Perfect Path Technologies: Omega E mat

I recently put E-Cards between the power cord plugs at the wall outlet and on my power conditioner. I also tacked one to the top of the input connection on my Ethernet cable that feeds my music server.  Really easy to do and heard an immediate improvement. Just FYI.

TC is not the variable, here.

Think: "room" as influencing the sound?

Hi tuffy72651: I'm a little confused about the TC. My understanding is that once it's applied, it basically lasts indefinitely until you remove it. You said "When I first got here I connected my system with the original TC on all my connections but the sound after a few weeks never got anywhere  close to how it had sounded before the move". Someone please explain.

Forgot to mention, talking with Tim is a pleasure.  I've taken the opportunity to do that twice and will likely do so more in the future.  Those of you that have questions that you don't want to ask here, give him a ring! 

I just want to share some of the spots that I've used TC, though most are a rehash of what others have suggested, done already, or contemplated... 

I started with the breaker box.  First was breakers to bus and wire-ends to breakers + neutral/ground wire ends.  Also disassembled ground to copper piping connection, Emory cloth cleaned the connectors and the piping, TC'd and reconnected.  Nice...  
Outlets as part of system were next.  However, I found some benefits from doing outlets and plugs not on the system.  Not huge gains, but every little bit...  I figured (maybe faulty logic?) that doing this on outlets/equip that is notoriously noisy (microwave, fridge, computers, etc...) might limit some of that noise or junk put back onto the lines.
Interconnects, speaker cables, binding posts, and plug-ends were next.  very nice gains.  I took suggestions from DavidPritchard (sp?), GK, and oregonpapa by opening the connector ends of my interconnects and pasted the soldered connection points - that worked really well!  Breathed new life into ICs that I had placed on the shelf as potential sale/trade-in's.   Also, I have made numerous cords, so I removed the plug & IEC ends, trimmed & restripped wires, applied TC, applied a crimp fitting, TC'd that, TC'd the connection points on the inside of the connectors, and re-terminated.  Another WOW! 

Opening the lids on my amp, pre, and conditioner yielded great results as well.  I cannot believe how cheap so many of the crimp connectors are/were in there.  Regardless, I purchased some small brushes from Amazon for painting tiny designs on finger/toe-nails so that I could hit only the very specific spots I wanted and not get any where I did not.  Work like a charm.  I may trim the bristle length to firm them up.  I made sure to do all power/crimp connectors, I pasted not just internal fuses, but the compression tabs to hold the fuse - all the way down to the board and over the solder point.  Ribbon cable ends and others were also done.  Very happy!
I did similar with the cable box, connectors, and such for the television, Roku, etc... 

I have done the binding posts on my speakers, the connection points to the drivers, and am in the process of doing the crossovers.  I realized that I did not remove the terminations on my speaker cables and do that yet...on the list. 

Those of you that have TC and think you've hit all you can - there is likely more possible...  I have not tried the wall-plates for outlets or on the external plug shells, yet...my tube gear is tucked-away for the moment, so none there, yet. 

All-in-all, I am quite pleased with TC (and the mats/cards).  I really like how the clarity improves, but the tonality (I think that's the right term) doesn't shift...  Using Walker SST Extreme and similar in the past lent a 'sheen' or 'sparkle' almost immediately, but seemed to go downhill from there.  I've only been applying TC for about 9-months or so and have not noticed any degradation of SQ.  Hope this helps some...and please share other 'discovered' locations for TC, cards, and mats.  Oregonpapa, thanks for the card on the outlet box suggestion...I've not tried that, yet,  but I have used velcro wire-ties to wrap cards around power-plug-bodies...not bad at all  ;)  Also, I placed cards in between the 4 binding posts on each of my speakers since I haven't re-popped the drivers out to TC the crossovers.  I'll move them to the crossovers at that point.
Happy Friday-Eve to all!Doug

P.S. Robert doesn't read Audiogon forums, so he doesn't know what Frank does to alter his system sound.

@dorkwad 

Wow 106 that is great for him and hopefully for you too. I spoke to Tim over the holiday weekend and ordered  a pack of E-cards. I see they are expected to come tomorrow but I am not sure yet how soon I will put them in my system. I just moved to Tampa, from cold, windy and cloudy chicagoland, a few months ago and I had to reapply the PP TC enhancer to my entire system. When I first got here I connected my system with the original TC on all my connections but the sound after a few weeks never got anywhere  close to how it had sounded before the move. Upon stripping off the old TC, from the  now broken connections, with alcohol, and reapplying new TC the system made a big jump in sound quality very quickly. I am currently about 41 days out from the reapplication of the TC and might wait until I sense the 8 week jump in sound quality has been realised before I place the e-cards in. Tim said the e-cards pretty much their full potential about 3 weeks after placement.

Keep letting us readers know about the changes in the sound and where you end up placing the E-Cards for maximum effect.  I've only put the PPTC on all my contacts and need to repast several ones I have taken in and out of the system in the past couple months.  Will be getting 1 E-Mat to put in the breaker box and about 10-12 E-Cards to do most of the system and things like Core Power Tech 150's, along with the inside of cabinets on my 2 cabinets per side speakers.  Through in 'The Gate' and I will enjoy my system to the fullest for as many days as I have left on this earth.  Could be a lot.  My dad died about 4 years ago at 106.

yoby

I very carefully placed Omega E-Cards in certain locations inside the components, like on top of transformers and such. This is easy in my system as I leave the lids off of the components.

Then I got the bright idea of putting E-Cards inside of the wall outlets.

I removed the wall plates and found that there was just enough room to slide the cards in on both sides of both outlets. They just barely fit on the outside of the outlet’s internal box.

Things are still "charging up" but my initial reaction is very positive. The noise floor continues to drop, revealing more infinitesimal details that were not evident before. Bass control is much better too.

