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...
When I add nude shungite behind my speakers or in the breakers panel I hear the effect of the shungite...Positive effects predominate on the breaker even with nude shungite...Behind the speakers nude shungite introduce some compression...
I add copper foil precisely because that create a more powerful effect with less negative.... Adding an Herkimer diamond balance all the sound but keep the shungite effect without negative... This is my experience.... Copper foil only behind speakers or on the central breaker panel dont work at the same impactful level...Only H.D. dont work at the same level also … The 3 act wonderfully for me...
Yes, that’s why I’m suggesting you’re hearing the foils, not the shungite. Customer no. had crystals and foils already. We did not place the shungite near electronics. Also, remember the foils are directional, so that’s adds another variable, sadly. 😢
The sound will not breath if shungite is in the room says your customer and I am perfectly ok with this experience...Add also the Herkimer Diamond and you will see...Dont put the plate directly on the gear, NEVER....On the power supply perhaps but not on the gear...The Herkimer diamond is very important, not only copper to clean all the negative...
But add copper+Herkimer diamond, put that on the central router and listen ...
Add the plate on the central breaker panel and listen to it....
If you put only shungite near some gear that will compress the sound...
I use it on connector, breaker, coupled with the S.G. near the computer router, on unused wall plug...In all this place this is positive listening at the condition to add copper +H.D.
Put the shungite directly to some gear and generally that will powerfully kill the atmosphere and the air between the instrument etc...
You said earlier today that two shungite plates on the USB SR were too many. So that is a case where golden shungite hurt the sound. So, maybe there are other cases where shungite hurts the sound. I want to believe. By the way I spoke to a customer in Italy yesterday, a recording engineer who told me he heard a lot of buzz about shungite, maybe it was right here on Audiogon, what are the chances?, and that he tried it but it didn’t ring his bell 🔔
I am determined to get to the bottom of it of course. Also I took some of the copper foiled shungite plates to my customer no. 1 two days ago who promptly observed the sound didn’t breathe with the shungite in the room. The breath of the sound returned when I removed the Golden shungite.
Nevertheless I’m keeping an open mind. But not so open my brains fall out because that’s messy and hard to clean up. I’m sitting right on the fence for now. I’m baking some Cards and a Mat in the breaker box for several days and I will hop right back on the shungite project afterward.
I only bought 2 audiophile products: Alan Maher plug and Bybee plate...
The 2 work but the impact was not so great compared with my plates... The impact was positive but not at the same level of my homemade solutions....And the used price for these 2 products exeed the price of almost all my plates...
I wish I can buy other products to test but I dont have this possibility....I am very happy with my simple medicine...
By the way the S.G. without these "golden" plate +H.D. dont work so powerfully...
My experience with the S.G. is positive but particularly if the S.G. are modified with stones near them...And even the cheap one work audibly in the good direction... I tested that by disconnecting some...
(Not only placebo for sure, even if the placebo effect play a role in all audio this effect does not explain all audio and Geoffkait know that for sure)
The shungite, it is one of my first experience, act powerfully, positively but at the same time particularly negatively in proximity with the gear....
But observing the powerful impact , I decide to put it far from the gear, on the breaker central panel, the router of the house computers, on the wall plugs, etc... There, even without copper or H.D. (Herkimer diamond) the impact was more positive than negative...
After that I added the copper and the H. D., I experience NO more negative impact, only positive, and the greatest positive impact I ever experience … But remember that coupled with the S.G. these "golden" plates has no negative effect for my ears now....
If it is placebo I wanted to buy more … :)
I will repeat my words :
«The SHUNGITE IN GENERAL IS DELICATE TO USE with only audio positive effect and nothing else... The shungite can add some negative trade-off in some place and use but that it is easy to compensate keeping only the positive impact...
For this compensation the copper tape act like some polarization of the shungite action, and the Herkimer diamond added some balancing effect on all frequencies without erasing the impactful force of the shungite cleaning noise action....
