I'm terrified of amusement park rides, so I'll take the treatment. I don't know how to add an emoji, but there's supposed to be one here-> x
Miracles in Audio, by luck, by good choices,by design or by tweaking...
I owned a low cost headphone for many years, the Fostex TH7B, first version( a new one close version exist Fostex TH7BK), semi-open headphone...I was never completely satisfied by any headphones I ever owned: Hifiman 400, Stax basic lamda, Stax 5 gold,Akg 340,Akg 701, beyerdynamic 990, and T150... Because in each of them with all their qualities I never listen to at the same times, a confortable headphone with natural timbre and voicing, with a good imaging and a realistic soundstage(not too close to my ears)...
For the last days I tweaked this Fostex, to damp his internal resonance I used sorbothane, I put some shungite stones at the exterior part of the cups and I use some Herkimer diamond in the interior pads( 3 at 120 degree) … Now this low cost headphones crush all my others if I sum all his qualities... For example his mids and voicing cannot beat the AKG 340 but among all my other headphones it is the best that is near that mids and it is more confortable, and with longer cable than the 340...His imaging is better and more realistic than the 340 etc etc...It is the same if I compare with the others...
His most important qualities is natural timbre and clear imaging,very precise pinned point accuracy and natural, so clear it crush for that ALL the others to dust...In the French audio circle the reviews were more than very positive few years ago...Diapason d’or and choc Classica...I am not the only one impressed buy the ratio quality/price... But remember that thesae reviewers dont tweak their headphone...The difference between before and after the tweaks are staggering...
Yes Miracles happens in Audio: cost is under 100 American dollars... Few years ago they cost me 50 bucks new... I never dreamed that I will go back to headphones...
I will enjoy your miracles stories of any kind ….My best to all...
For the last days I tweaked this Fostex, to damp his internal resonance I used sorbothane, I put some shungite stones at the exterior part of the cups and I use some Herkimer diamond in the interior pads( 3 at 120 degree) … Now this low cost headphones crush all my others if I sum all his qualities... For example his mids and voicing cannot beat the AKG 340 but among all my other headphones it is the best that is near that mids and it is more confortable, and with longer cable than the 340...His imaging is better and more realistic than the 340 etc etc...It is the same if I compare with the others...
His most important qualities is natural timbre and clear imaging,very precise pinned point accuracy and natural, so clear it crush for that ALL the others to dust...In the French audio circle the reviews were more than very positive few years ago...Diapason d’or and choc Classica...I am not the only one impressed buy the ratio quality/price... But remember that thesae reviewers dont tweak their headphone...The difference between before and after the tweaks are staggering...
Yes Miracles happens in Audio: cost is under 100 American dollars... Few years ago they cost me 50 bucks new... I never dreamed that I will go back to headphones...
I will enjoy your miracles stories of any kind ….My best to all...
Showing 50 responses by whostolethebatmobile
I use them crushed, painted onto paper with various other ingredients, and wrapped around RCA or XLR connectors or cut into small pieces (15mm square) placed in strategic positions. I can send you (or anyone else) some examples to try, my pleasure. I’m not selling them, they are just gifts for friends and interested individuals such as yourself. I call them CrystalTops. You can also cut a 3mm square or a 3x5mm rectangle, superglue it to a standard fuse and save yourself some money. |
Mahgister, your samples are on their way. I hope you like them, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they disturb the careful balance you have already achived with your own experiments. One thing I am sure, you will notice the effect, welcome or otherwise. Anyone reading this who would like to try some delivered free via post, just let me know. I could do about 10 sets (one set per reader) without stress. They are fun. All you need is some blu-tac or double sided tape. |
You are welcome Mahgister. For anyone who is wondering, I am offering the 10 free sets to Audiogon members, at no charge and with free postal delivery. I’m doing this for fun as a hobby, I’m not a dealer and they are not for sale anywhere. But I think they are interesting, and not like any commercial product as far as I know. They are based on paper, with crushed crystal on top and shungite on the bottom. There are other ingredients, but I can’t give everything away! |
Good on you Mahgister. You are way ahead of the average audio enthusiast. I am lucky that one or two generous and very smart people helped me realise what could be possible. I have also conducted my own totally different experiments in my laundry. I stumbled onto some extremely effective and low cost solutions. |
Graphite, carbon black, shungite and even activated charcoal (face cleanser), all work as a poor man's substitute for graphene. Shungite is by far the best of them. In addition they can act as an organic filler within a polymer, for vibration control via intercalation of the carbon and polymer molecules. |
