Have you heard or own the Shakti Hallograph

i have a pair and used them until my room did not need them anymore. They absolutely have a strong impact on the soundstage and i think they were worth the investment. like so many things on this forum, people offer strong opinions with no experience with the product.

Eli's wrote,

"I own three VPI bricks. Got one for free, and two for the single price of $25."

So, if you get them at a low enough price you'll buy just about anything.

"One VPI brick is usefully on top of a BIG old square transformer for the (separate) power supply of my VAC Standard.
The other two are in case of intruders... wacking them on the head with one of the VPI bricks WILL cave in their skull, easy."

I play a recording if a Rotweiler barking, put it on repeat.

"Now Geoff You KNOW i can accept most tweaks..."

Right, if they're cheap enough.

Just the Stupidity of the PRICE of the Shakti Hallograph is what irks me."

Of course, because they're not cheap.

"They are charging for the idea. Not to great an idea IMO."

Actually they are charging for the clever way they are constructed/machined and the somewhat expensive materials. What do you think the idea is? Do you think you could knock them off?

"So, as i said, if the gizmo had been a hundred bucks Hell, even $200 i would not be carping, But forget $1,700 it is for morons with way more money than brains."

If you engaged a woodworker to make a pair, how much do you think they would charge?

"I could MAKE the thing for $5 retail wood."

I'm sure you couldn't.

But i never will... it is stupid.

Why stupid? Do you know how it works? The Hallographs are one of the most reviewed devices extant, as far as I can tell all glowing reviews.

" How did they think a small gizmo with parts cost of $35 was worth $4,200 except to born a minute RICH suckers. No poor fool would waste his/her money on it."

I'm pretty sure Bybee doesn't market to po' folks. Does Bryston?

"So was the Tice clock, as i mentioned. Another PT barnum device."

You don't like the idea or the price. Mostly the price I suspect.

"Your chips?... you seem to have stopped selling them."

The original chips weren't mine. Surprising, huh?

"I can go for crystals, and various nearly free crazy stuff, where I pay materials cost to fiddle around. It's fun. No problem. I just hate folks taking these simple ideas, adding a HUGE dose of BS theory and metaphysical crap, then selling it to wealthy fools."

I'm not sure I understand your position with respect to wealthy fools, as I recall your system wasn't exactly a drop in the bucket. And I don't think Shakti or Bybee employ metaphysical explanations, unless you believe quantum physics is metaphysical. Lol. Neither do I unless absolutely necessary. Lol

"(the big word is Quantum, lately..)
Why i should care? I don't know. If the idiot rich want to throw away money on garbage, who am I to complain?"

Well, if truth be known there have been quantum mechanical devices in high end audio for a long time, at least 15 years. The CD Laser itself is quantum mechanical, fer crying' out loud. Quantum mechanics was born almost a century ago. It appears to basically all come down to cheapness. Lol

The people who were discussing them spoke in reverent terms of happiness with product. I just didn't get it so I never lusted for them and many others. I do like the sandbox platform I put together with a memory foam filler a floating top plate and Edensound Super Fat Bastard custom Brass feet. So don't call me an anti tweaker. Love those heavy weight wooden platforms for my amps as well. I really don't know if it helps but 4 inch thick Maple boards look cool.

I too must express my skeptism over the Shakti Hallograph but I have not heard them in my system. I will keep an open mind until I do...

Yikes! Not terribly surprised to see knee jerk reactions to the Shakti Hallographs and the Tice Clock. You can't judge a book by looking at the cover. Mpingo discs, VPI Bricks, Bybee filters, tiny little metal bowls, Lessloss Blackbody, Ultra Tweeters, SteinMusic Harmonizer, Schumann Frequency Generator, the list goes on and on. The Hallographs are no more just two pieces of wood than the Mpingo disc is just a piece of wood or than the Bybee filter is just a capacitor. Hell, they even bellyached about the original Intelligent Chip - and it only cost 16 bucks! Hmmmm, one wonders if there's ever been a tweak, expensive or not, that did not elicit outrage, angst and suspicion?

Elizabeth, I can't seem to understand your position on these halographs, could you be more blunt and expressive? There is no need to candy coat your thoughts!

Personally I have heard them at peoples homes and didn't know what they did for the sound. A lot of members of my Audio group were very impressed. As it was this over the top set up using Black Diamond Racing carbon fiber shelves, just as a start. It didn't appeal to me and I am not an anti snob at all. When I first saw them I thought they were for some kind of religious purpose and was quite surprised to learn that they were supposed to be helping this mind blowingly expensive set up to sound even better.