Uberwaltz ...
I was using my Nak deck to record some of my favorite LP's so that I could listen to them in my car that has a Mark Levinson sound system in it. Its a 2005 Lexus LS 430 that still has under 70,000 miles on it. Super quiet ride, so the all-analog cassette tapes sound really good. Is that nuts, or what? *lol*
Hmm ... Mini-Mats on the car stereo?? Now you've got me thinking ... :-)
Frank
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So far with using two mats, one on top of the cassette deck and one underneath, there's been no problems. Sounds great.
Frank |
Good morning Krissy! Thank you for joining the fray. Also, congratulations on your remarkable products. Every bit of success being attained by you and Tim has been well deserved.
Frank |
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I've had two Omega E Mats under the
Sound Application power conditioner for over two weeks now. It just continues to get progressively better. My friend Robert, born a cynic, called after our last listening session to say that it was the best upper mid-range that he's ever heard.
Frank |
Go for twenty. Remember, there's a money back guarantee. :-)
Frank |
I put a second Omega E Mat under the Sound Application power conditioner about three weeks ago. It continues to improve.
While the second mat degraded the sound for a few hours, the SQ quickly came back to where it was before. After the first week, the upper mid-range was spectacular, way better than before.
The lower bass was still a bit weak after placing the second mat .. and it still hasn’t come back completely. However, not only is the upper mid-range spectacular now, the entire mid-range, upper, middle and lower is drastically improved over the single mat. Hopefully, the solid, lower bass will return better than ever in another week or so.
Last night I listened to Rachmaninoff’s Third piano concerto in its entirety. This is a recording of the live event transferred from the master tape to the CD. I know this recording like the back of my hand. I’ve played it countless times. I hadn’t played it since putting the two mats under the power conditioner. To say that I heard it for the first time last night would be an understatement. This was an entirely new experience. The expanse of the hall was clearly "visible." The audience rustling, hacking and coughing was right in the room, or I was transported into their room. Either way, it was an experience. The real joy was in the music of course. What a wonderful orchestra (L.A.Phil), and the piano from top to bottom was super dynamic and real.
Two Omega E Mats under a power conditioner can do that? Who knew??
Frank |
Ozzy ...
Please scroll up and read "golfrules" post. Thanks ...
Frank |
Howdy guys ...
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit with Mribob (Bob) at his place and help him paste his new speaker cable connectors with a new batch of Total Contact.
Prior to applying the Total Contact, we listened to Bob’s system. It was the first time I’ve heard it since he installed eight Omega E Mats into the system. To say there was an improvement would do an injustice.
Bob’s system prior the the Omega E Mat installation was nothing to be ashamed of by far. There’s as much of a monetary investment in the speakers alone as I have in my entire system. Its always sounded impressive to my ear. The improvement was a revelation.
I heard the improvement the moment I walked in the front door ... far removed from the listening room. When the critical listening began, on cut after cut, on music I was very familiar with, the improvement was readily apparent.
Where the sound used to be really enjoyable, I now realized that it had been somewhat diffused and not focused. With the Omega E Mats installed, the sound had become much more intimate, relaxed and real. As I’ve mentioned before on the effect of the Omega E Mats in my own system, it was seamless from top to bottom.
Starting from the bottom, stand-up acoustic bass was way more defined and tuneful ... so important to the foundation of jazz recordings. As I told Bob yesterday, I thought I was the champ of accurate bass reproduction. Now, he holds that title.
The mid-range has really locked into place. Human voice is right on, and this was an area that I detected some problems in Bob’s system before the E Mat installation. No problems in that regard now. We went through cuts by Louis Armstrong, Ella, Sinatra and Peggy Lee ... dead center and entirely focused. Ella’s sweet personality shined through with astounding reality. Totally enjoyable and involving.
Highs were natural sounding ... drummer’s brushes on cymbals and snares were very articulate, delicate and lifelike.
Bob’s system, by any account, is qualified for the title of "high end." Most folks would put a system together like this and think there is no room for improvement and be totally proud of it ... and for good reason. Not Bob. Me either. The proof is in the pudding ... and in the Omega E Mats.
Bottom line ... with Tim Mrock’s products in the system, its akin to listening to truly great planer speakers. Seamless ... except with better bass and better highs. What’s not to love about that??
Man ’O man, do I ever LOVE those Venture speakers!
