I’m curious about this product from Perfect Path Technologies and would like to hear from those that have experience with it. I’ve bought and used the Total Contact enhancer and like what it does for my system so I’m interested in hearing how this Omega E mat performs.
The Mat has been on the breaker panel for about two weeks and the effect has become more obvious on both office and main Systems in the last couple of days.
The 3D quality of the sound stage has become very evident in the last 2 days and has really taken a jump this evening. Even the sound through the TV has become clearer and even more musical. The clarity on my office system is incredible. PRaT, clearity of detail and soundstage. I had no real expectations that this would occur by putting a mat on the breaker panel since I do not have any dedicated lines to either system. Needless to say I am a believer now. It as if upgraded the my power-conditioners.
The main system has an even greater synergy, since the CD player has a Mat on top of the transport. Digital music has never sounded so good. CDs that sounded congested now are easier to listen to. With a wider and deeper soundstage, the music just flows without digital glare of any kind. Instruments and voices sound and “appear” so much more life like than I ever thought possible on my system.
This mat is well worth it to me. So I will be keeping the second mat and sending a check to Tim.
ozzy- Before you pull out the mat can you say you’re enjoying the sound of your system more than what it was before the Omega mat? Is it just different or too close to call which is why you’d like to take it out to assess?
I'm going to pull the Omega mat out of the Breaker box tonight before I go to bed and put it in my car as Tom suggested. So tomorrow I should be able to determine the mat effectiveness.
They’re on the top of the speakers, long ways front to back. The tweeters, woofers and crossovers are all within 18” below them, an advantage of a simple two-way design. My Audio Note Es are based on the Snell Es, if you’re familiar with them.
tommylion Isn't it uncanny to have all the musicians contribute to the music. Quite amazing. Performances and music that were overlooked are now fun to listen to.
What?? You should be able to evaluate the effects the moment you place the mats under your components ... but especially after giving them a half a day, to a day to do their thing. They continue to improve over several listening sessions.
Thanks for that info, but I need to know. Pulling the Omega mat after being in place for 2 weeks is the only sure way I know of to evaluate its effect.
Once the heatwave burns off, and we get the onshore breeze back, come back up to my place for another listening session. Things are sounding mighty, mighty fine here. :-)
Really, it takes two weeks to restore the full effect of the E-Mat and hours to lose the benefit? I was able to find a better location for one E-Mat from my amps to either doubling the breaker panel and the pre-amp, of which the pre-amp was best sounding within seconds of placement. Also, at Frank’s home, once we removed half of his 12 E-Mats, we heard the very significant difference immediately (better with doubled and tripled stacking). It’s scary to think what would happen if I doubled or tripled my E-Mat placement. Unaffordable too.
The general consensus is that the materials in the Omega E Mats somehow "charge" up the surrounding areas and/or audio equipment in which they are put. These areas have to "discharge" after the mat is removed in order to get back to a zero effect. If you are going to do an A-B comparison, it would be best to remove both the Bybee products and the E Mat completely from the circuit breaker box for a couple of days, listen, then reinstall the E Mat, letting it "charge" back up for a day or two, then listen again.
Using the terms "charge" and "discharge" may not be accurate. I just couldn't think of another term that would be appropriate.
@ozzy I'm also curious if you'll hear the difference immediately after the removal of the mat or is it gradual and if you need to wait another 14 days to hear the full effect of the mat.
Well I have had the Omega Mat for about 2 weeks now. This mat is placed inside the circuit panel cover over the circuit breakers. As per my original review of the mat. About 4 days ago I added a Bybee original signal enhancer to the circuit panel located at the top over the main breakers and above the Omega mat. With the added Bybee in place I did notice a stronger bass presence. Last night I removed the Bybee and this morning played the Omega mat again by itself. What I found is I prefer the Omega mat by itself, the Bybee sort of bloated the sound. But for those that need a little more bass it might help.
In the next day or two I will be removing the Omega mat completely from the circuit panel to then hear what difference the Omega mat actually contributed to the sound quality.
I did not know about the fuse tweak at all. I learned about fuses from the TC forum. I had never followed a forum prior to that one. Further, I reasoned that the TC was more cost effective and was satisfying my need in my system’s musicality (for now). Plus I wanted to fairly evaluate TC over time without major changes. Finally, I do not regret having implemented those more costly tweaks since it has made the TC and Mat tweaks act like a booster rocket on a decent system. I more than likely will try the fuse tweaks, after I am done with the Mat tweak thought my system. I like it that much.
I have had my matts in place now for just one week, and can also independently verify the positive claims of multiple prior users: my sound stage, micro dynamics, bass, floor noise, and most importantly, my musical enjoyment, and willingness to simply listen have all improved dramatically. I have had an annoying ground loop hum, and that has also improved, its now almost imperceptible which has also helped with PRAT and listening deeper into the music. Since I added the matts all at one time, I can't comment how it may have specifically helped my Roon Nucleus + core computer for streaming. I can say that this has been a much better tweak, and less expensive than my set of Stein Music Harmonizers, A and B and associated stones, in my room. I had been skeptical that this tweak could perform as advertised, but it does, and I'm glad. Thanks Tim, and Frank...I'll report back after I hit the magical two week mark. I have no need to order more matts for my speakers and my router, etc, until the smaller matts come out. I need to reach out to Tim and order some TC enhancer for my power cords, and new speaker cables, coming shortly, and get more of the synergy reported by others.
