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...
I must thank you very much indeed... Your crystals tops wrapped around my headphone cable, or inserted in the headphones, or near the optical convertor of my dac between the computer and the convertor it self, or on top of some capacitors of my Shumann Generators, all together gives me a transparency unknown of before and micro details that I never get before trying them...Better imaging also...
The effect is at the same times subtle and astounding... The paradox is solved if you think that these micro-crystals tops act on the fractal relief of the higher frequencies for me... Then this is subtle but unmistakable and amazing...My system needed exactly that, more transparency and miraculously the crystals tops gives me that on the first try...I humbly and joyfully thank you , I doubt that I would have gained this same transparency with other means at my disposal now...It seems that micro-crystals are really potent but act on another level than my macro crystals grid...This is another miracles for me and the wonders of music is here now more than ever...My best to you....
I forget to say that as a consequence of these transparency, the musical timbre of voice or instrument seems now more natural than ever....The lack of transparency has veiled the timbre before I try the crystals tops...Crystals in a macro grid or in microscopics states or powder act magically in an audio system....For me they act like some kind of filtering the electro magnetic field... I am not a scientist for sure...It is only my hunch and experience...
I test these crystals tops mainly and mostly for the moment with headphone, because I put them inside and on the headphone cable also...I will report for the speakers tomorrow...
It is already amazing for me that stones of big size and smaller one connected by cable act synergetically on the sound...But now these crystals powder glued on some paper less than an inch, act so powerfully it is doubly amazing for me...
The miracle is that they complete each other, the big stones and the powder....I think that the effect of these 2 , the stones grid and the powder is complementary, the stones grid act also on the transparency and the timbre but more on the dynamics, the imaging, from the bass frequencies to upper and the grid trough the speakers act on the global soundscape of the room also....The powder seems to act from the higher frequencies toward the down frequencies and less so in the bass...The powder act less on the soundscape more on the fractal relief of each sound, the plancton of the sound, giving more realistic figure to the sound...The 2, the powder or the grid act like filtering the noise and giving more accuracy in revealing all the music...
In the speakers this is the same effect ,like with headphone....Transparency,and refinement of timbre, more accurate tonality of the timbre rendrering… Amazing....Naturalness....Easyness of the flowing sound.... Thanks whostolethebatmobile
Question to the group - How can one be sure that micro or macro crystals are acting on magnetism or electromagnetism (RFI/EMI) and not simply vibration? Answer at 11.
Because they act at distance, on the room or not on the gear but near them....They act on the central electrical panel, this panel vibrate yes but my washer machine vibrate very much but does not effect the sound on the same level than the central electrical panel... Then it is not vibrations the main problem, tough vibrations is a great problem "per se" also for sure and crystals can act to remedy this...
I wrapped only one piece, on the headphone cable, the other pieces were inserted freely between the cup and the earpads...The other were freely place on the capacitors of the S.G. and a last one between the cable of the optical convertor and the computer without wrapping only placed without pression ….Even the only one piece wrapped were not wrapped tightly because the material is rigid and bend but not easily and not tightly, it is like an envelope around the cable attached with tape around the connection in the middle of a 10 feet cable ...
So, it was touching, right? I never said it had to be wrapped tightly. 😬 We know vibration is an issue with cables. That why we elevate or suspend cables and power cords.
yes I see what you means....But I dont deny that vibrations absorption plays some role....I doubt that this was the end of the story....The effect is so special...But I will listen to you, I dont know really :)
glass windows glass doors power cord plug wall outlet wall outlet cover room walls (knuckle test to locate vibration nodes) RCA connectors of interconnects tube traps Skyline and similar diffusers fuse/fuse holders printed circuit boards inside speaker cabinets large crystals in room corners on the floor
If I think about it you are perhaps right, the effect is subtle ,not like my big stones, and I had the impression that the sound is at the sames times clearer but more natural more transparent in a way that my big stones never give to me...I am amazed by that simple addition of micro-crystals... Perhaps the effect is so evident to me in my system tweaked already, before all that tweaking perhaps this would had been way less audible...I dont know...But now I am happy, and in the headphone it is more extraordinary because they never sound so natural... I pinch myself because the Fostex TH 7 B is supposed to be a beginners headphone not a TOTL one... I think that will take big money to crush them on all count now...