Frank
PS: Bob ... I’d like to come back for another visit and hear the effects of the TC on the speaker cables.
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hifiman5 sez ... - "So what really hit me last night? It was the effortlessness of the sound. I played discs that pre-Mat would present a loud section of music and I would reach for the remote to turn down the sound. What I am now having to be wary of is that I don’t listen to the music at too high a level. Those loud passages just get loud. There is no "glassiness" or "coarseness" to the sound."
I totally agree. There is no longer a "cringe" factor on loud sections of the music. These sections are particularly important on classical music, especially symphonic music. They convey a lot of the emotion of the music and they’re supposed to be loud. Another benefit of the Mats is what they do for percussion instruments. Examples are ... kettle drums at the rear of the orchestra, the natural timber of a lightly struck triangle, the natural metallic tones of vibraphones, the beautiful mahogany wood sound of marimbas, even the contact of the skin of the hands meeting the taught leather on bongos and conga drums, not to mention rim shots on snares. Percussion is simply amazing on my system now. hifiman5 ... you’re not the only one losing sleep. I think there’s a lot of us with black circles under our eyes these days. *lol* Frank |
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^^^ - Wow! Did you and your neighbor take a little enhancement this A.M.?
Two mats in the circuit breaker box, and one mat under each component is all the "enhancement" I need to have a good time. Frank
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Too bad most of you live on the East Coast. Things are sounding mighty fine out here in what used to be known as the Paradise of California. :-)
Frank |
^^^ Respect The Mat, indeed!
If anyone is still in doubt about anything said here lauding the Omega E Mat, remember ... there is a money back guarantee.
Frank |
grannyring ...
In an earlier post I discussed placing a second Omega E Mat under my power conditioner. I also commented on the improvement the second mat afforded in the upper mid-range. It was also detrimental to the bass. So, there was a definite improvement in one area and a degradation in another.
Knowing how the Mats take time to fully develop in one’s system, I left the second mat in place. Over time, not only did the upper mid-range continue to improve, but the entire mid-range became better than ever.
Long story short ... after FOUR WEEKS, the second mat finally came into it’s own, and not only did the bass return, it was better than ever. The system is as seamless as before, but now its far more enjoyable overall.
Bottom line .... You have to be patient with these Omega E Mats in order to get the very best out of them. Leave them in place (no matter where you put them) for four weeks and see what happens.
Frank |
^^^ I have my own theory.
I don’t believe the mats have to "charge up." I think the energy emanating from the mats takes time to completely saturate the equipment they are placed under. This includes the chassis, the circuit board, the connecting wires, the caps, resistors, tube sockets, the tubes and all of the dials and controls. As more of the area is saturated, or conversely, the more mats used, the better the sound will be.
Initially, the mats did improve the sound over using no mats at all. As I increased the number of mats used past a certain point, usually the sound degraded for a short period of time ... maybe at most about a half day.
I’ve already reported on placing the two mats under the "Sound Application" power conditioner. The first one was an overall improvement. With the second one installed about a week later, the upper mid-range was improved, but the bass was degraded. After four weeks using the two mats under the power conditioner, everything came back into focus, and from top to bottom was much improved. Its totally seamless now with the deepest, most defined bass I’ve ever had from this system.
To answer Lak’s question ... If I only had one mat, I would put it inside of the circuit breaker box door, close the door, and enjoy not only the initial improvement in the audio system, but the TV system as well. Then, I would leave it alone and enjoy the further improvements that will follow over the next four weeks .... and longer.
By the way, if you are using those magnetic plug-in thingies (can't think of their name right now) ... take them all out of your system before installing the Omega E Mats, and leave them out. According to several comments, I'm beginning to believe they are counter productive to what the Omega E Mats do.
Frank |
^^^ Yes, Thanks ... I believe that's the proper name.
Frank |
The Total Contact and the Omega E Mats are a killer combo.