Well I would hate to contribute to any more of that. But graphene does seem to know what you want it to do. Or maybe it just does what it wants. Funny thing is, it takes its time. Like linking segments, or spreading tentacles or something. Please don't try to prove or disprove that technically. And I do think it facilitates signal transfer (safer than mentioning electrons) in metal conductors, merely by being in close proximity. |
Yes graphene is an excellent rf shield. And the best on a per weight basis. Although weight may be important in the semiconductor industry, in audio the fact that graphene is one atom thick is neither here nor there (in shielding applications), which is why shungite and carbon black etc. can do more effective shielding on a per dollar basis. I use shungite instead of graphene for that reason (and a few other reasons). What I would like to know is - what happens to the shielded energy after it hits the graphene or shungite? |
It would be quite useful if the outer layer of a cable absorbed EM frequencies, then a sub-layer reflected them, back into the outer absorbing layer. For the inner surface of the same cable coating, you would have an absorbing layer, but not a reflecting layer. Instead you would deal with the internally emitted EM by direct conversion to heat, via one of several well known mechanisms. |
Getting back to audio...(and miracles) For some reason, I am finding that the crystals and minerals that result in some of the most dramatic sound improvements are ones containing copper. Chrysocolla - (Cu,Al)2H2Si2O5(OH)4·nH2O (copper phyllosilicate) Azurite - Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2 (copper carbonate) Malachite - Cu2CO3(OH)2 (copper carbonate) Turquoise - CuAl6(PO4)4(OH)8·4H2O (copper hydrated phosphate) all the above tested, all incredible performers in the order listed (Chrysocolla best). I must try to get hold of some chalcopyrite CuFeS2. I’ve had promising results with pyrite which I have on hand, but it contains only iron FeS2. I have to stress that these crystals and minerals need to be activated and distributed by other substances (as used in CrystalTops) or methods (as in Mahgister’s powered grid). In my experience, you can’t just plonk a rock on your amp or speakers and expect a miracle (maybe you can hear differences, but they will probably be subtle). |
For emi coming into cables or any equipment from anywhere/everywhere, there would seem to be 2 ways of dealing with it. Absorb or reflect. If it is absorbed, surely it must be dealt with (preferably converted to heat) before it is allowed to interfere with the audio signal. If it is reflected it might arrive somewhere else undesirable. Unless all equipment and cables were treated to reflect. There must be some good reason why the Belts preferred white cables. Perhaps a substance with an extremely high refractive index might be useful. |
Cool! after virtually no response for a few days, suddenly 4 Audiogon members have asked for the free CrystalTop sample pack with free postal delivery. That makes 6 sample packs left, for any other interested members. Just request a pack here or by Audiogon private message to me. After that, I will go back to the lab (ie laundry) and make some new recipes. The originals will be collectors items forever. |
Mahgister - I started first by crushing my own powders. It’s very much more difficult than I thought it would be. I’m sure you’ll be able to do it better than me, but if you plan to use a mallet be absolutely sure to wear protective goggles. Whichever way you do it, always use a face mask. There are health dangers in working with crushed stone, particularly quartz of any variety. Crushing your own stones can create extremely fine (sub-micron sized) and very sharp particles. With one small bag of pre-crushed stone from Right Rocks, I could create 500 CrystalTops. I only need about 10 of them for my own system. For me it’s by far worth it to buy the stuff already crushed and sorted into regular sized sand or powder. |
Tumbling crystals is cruel. After weeks of slow torture in the "iron drum", the crystal victim suffers an eternity of rolling helplessly around in a deformed, un-natural condition, being laughed at by real crystals. I would never do that to a crystal in my care. I prefer a quick hammer blow to the crystal skull, and it’s all over quickly, with no suffering. |
Good thing for me you didn’t patent teeny tiny crystals 20 years ago Geoff. Otherwise my rampant and dangerous free sample spree might be over before I set the tweek industry reeling with my ambitious goal to give away 10 units worldwide. One of them to you I was vainly hoping, to satsfy my egotistical desire for advanced tweeker peer recognition. |
mapman said Some pictures of the miracles might go a long way towards convincing others that they are real. Here’s a photo of the sample packs ready to go out tomorrow, and a Chrysocolla CrystalTop on my Kuzma tonearm headshell. (Tonearm wires treated with PPT Total Contact). http://www.g45central.com/posts/CrystalTops20.jpg http://www.g45central.com/posts/CrystalTops21.jpg blue - azurite pink - aventurine orange - carnelian dark green - chrysocolla light green - turquoise The CrystalTops are not available for sale anywhere. It’s a hobby, I make them for fun. If you want to buy products that can be used in a similar way, I suggest Perfect Path Technologies e-Mats, Alpha cards and Stop-It plugs. I use them and they are incredible. |