A word of caution :These posts are only words to convey my experience and not science at all.... »
Is is possible what you’re hearing is only the copper foil? And the shungite is only a placebo. 😬 One also wonders if the adhesive on the back of the shungite plates is conductive.
It seems Akiko company, an audiophile brand, has reserve and not so much enthusiasm with the use of shungite...You can read that somewhere in the middle of the review...
«At the Akiko laboratory many materials were tested and found wanting for the intended task. Shungite, a material with a positive reputation in the alternative health movement for electro smog removal, didn’t work at all. So the search continued... » Akiko
This contradict my own experience, but is this company using the shungite with the copper and with the Herkimer diamond? I bet no... That explain all for me...
Like I already said in my preceding post shungite is powerful but very delicate to use....
I already speaks about the Herkimer diamond enhancing power...I add one to the USB S.G. and the effect was complementary and balancing the "golden" plate... More subtle details and clarity....Adding more to the powerful effect of the USB S. G. + golden plate...
I already try this formula some weeks ago on my speakers where I put 2 "golden" shungite plates behind the back of each of the speakers, one in line with the driver, the other under the cables and glued some Herkimer diamond on each of the shungite plate for balancing and harmonizing the effect with great results indeed...
My secret audio weapon is: shungite+copper tape+ Herkimer diamond... (Carbon+copper+quartz)
The SHUNGITE IN GENERAL IS DELICATE TO USE with only audio positive effect and nothing else... The shungite can add some negative trade-off in some place and use but that it is easy to compensate keeping only the positive impact...
For this compensation the copper tape act like some polarization of the shungite action, and the Herkimer diamond added some balancing effect on all frequencies without erasing the impactful force of the shungite cleaning noise action....
A word of caution :These posts are only words to convey my experience and not science at all....
Dont beat me it is your idea that I had try … I never double before the "golden" plate anywhere for the simple reason that it was not possible to try that with my speakers, my central breaker box, nor my cheap S.G.... And on the interconnects I never sandwiche my connection with a double plates... I only wanted to try your idea with the new thin S.G. and find that it is better with one plate...
But if I think about that, your system is off the grid and without speakers... And all connections are internal to your walkman then I think that only one thin plate will be ok then the cost is very low (few bucks)....Not necessary to buy a lot of shungite… :)
I admit it’s hard to tell sometimes. Just don’t tell me tomorrow you took the one remaining Golden shungite off the Black SR and you got even more detail. 🤗
You are funny Geoffkait, it is you that suggest to me to place 2 on the USB S.G. (remember your photons trapping idea ? ) I try that thinking that it would be a good experiment to try and it is not so good at the end , one thin plate is better.... :)
With 2 the imaging is compressed and we lost details...
It is better with only ONE "golden" thin plate on one side of the USB S.G., there is a slight loss of details otherwise....With one plate the improvement is very astounding....I will modify the photo in my "virtual System 2 section today...
After 1 hour break-in the imaging transformation for the better is increasing...This new S.G. is the deal... My audio system is now at another quality level.... Thanks Geoffkait for the tip about this fabulous S.G.
How much chocolate and cherries can you mix with ice cream before it is too much ?
I dont know, I only know that my 7th Schumann generator, a more costly one black type from Ufeel company in Hong-Kong, is very good indeed... When I sandwich it between 2 "golden" plates, the improvement increase... The sound quality of the imaging increase a notch, more organical linkage between the clearer separation of each voices and instrument, I am amazed...Without the "golden" plate that work well but with less audible intensity...
And I made a simple test, I disconnect 3 of my 6 cheaper chinese usb S.G. and the decrease in the naturalness of timbre were audible immediately.... Then the cheap one work also...Less forcefully than this black Ufeel one (70 bucks versus 10 bucks) but they work indeed...
How much chocolate and cherries can you mix with ice cream before it is too much indeed ?