By the way, as a person who home roasts coffee, I'd like to give Candella007 a plus one. +1
www.sweetmarias.com
Frank |
OMG!!!! How good is this going to get? I spent the majority of the day taking apart my Sound Application power conditioner and applying Total Contact to the interior. I pasted everything from the six double sockets, the wires, the caps, the connections and even the inside of the lid. It took a whole tube of TC to get the job done. It was a real bear to put this thing back together, taking both hands and both feet. It came apart like a Rubik’s Cube. Surely they could have thought of a better way to put this damned thing together than this! Anyway, I spent the past couple of hours listening to some of my favorite CD’s. It was like someone focused a bright light on the entire system. Still very musical, organic, involving emotionally, with much more subtlety and inner detail than ever before. My Gawd ... female vocals are so human and lifelike. Its getting scary. I’ve recommended the Carol Kidd "Gold" CD before. Its out of print and collectible at this point, selling for $250+ on Ebay at the moment. If you have a friend who can burn you a copy, you need it. What a beautiful voice! https://www.ebay.com/itm/CAROL-KIDD-GOLD-1995-MADE-IN-THE-UK-24K-GOLD-CD/252641905971?hash=item3ad2a...So, bottom line ... if you are using a power conditioner, its more than worthwhile to apply Total Contact to the interior. Amazing, really. Frank |
^^^ According to Tim Mrock putting it in the freezer will extend the life indefinitely. You'd have to thaw it out before use though.
Frank |
If any of you have enough TC left over to paste the interior of your power conditioner, I highly recommend that you do so. I'm getting stunning results after doing this. It seems to be the most effective spot so far.
Frank |
tuffy ...
Yes, paste everything inside including the sides of the receptacles (plugs), wires, connections, Caps, AND the inside of the chassis including the inside of the cover.
It took an entire tube of TC to do my six-outlet power conditioner. For the price of one tube of Total Contact, if your results are the same as mine, you'll be getting a $10,000 upgrade to your system. No joke.
These results were attained right off the bat ... as soon as I put the power conditioner back together. It was a VERY significant improvement. With that in mind, remember that there is a curing process for the Total Contact, with jumps in SQ at four weeks, and another big one at eight weeks.
I can hardly wait.
Frank
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Justtubes2 ...
No problem getting my hex screws out. I just used a hex wrench. My problem was that there were three sizes of wrenches needed to remove the screws on just the cover.
Frank |
^^^ sbayne ...
The hex screws on my power conditioner were not "tamper proof." All screws came out readily .... although it took three differently sized "wrenches" to get them out.
The power conditioner is unplugged from the power source before beginning any work.
Pasting contacts is pasting contacts. What's the danger in pasting the connecting wires to the outlets in the power conditioner as opposed to pasting the switches in the circuit breaker box, the ends of an interconnect cable, the tines on an electrical plug, or the pins on a phono cartridge?
Just curious as to how you arrived at the "danger" aspect of this.
Thanks ...
Frank |
^^^
Ah yes, but I was very careful and used due diligence. :-)
As a result, nothing has exploded yet. The results are actually quite fantastic.
As a point of clarification, I didn't say to paste the "chassis." Its one of the few areas I left alone.
Frank |
candella007 ...
+1
The combination of the Omega E Mat and the Total Contact is the best improvement I've made in over 40 years in the hobby. That includes tons of tweaks in the past. Some had a beneficial effect, some did nothing at all. But the Mats and TC combined? Killer!
Frank |
sbayne ...
The key is to CAREFULLY apply Total Contact in a VERY thin layer using the brush included in the kit.
Not sure if you've seen or used the product at this point (have you?), but I can assure you that its NOT a liquid that is POURED over the inside of a component with irresponsible abandon. No one is advocating that.
Thanks for your concern. Much appreciated.
Frank |
grannyring ...
Congrats for figuring out the problem causing the poor performance of your single mat. I’ve suspected for awhile now that some of the previous tweaks being used by a couple of members here have had a detrimental effect on the mats, or at least block the "goodness" of the mats. The improvement afforded by the mats have been so profound in my system, and the systems of my local friends, that I just knew there HAD to be something going on. I sincerely hope others will take heed in what you’ve reported here.
By the way, multiple mats increase the effects you are experiencing with the single mat. Expensive? Yes! Expensive for what they do? No. :-)
Frank |
grannyring ...
I don’t have the SR Blue outlet so I can’t speak for that, but I do have the SR Blue fuses in every component. The fuses rock!
Is an SR fuse as effective as an Omega E Mat? Well, I don’t know the answer to that question either as I haven’t done an A/B comparison.
You’re talking about one fuse vs one E Mat. Right now I have four SR Blue fuses in the system. Would those four fuses be better than four Omega E Mats? I honestly don’t think so. I think the Mats would win by a long shot.
