, and cut some racquetballs in half.
Work great for me, and you get 3 balls for $2.49 at Wallyworld. |