In the "virtual system" section i put a new photo of that new S.G. with the Plates...
Tip on speaker location. The only 100% way to achieve absolute speaker locations on a given room is using a speaker set-up track on the XLO Test CD or similar Test CD that has the out-of-phase track. All other methods such as “move a little/listen a little” or lasers cannot find the absolute ideal locations. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. You can never know when you have found the absolute best locations.
As one progresses in his system tweaks and room treatments the ideal speaker locations can often change so the XLO speaker set-up track should be used every once in a while to reestablish the correct locations. All other methods are like trying to solve x simultaneous equations in x + n unknowns.
I winned the jackpot with this idea of the "golden" plates, more than with all my other efficient tweaks, this shungite plate + copper tape+ herkimer diamond or other stones, act like an absolute enhancer of the speakers and decrease the noise level if placed near the breakers central panels... At other places they play well their function also but not so strongly that at those 2 places... They cost peanuts to makes and by the way I dont sell them or anything...
But the interest manifested here for this experiment seems to be near zero and almost 2... :) Because they are no report here.... Perhaps it will takes more times to had some...Never mind these ideas are yours to experiment with... Or go on, and spend tons of money, I would have done the same if I had been able to, instead of painfully thinking my way to heaven ... :)
I think that you are right, and I completely forget this "choice" made by my baby... :)
And you are right also on the remark about heaven and hell...It is all our choices, conscious at one level or not... We owns the heaven and the hell, we must make our choices, at this level, or if not at this one, at another level...
You are right and I wish you the best...Merry Christmas...This is the day...
For sure in these 2 last years the improvements were there, but even if each one appears big to me at the times, in reality each change were small but very audible.. And always cumulative...
It is only now for the last 2 months, mostly with the "golden" plates that the improvement begins to be staggering...My musical files were no more bad, each one of them sounds now like 3-D music. And my taste are changing in the exploration direction, because I dont have to protect myself, being exposed to a flawed stereo system no more...It is the same low cost stereo system tough, flawed no more, the way it was... Then the gap between my stereo system and any high cost one is big indeed, but trust me, it is no more an abyss...Only a normal gap , if there is one.... Because some costly system makes precise sounds, not always very good music indeed...And most of the times this costly gear potentials is very good ,musically, the triple embeddings of these system, unbeknownst to the owner, not always so much... :)
For the last 2 years, all my modifications and tweaks were always cumulatively improving, except for the moment of normal trials and errors with each one of them… The success of my "golden" plates is manifesting on top of that...
It is impossible to perceive an effect coming from a tweak, or some modifications, at the same level, in a completely different environment and system...This is the reason why some people experiment little effect using a S.G. for example...
I will repeat myself here, but the only reason for my thread is giving hope to some who dreams about Hi-Fi without the money to afford it...
It is possible to give that to ourselves with relatively little money, if we think about what can be done and must be done...
The reason why is simple: an already good amplifier at low cost, used or vintage will gives you already a very high potential quality, ready to be tap into, at the necessary condition to optimize the audio environment, the electrical embeddings, and the acoustical atmosphere of the room, and the mechanical embeddings of the gear...We, most of us, even the poor one, owns already minimally good amplifier... Even good dac, and good speakers, relatively speaking...
Remember that the most important factor being not the gear by itself but the conditions of these triple different embeddings ….Remember that the upgrading moves must be directed to these 3 embeddings environment treatment more than buying the hype...
The most difficult effect to gain for me was the improved dynamics, the natural timbre and the holographic layerings imaging soundstage the second elements....The dynamics being the first and easy to degrade....It seems the "golden" plates, help a lot for dynamics and not only for imaging...
My stone grid tweaks, S.G. tweaks, and vibration-resonance controls tweaks, help a lot for timbre, and imaging, less so for dynamics...The room treatment help tough... But the "golden" plates help on all counts dynamics included....