What I do know is that the combination of the SR Blue fuses, along with Tim’s "Total Contact," and the Omega E Mats have brought my system to a point WAY beyond what I ever thought I’d have for an audio system.
Bottom line ... taking it one step at a time is a lot of fun. Either way you do it won’t be a mistake ... and it certainly won’t be a step backwards either.
I’m happy. :-)
Frank |
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^^^ Leave them plugged in. Constant insertion and removal will eventually remove the TC.
Frank |
^^^ fleschler ...
Steve, you'll have to come up to hear the Signature III's. Way better than when you were here last. I pasted the power conditioner and the speaker crossovers with Total Contact. The improvement was a real break through.
Zowie!
Frank |
I have two friends who will be ordering a pack of the E Cards for their headphone systems. Their amps and Dacs are very small, way too small for regular sized E Mats.
I live in an area that’s in a canyon, so the cell phone reception isn’t always good. In fact, sometimes it really sucks. So ... it will be a small E Card inside of my cell phone case for sure ... and then two cards each in my speaker crossover compartments that I’ve already pasted with Total Contact with very good results.
More genius from Tim Mrock. :-)
Frank |
^^^ And whats to be said of audiophiles whose entire audio system consists of a Sony Walkman and a set of earbuds?
Crazy, I calls 'em. :-)
On second thought, an Omega E Card taped to the outside of a Sony Walkman may do wonders for the sound.
Frank |
^^^
- Damage Control! Damage Control! The music is in the air. 😀
With the use of earbuds, the music is all in your head. *lol* Frank |
uberwaltz sez ... - "Actually music is in my soul."
Yep, and that's the whole point of the audio hobby as far as I'm concerned. Great audio gets us closer to the music and the performers. And isn't that the discerning point between the true song stylists, the great musicians ... and the also-ran's, as well? Frank
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As uberwaltz says, a little goes a long way. I've found it best to just gently squeeze the "plunger" so that just a small amount of paste barley comes out of the end of the tube, then dab the brush onto it from there. This way, there is very little waste. After pasting the innards of my power conditioner and the speaker crossovers, the sound has improved drastically. I was listening to my favorite Karrin Allyson CD last night, and it was as though she was right there in front of the listening position singing to me personally. Down right awesome. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Karrin-Allyson-Round-Midnight-New-CD/131936953980?epid=97528638&hash=it...Frank |
I was thinking about starting a new thread on this one, but Its just as well to have at it here.
I received my five-pack of the Alpha E Cards in today's mail. The first experiment was with my cell phone. I placed one E Card inside the back of the cell phone's protective cover. I immediately noticed a sharper, clearer picture with better color. After that, I took a break to watch the LSU vs Georgia game.
I'm now typing this at my computer (duh!) and listening to Spotify through my Grado RS-1 headphones. The Grado's have a flat surface on the outside of the ear speakers. I just completed an experiment. I took the other four cards, put two in each hand, and held them up to the flat Grado surface. This makes for a very easy A/B comparison.
The Grado's are a very nice headphone and I've enjoyed them immensely over the years. Bottom line ... When I held the E Cards up to the phones, the sound became much more spacious with lots more inner-detail. More musical too. With the E cards removed, all the benefits go away.
Highly recommended ... !!
Frank |
The TC treatment on the power conditioner and speaker crossovers are really paying dividends now. Its been just about four weeks since the power conditioner was treated and almost two weeks for the crossovers.
As most of us have experienced, there’s a jump in SQ at four weeks and another one at eight weeks after pasting with TC. Well, last night, the four-week jump from the power conditioner kicked in big time.
Lawdy Lawdy, Miss Claudie ... I dug deep into the LP vault and pulled out some early 60’s and 70’s rock records. I listen to this stuff very rarely, preferring jazz, jazz vocals, and classical. BUT ... after last night there will be more "rockin" going on at my place for sure.
The combination of the Total Contact and the Omega E Mats allows one to hear into the music so much further. What a joy!
Frank |
^^^ Explanation: Divinely inspired.
Frank |
^^^
AMG is joined in his mindset by a few others who post on this site. They’ve made their opinions clear. They are of a particular personality type. Nothing wrong with that of course, as we all fall under basically four distinct personality types, each one with their overriding unique quirks.
In their case, their biggest fear is criticism (still not dissing them, its just a fact). Many who fall under this personality category find it hard to even take a mere suggestion, let alone criticism. They will argue a position to their last breath to prove themselves right. Usually, they are very intelligent people ... and enter scientific professions ... like engineering and/or other careers dealing with mathematics.