What is really helpful is a test tone track on a test CD and SPL meter to locate all the sound pressure peaks in the 3D space of the room. You would be shocked how many there are. Those peaks are where crystal should go. I found all audio applications for crystals almost twenty years ago. I wrote a white paper. 😬
I must act with a files but this experiment with pressure peaks is interesting...There exist methods of calculation for this but no room present the same accidental distribution or is perfectly squere or rectangular then we must need a SPL meter...
The sound pressure peaks are room and system dependent (radiation pattern of speakers, distance from walls, etc.) and the amplitude of the peaks is dependent on the loudness of the system. but generally speaking the peaks can often exceed the average loudness by 6 tp 9 dB. Some examples of locations where very high sound pressures occur - room corners, between speakers and behind them, first reflection points/areas, room echoes (wall to wall). Also, standing waves that can occur anywhere in the 3D space of the room.
After many hours of listenings I definitely characterize the micro-crystals effect by a smoothness and naturalness of the sound I never have before... My macro crystals act on many feature of the sound but not mostly in this smoothness direction...It is like the micro details are now flowing organically... It is more evident in the headphone because they are more able to catch micro details than speakers but i listen that with the speakers also...I am very pleased and I cannot thanks enough whostolethebatmobile
I add 2 bands on the cable between dac and amp...subtle improvement in the same direction...
What is amazing for me it is that the effect are at the same time subtle and unmistakable...Something was lacking in my audio system that I were not conscious of: naturalness, softness, easy flowing of details , and now I listen to it.... True musicality indeed...Crystals is for me the more potent tweaks in audio, be it in macro linked rocks or micro forms...
Your comments comport very well with some of my customers’ comments from 15 years ago. To whit,
------------ "I placed one "Mikro" size bottle on a Quantum Symphony Pro tonight and was astounded that such a small bottle could improve upon the sound of the Large bottles (which are on top of my PSB Stratus Mini speakers). I listened to two live recordings and was astonished how easy it is to hear ambience cues. The soundstage was wider AND taller. And now the speakers actually do seem to play louder and softer, depending on the signal; I had not heard that from my system before. Now, It's quite difficult to turn the system off." - Mike Gallaro, August 2005
------------ "Just wanted to let you know I received the two Large Brilliant Pebbles Saturday afternoon. I immediately unpacked them and placed them in the rear corners of my listening room, behind the listener position. I warmed up the system for a couple of hours, then listened to some CDs I had listened to the night before. It was clear from the outset that the BPs enhanced the male and female voice and produced more fleshed-out bass without loss of speed; stringed instruments, especially guitar, were produced with a sheen and a quieter background, quite unexpectedly. I was extremely happy with the results! An Audiophile for over thirty years, I was inclined to remove the BPs from the room and replay the same discs. No good! -- I already missed the BPs. When my lovely wife called me for dinner, I placed the Pebbles in the front corners (behind the speakers) and went upstairs. When I returned to the listening room two hours later and played the same discs with the BPs in their new locations, to say I was stunned by the sound would be an understatement!! Everything I'd heard with the BPs in the rear corners was increased ten fold! The BPs are the best tweak to come along since sliced bread. Who'd have thought that pebbles in a small bottle would have such a positive effect on a high end system? My system: Krell amp, Classe two box pre, DCS upsampler, Levinson Dac, Accustic Arts transport, Eggleston speakers, Exact Powers and Hydra conditioners, Jena Labs cabling, Bybee filters all over the place and Clearaudio Magix vibration footers under all components. All I can say is, Bravo! -- a tweak that really works and is inexpensive to boot!" - Rich Lerner, July 2005
------------ "A brief progress report: The upper corners behind my listening position work!!! I'm amazed at the difference. And I thought my system was pretty tweaked and tuned, etc. The BPs seem to affect the entire musical spectrum---from the lows to the highs. The soundstage seems much better defined, similar to the effect I experienced when I installed Aurios in my system. The BPs have even more impact -- each individual instrument/performer seems to have taken on a greater presence and vibrancy as well as being better defined. It seems kinda strange -- the individual seems to be larger or fuller or have greater presence, but not at the expense of the others performers - at the same time the soundstage is better defined and less congested." - Ray Lou, June 2005
I am a convert to crystals, they worked in many fashions, alone or together, linked or not, in powder or rock-form, and they act on all feature of the sounds dependant on their implementation in a particular location...Your customers tells the truth indeed...I am amazed by the many ways they can act, for today it was this powder glued pieces of paper that was so powerful, in dissolving the residue of electronic glare around the sound unbeknownst to me that I had in my system even after all my tweaks with crystals... Perhaps you must investigate this tweak with powder and replicate it Geoff...I am sure that you will sell many...I will buy some more...