I don’t have a definitive answer for you, as I haven’t tried magnetic mats with the Omega. However, since Tim has clearly stated that the magnet has nothing to do with the effect, but is simply there for convenience of placement, I doubt additional magnets would enhance it. If anything, I think they would be more likely to be detrimental.
The question I have remains what can 60 mil kitchen magnet mats do for E-Mats stacked under or above them? Can it enhance their effect, have no effect or have a detrimental effect?
I forgot to mention the E-Mat affect on sound level and dynamics. The sound level increased by about 20%, two clicks of 24 on my volume control. However, the dynamic range also increased resulting in me playing music louder. Playing music louder with the enhanced clarity doesn't seem too loud, just more realistic sounding. The E-Mats are a wonderful addition to my system although I'm using six of them to achieve this result.
I'm posting this again for those you missed it.
07-19-2018 4:09pmI use a Walker Talisman to demagnetize my CDs and LPs every time I play them. The difference between a magnetized CD and a Talisman demagnetized CD is as different as using 6 E-mats when comparing a magnetized (several plays of a CD for instance) and a "Talismaned" demagnetized CD. The Talisman is just a big pair of magnets but works like a powered tape demagnetizer unit, but is non-powered, easy to hold and use and small item. I highly recommend it.
I also have an Acoustic Revive RD1 which does a so-so job and which I purchased prior to the Talisman.
It’s definitely not an attractive look having the cheap magnets laying around but they are having an effect. I just placed two more next to my Apply Tv and the picture quality took a good step up from what it was before. This is another easily repeatable tweak. Again, I’m not sure I like them around my stereo but I’ll play with them more this week.
My one E mat sits on a thick slab of granite, magnetic face down, and is 2-1/2" away from the bottom of my CD player. I don’t think the vastly improved sound has anything to do with the magnetic face of the mat interacting with the component. Perhaps the magnetized face is needed to activate some other process in the mat--no idea--but to stack up magnetic sheets around components as a cheapo version of the mat--nope.
I picked up some cheap magnet sheets as well in 8x10 20mil size and placed one on top of my power conditioner with magnet side facing up. This conditioner has my tv, modem, router, and Apple TV plugged into it. The router feeds my Mac mini that’s hooked up to my DAC and stereo system in another room. I placed two sheets on each speaker facing up and one at the outlet where my stereo is plugged in facing up. I could definitely hear a difference but not sure if it’s something I’ll stay with. Music has more snap and pop but at the expense of natural warmth. This is not a huge difference but something I could easily repeat with/without the sheets.
TV picture on the other hand did have a more vibrant look to it that made things a little more exciting but I could probably live without it. The sheets were only $20 for a pack of ten so I figured it was worth a try. I could put more around other components but thought I’d try here first. I could see if someone has a warmer sounding system this could work but again I didn’t find it to be a huge difference. I’m still looking forward to trying the smaller version of the e-mat when they’re ready to go.
Geoff: Thank you for doing this important experiment with magnetic mats.
I absolutely agree on the benefits of degaussing CD's. The Walker Tailsman, Acoustic Revive, and Furutech degaussers are all effective in improving CD and DVD performance.
Degaussing improves the sound in my systems in addition to the benefit of E-Mats being in place -presently at the circuit breaker box, amplifier, and Oppo DVD player.
Geoff, somehow I am not surprised that you achieved "good repeatable results" using the degasser. Truth be told though, I and I suspect a number of us will be busy (repeat, will be busy) on the day of the double blind testing.
Quick interrupt. I received my cheapo magnetic mats from eBay yesterday and put three mats under my trusty portable Panny CD player, made in Japan. I listened to a CD I am quite familiar with and got nothing. I also got nothing on my hopped up LG HD TV with stacked magnetic mats on my flat TV amplified antenna.
I do get good repeatable results, on the other hand, with the Walker Talisman degausser (that’s a demagnetized to you civilians) on CDs, on the player itself and on the headphone cable. If it doesn’t make sense it’s not true. - Judge Judy
Since Frank isn’t being paid and isn’t Tim’s brother-in-law, what is "or something"?
Unless I’m mistaken, Frank has been "paid" in free products. Has he monetarily paid for a single product he owns from Tim? This is a simple yes/no question.
Before Frank goes on a tangent of how much "work" he’s done, the beta only requires ONE E mat. If he has multiple unpaid for E mats, then this is beyond the necessary, and is "payment" towards him.
On a different subject, does anyone that likes the E mat not like the Blue fuses? Or is this the same group of listeners like it seems?