They are great planners financially ... and when retirement comes, as it comes to all of us (if we’re lucky), their planning has usually paid off handsomely for them.
All of that being said, because of their innate fear of criticism, they analyze everything to death, driving others around them absolutely bonkers. Their motto is: measure ten times and cut once. For the career choices they make, that’s a very good thing. Gotta bring those manned rockets back safely, right?
Hey, AMG ... the ten-day, money back guarantee with no questions asked, kind of removes the need to measure ten times to cut once, wouldn’t you agree?
There is no way that Tim Mrock is going to reveal his formulas to you or anyone else. He’d be grossly stupid if he did. However, you can buy the Omega E Mats and the small Alpha E Cards to try out for a month with no obligation to buy. So ... what problems are left for you? What would be holding you back at this point? Inquiring minds want to know. :-)
On the heart surgery and the pacemaker installation ... No, I didn’t research how the surgery is done, nor did I do any testing or read any white papers on the health of the pig the new heart valve was taken from. I DID, however, do my research on the doctors involved. My heart surgeon was selected because of a confidential conversation I had with the director of surgery at the hospital. I took her advise. My Grandson is a surgeon as well, and he recommended the very same heart surgeon because he assisted that particular surgeon as a student in medical school. I put my faith (there’s that word again) in what I considered the best available. I didn’t have to research the devises ... the doctors had already done that for me far in advance of my surgery.
Frank |
amg54 sez: - "My father once told me to always look a person in the eye when speaking to them. And always look them in the eye listening to them. Why? Aversion to the truth. If a person does not tell you to your eye what the truth is, then they are not to be trusted. (And yes, blind people can do the same actually)."
I couldn’t agree with you more. After a 50 year career in 100% commissioned sales, not only did I study personality types, but body language as well. The eyes and mouth tell a lot about a person’s honesty. Believe me, I can spot a charlatan a mile away ... because to the trained eye, they throw off red flags all over the place. Frank |
^^^
On the E Cards ...
As mentioned before in an earlier post, I put one inside the protective case of the cell phone with good results. That left four cards that needed a home in the system. I'm thinking of putting them inside, alongside of the crossovers ... two cards in each speaker.
Tonight, I placed all four cards across the ends of my power cords where they connect to the equipment. One on the pre-amp, one on the amp, one on the CD player, and finally, one across the power cord from the power conditioner where it plugs into the wall.
I've only been listening for about an hour or so, mostly to female vocal ballads that I know really well. So far, I'm hearing a slight reduction in digital grain around voices, faster around the leading edges of instruments, especially guitar and percussion and a more relaxed and generally quieter presentation overall without anything being "dulled." Its just more music coming through ... similar to what the Omega E Mats do.
When I do the crossovers (a real pain to get to) I'll report back on that.
Frank |
^^^
Placing the four E Cards on the power cords where they attach to the equipment yesterday was really worthwhile. This morning’s listening session was better than it was last night ... and that's really saying something. I highly recommend that anyone who has the E Cards try placing them on the ends of their power cords. If need be, try a little dab of Blu-Tac.
Frank |
shkong78
Yes, put it above the power cords. If Blu-Tac doesn't work, you may want to try double sided tape.
Hope this helps.
By the way, tonight's session sounded better than this morning, so it looks like the E Cards will continue to improve just like the E Mats did.
Frank |
amg56 ...
I would send you the remainder of a tube of Total Contact to try in your system if you want. There's about a half of a tube left. Do you take handouts??
Frank |
^^^ Thanks AMG ... :-)
I hope you're feeling better at this point.
A new home being built? I'm such an advocate, I'm thinking about how many electrical connections could be pasted with TC prior to the walls going up. *lol*
Frank |
^^^ - "It's as if I am now hearing digital's "dark matter", a hidden tapestry of sound that completes my aural perception. No one can convince me now that analog is superior-- "
Couldn't have said it better. I listen to mostly CD's now. Never thought I'd ever say that, but red book CD's (when properly recorded) sound amazing ... and so ... so ... so ... analog like. :-) Frank |
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stevepo ...
Good decision and welcome to the club. :-)
Paste all of your connections. Start with the power cords, interconnects, speaker wires ... any electrical connections.
Frank |