My stones linked grid and the S.G. with stones linked to the grid makes many things right on their own and cannot be replace by the powder crystals bands but the inverse is true also, the crystals grid cannot in his actual form in my system gives to me this smoothness that's gives to me these crystals powder bands on strategic spots...Then they are many complementary embeddings and implementations of the crystals in an audio system... All are necessary...
Piezoelectricity is the electric charge that accumulates in certain solid materials (such as crystals, certain ceramics, and biological matter such as bone, DNA and various proteins)[1]in response to applied mechanical stress. The word piezoelectricity means electricity resulting from pressure and latent heat. It is derived from the Greek word πιέζειν; piezein, which means to squeeze or press, and ἤλεκτρον ēlektron, which means amber, an ancient source of electric charge.[2][3] French physicists Jacques and Pierre Curie discovered piezoelectricity in 1880.[4]
The piezoelectric effect results from the linear electromechanical interaction between the mechanical and electrical states in crystalline materials with no inversion symmetry.[5] The piezoelectric effect is a reversible process: materials exhibiting the piezoelectric effect (the internal generation of electrical charge resulting from an applied mechanical force) also exhibit the reverse piezoelectric effect, the internal generation of a mechanical strain resulting from an applied electrical field. For example, lead zirconate titanate crystals will generate measurable piezoelectricity when their static structure is deformed by about 0.1% of the original dimension. Conversely, those same crystals will change about 0.1% of their static dimension when an external electric field is applied to the material. The inverse piezoelectric effect is used in the production of ultrasonic sound waves.[6][
Piezoelectric effect explaining this effect of crystals ? I dont know, you are the scientist not me...But if it is so, then the human ears is a marvel and able to listen the difference pertaining to this 0.1% difference in the material affected by an electro-magnetic field in relation to his effect on sound... It is quite possible, science has already demonstrated the extraordinary resolving power of the hearing sense in humans and animals...
You choose to believe the rf answer. I italicized the term Reverse Piezoelectric Effect in that comment/explanation because I wanted you to see that applying an electrical signal to crystals (the opposite of piezoelectric effect) activates the crystal vibration. This makes the crystal a better vibration damper. Crystals don’t attract, shield or absorb electromagnetic waves - I.e., radio frequencies. Crystals almost always act as resonators - I.e., resonance control devices. You are experiencing the Backfire Effect, that’s all. You have been blinded by science. 😎
Geoff I think you are right ….You explain the same thing to me months ago...Perhaps I had difficulties with this incredible power of crystals...And his audible effect...I must be blinded by your science.... :)
Curry lamb is a divine meal! My best to you Thecarpathian but with a bit of envy...
I am not a scientist but the only explanation I read about is piezoelectric effect .... I dont doubt that when you speak about that but the audible effect is so astounding that...I think around and in and out of this...And perhaps there is other thing that only the piezoelectric effect implicated in this crystals audio modifications...One thing is evident for me: hearing is so extraordinary...
This is starting to get a little silly but there is the piezoelectric effect AND there’s the reverse piezoelectric effect. They are two separate characteristic of many but not all crystals. I am not (rpt not) arguing about the effect of crystals on the sound. Why would I?
Two of my favorite foods......lamb and curry - the hotter the better. A miracle would be finding a spicy curry lamb dish in one of our local restaurants! I am positive that would make my stereo sound better.
And Geoff next time I wrote piezoelectric effect read also reverse piezoelectric effect...I must be too lazy to add more words to this already long words … :)
What do you think about the effect of crystals on the sound Geoff?
Seriously I realize beginning yesterday that there is a point where an audio system begins some metamorphosis...This test point is the rendering of the instrumental timbre... The most difficult characteristic to gain from an audio system adequately... With these micro crystals I have it now...Buut who knows? I think I have it, being cautious now because like said my " Kait guru" there is a peak but we are at the base camp in reality … :)
I say "Kait Guru" because I read about crystals some years ago some information on his site Machinadynamica and go on with experiments of my own inspired by these reflexions of Kait and look where I am now in sonic heaven...Thanks also to Whostolethebatmobile from Australia... Where is he? I cannot thank him now....
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