I have had my mat in place for just over a week now and it keeps getting better. I had mine so the label was facing away from the component but I tried flipping it based on davidpritchards advice. In my system it sounds great either way. The soundstage and realism is incredible. Also I have never had such great quality of bass. I have been listening to a lot of music and it is so relaxing but also so many new details in the cds that have been hidden untill now. I can't wait to be able to try another mat.
@toetapaudio I’ve experimented with various Ethernet cables as well and found mixing different brands gives a good effect. I also applied the TC enhancer to not only the connectors for the ethernet cables but also where the coax cable comes in and to the modem. The TC had a great effect on all instances.
@davidpritchard nice that your Mother gets to hear the improvements. I was wondering if you had considered removing the SR Tranquility Bases and just use the Omega E Mat on it’s own to determine if the mat works better that way. It would be interesting to test.
@t_ramey I’m also curious about the effects the Mat has on streaming. In recent experiments with the fidata server I have had good results reducing the noise floor by stacking Bybee’s on top and under the Aqvox switch and my hub. So if the Omega Mat is better than the Bybee’s (which according to some reviews it is) the results should be considerably better, even with one mat. Btw I have had amazing results using different LAN cables between the switch and the fidata. The fidata is a server only, not a streamer, but despite that I can clearly hear the differences between LAN cables. This must be due to a further reduction in noise and RFI rejection. Out of the LAN cables tried, Aqvox, Vovox, Meicord and Sablon, the Sablon was the clear winner, much more open and detailed by some margin. It’s very stiff though, but looks like a work of art.
John McDonald of Audience AV, in a recent interview mentioned “Currently we are investigating nanotechnology (nano-conductive sprays and nano-substrate deposits) and their uses to improve sonics.” Seems like this delusion is spreading.🤯
I just returned from my 94 year old Mother's apartment. "How is the sound from your streaming computer system? It became more open this morning she replied. It is sounding very good. Today is day 4 with the E Mat at the circuit breaker and another one on top of the PS Audio DAC.
For fun we tried the Mat being front to back, side to side, and label up or down. She heard small differences with each position and settled with lettering facing down toward the DAC and the long direction of the MAT going in a front to back direction.
Tommy Dorsey was sounding good when I left. I have not tried on top of her computer or at her Router - signal is sent by hard wire to computer.
It will be interesting to hear her system at the end of next week.
A lot of the early stereo jazz recording were recorded in what seems like dual mono. In my experience, the early Blue Note records are the worst offenders. The Contemporary stereo recordings are some of the best records produced during the 50's & 60's. Contemporary recordings in mono have excellent SQ as well.
t_ramey ...
I'll try an E Mat under my router later today and report back. I've pasted all connections on my computer with TC to great effect, especially on the picture and sound.
I notice the same thing with some of the early stereo jazz recordings (Cannonball Adderley’s Somethin’ Else, for example). I suspect it is in the recording(s), or possibly the mastering.
Any chance there’s somebody near you that streams their music? I’ve played around with Sonic Tonic from Tweek Geek and the Black Discus from Mad Scientist and seem to get the biggest jump in performance when these items are placed around the modem and router so I’m curious to the effect the e-mats could have with this.
I reached the two week mark today. The evidence is clear that the E-Mat effectiveness increases over time. I am using six E-Mats, to review, 1 on the main power panel, 1 on the audio subpanel, 1 under the Bryston BIT-20 isolation transformer, 1 under the Ear Acute CD player and 2 stacked under the pre-amp/phono pre-amp.
I am stunned by the improvement in sound. Just the improvement in resolution/clarity would be sufficient. So many details and performance characteristics are illuminated that I never heard or previously paid attention to. The music's the same but there is so much more to it to enjoy. Actually, some recordings I thought were just okay are now fascinatingly interesting because I can hear subtle dynamic and rhythmic shifts that were previously obscured. I thought I needed a high end new speaker to hear those details but now I don't.
Frequency extremes are better in a way that Frank describes as "a lower noise floor." They just pop more.
When I put my ear to the speakers, they are quieter. I have 98db sensitive speakers and what today is considered large, hissy tube amps (well with a signal, without a signal their almost silent). This hiss is way down in level. From my seat 13' away, there was no hiss with a signal.
The only parameter I can't resolve is the stereo separation of early stereo recordings, especially jazz (many on Contemporary label). My 1956 to 1958 recordings are now mostly left and right channel with a hole in the middle unless there is a soloist recorded in the middle. Mono and more modern stereo recordings don't have this problem and completely fill the center between the speakers. Has anyone else noticed this effect? It maybe that those early stereo recordings or my speakers are not good at filling in the center for those recordings and E-Mats just clarify the recording technique.
Thank you tommylion. I forgot to ask the moderator myself as I have done once in the past where the post broke the rules, was very defamatory and non-responsive to the thread topic.
I know you’re being sarcastic, but I don’t have any authority to enforce the rules. Nor do you.
You seem to think that anything and everything should be tolerated in the name of “openness”. Sorry, I don’t subscribe to that philosophy. I’m glad those in authority here don’t either.
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