Under my amplifier the "golden" pyramid, upside down because the shungite side must face the gear belly, all copper tape covered except for the basis, where I glued some Herkimer diamond cable connected to my other stones, gives me an improved layerings of sound, evident after few minute listenings and more so after few hours... I put some photos in my "virtual systems" audiogon thread...
I had the same audible dividend, less spectacularly evident, with another "golden" pyramid placed the shungite basis on the power cord of my Panamax surge protector and power conditioner....
By the way, plate or pyramid, or cubical shungite, the geometrical form is without importance for the audio effect...Only the placement orientation of the shungite face, and the location of the "golden" shungite , mainly, on the breaker electrical panel, on my router-modem, on interconnectors or mains cable, on top or under my S.G. on power conditioner, on unused duplex wall plugs, and perhaps the windows( that I must try)...
Merry Christmas to you all , I wish to you celestial music experiences, awaked or in dreams...
Your kind words are very appreciated.... I wish you the best now and forever... And if possible report here some of your experiments.... Merry Christmas to you ...
The " golden" plates behind speakers add not only separation imaging to the sound... I already got that in an increasing way with all improvement I got from the beginning...
But behind the speakers the plates added some " 3-d many layerings " to the sound, a more perfect separation… And a biggest sound stage in near listening field.... In regular listening also... When you have it going back is no more an option...
I think yes that cables crossings, power cord with interconnects for example generates a lot of noise...I have not tried all possibilities about cables but I experiment a little and they generates noise if not isolated and in contact with floor or one another.... But there is more to add to that tweak, try my "golden" plates, they are cheap to buy, easy to made, and you will be pleased by the impactfull effect on the noise level... especially on the central breaker panels, behind the speakers rear face and with thin and small plate on top of interconnect...
Merry Christmas to you and your family...
My best to you and to all, like always and forever...
Its good mahgister that you figured out what a waste of time he is. Many think its harmless fun. But its not. Malevolent word-salad jokers like him make it easy to dismiss and hard to take seriously when sincere audio investigators like you come along. Which I know, because it happened to me. Thought for a long time you were just another nut job. Well this site has more than its fair share of them, for sure. So many I hardly ever come back to a thread after posting. Even scanning post after post of nonsense and dreck is just too soul-sapping.
But I tried one of your ideas. Put my hand around the speaker cable and the amount of vibration was shocking! Was playing a demagnetizing sweep track and the vibration dies out quick above the mid-bass but the way it was shaking below about 100 Hz was unbelievable! Never would have imagined....
Haven't had time and not that keen on getting tape stuck all over my expensive Synergistic CTS but your idea has been on my mind. SR Atmosphere interconnects have ground wires. When connected to ground they really lower the noise floor. Which got me to thinking....
Got some hookup wire. Very thin gauge wire with very thin insulator, very much like the wire used in transformer windings. Wrapped around the cable it should help control vibration. Being wire it would also conduct, and connected to ground might even work like the SR ground.
What do you think? Have you done anything like this?
I had covered another chunk of shungite with copper ...Another "golden" pyramid this times, connected to my other stones, only the basis exposed without copper... I place the shungite basis toward the amplifier belly... The "golden" pyramid being under the amplifier, near the transformer... Improvement on imaging, better timbre etc... I place an Herkimer diamond in the center of the shungite basis connected with a cable to my stones grid...
It seems that my audio system increasing quality is amazing thanks to the plates...
General Custer: You're advising me to go into the Coulee?
Jack Crabb: Yes sir.
General Custer: There are no Indians there, I suppose.
Jack Crabb: I didn't say that. There are thousands of Indians down there. And when they get done with you, there won't be nothing left but a greasy stain. This ain't the Washite River, General, and them ain't helpless women and children waiting for you. They're Cheyenne brave, and Sioux. You go down there, General, if you've got the nerve.
General Custer: Still trying to outsmart me, aren't you, mule-skinner. You want me to think that you don't want me to go down there, but the subtle truth is you really *don't* want me to go down there!
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