I’ve spent the entire morning listening to both female and male vocal recordings that I know very well. Voice inflections are improved, and the personality of the singers shine through even more than before. Backup singers and accompanying musicians are more clearly delenated too ... and I thought I had that in spades before the E-Card experiment. Who knew? *lol*

By the way, both of these outlets were treated with Total Contact a couple of months ago. So the E-Cards are a further improvement over the TC.

My friend Robert is coming over tonight for a listening session. I didn’t tell him about the placement of the E-Cards. He has a good ear and knows my system very well. We’ll see if he detects the improvements I’m hearing.

Stay tuned ...

Frank

Thank you Krissy and Tim for taking my call on the Holiday. Always nice to talk with other people who have been bitten by the audio bug. Iso much appreciate Tim taking the time to talk to us on such a personal level obout his products and their applications.

<3 Heya Guys! <3 

Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who called Timmy over the holiday weekend. <3  He loves to talk shop! <3 <3 

 I am pleased to announce the parts to Perfect Path's latest adventure "The Gate" have been shipped to New Hampshire!  We will be working through out February for it's release.  <3 <3  DATE PENDING!  <3 <3 Yippee! <3  This in-line power conditioner is a game changer! <3  You must hear this! <3 More info coming soon! <3 

@oregonpapa ,  <3 Frank <3  THREE more mats in my car. <3 I swear Mickey Hart was with me today on the ride to Market Basket. LOL. <3  

<3 Thanks so much! <3 Krissy <3 

Hi tommylion, glad to hear your enjoying your rig.  I will look forward to hearing your system when the chance arises.  Having just retired, I'm getting acquainted with my new lifestyle.

He is probably too busy listening music. 😉

George,

lt is still sounding great. The thing that really stands out to me over the long term is the sheer naturalness of instruments & voices. This allows for involvement with, and emotional response to, the music that is very similar to what I experience at a live performance. To have this readily available, in the comfort of my own home, is truly a blessing.

My invitation still stands to come by and hear it for yourself, whenever you are up this way.

Just wondering how fellow Vermonter tommylion's system is sounding?  Haven't seen any updates for a couple of months.  George 

Hi dorkwad: I took your advice and called Tim at Perfect Path and he told me that the E-Cards are not directional and it doesn't matter which way you orient the label. He also added that placing E-Cards inside the chasis is really of no benefit over just placing them on the outside. You also run the risk of the E-Card coming loose and falling directly onto internal components/wiring inside that could cause damage.

yoby ...

I'm going to be placing some E-Cards on my transformers tonight. I'll report back with the results.

Go Rams!

Frank

Hey Jeff,

Label up.  

Magic Mounts are double sided adhesive very thin pads, about 1 mm thick.  Hold very well, but can be removed if you start at a corner and peel them off.

If you have any questions, call Tim.  He loves to talk about this stuff with people.   6032034486

Oh, I forgot. Has anyone put them inside the chasis of components? If so, where are the optimal places to put them? ie. near power supplies, transformers, or voltage regulators? Digital section of DACs or CD players? Analog output stages? Thanks

I just ordered a set of Alpha E-Cards and have a couple of questions regarding placement:                                                                             1. Are they directional? (label up or down)                                            2. When placing underneath a component, is it just placed on the shelf below, or directly attached to the chasis with some kind of adhesive, Velcro, etc?                                                                           3. dorkwad: What are "magic mounts"?                                                  Thank you all in advance. Jeff

mac48025,

When I talked at length with Tim, he said I'd get great results if I put an E card and stuck it with magic mounts to the back of the magnet on the top woofer and another on the bottom woofer of my VMPS RM 40s.  It would then affect the sound across the entire speaker including crossover.  For those who don't know, there is a woofer near the top of the 66" cabinet and one near the bottom.  So 2 cards to each speaker.  If your speakers have 2 cabinets to each side, stick one on the back magnet on the inside of each cabinet.  If you have an separate area where the crossover is located, put one there also.  This would take 6 cards to do both sets of speakers.

Your idea of putting one on the outside of the speaker would offer a little improvement, just not near what inside would do.  If you're going to spend the money, you might as well get the most bang for your buck.

Bob

On the reverb thing:

Natural reverb, like hall sounds, is fine with me. In fact, I enjoy it. It’s supposed to be there. Its when artificial reverb is added by the recording/mastering engineer for effect is where the problems occur. As an example, the original Patricia Barbara "Cafe Blue" album is saturated with artificial digital reverb. To me, it’s unlistenable. The 180-gram reissue is much better in this respect. I can take a little of it, but there is a limit.

Jafreeman is correct. With the addition of PPT products and the resulting lowering of the electronic hash/grain/noise, it allows one to more clearly hear into the recording to discern the natural sounds of the recording space.

With judicious use of Total Contact and multiple Omega E Mats, when playing the best recordings, some from master tapes, one can envision a transportation right into the recording venue.

As an example, I have a two-CD set of Rachmaninoff’s 2nd & 3rd piano concertos performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra burned right off of the master tape. These recordings were never released commercially. They’re recordings of a Rachmaninoff competition with an amateur pianist (the winner of the contest) playing. Amazing performance and sound. The hall is very evident as are the individual audience members. I just sit back, hit "play," and get transported into the theater, trying hard not to catch the flu from the "coughers," "sniffers" and "hackers" sitting around me. :-)

Frank

mac48025
I got a major improvement in sound after treating my crossovers with Total Contact. I treated all the connections to and from the crossovers, the wire connections to the individual speaker drivers, and coated the capacitors and resistors . I also put an Omega E- Mat under each crossover.
It did take 3 days to sound better and then was significantly improved at two weeks.
It is definitely worth the time and effort to treat your crossovers.
DavidPritchard

As the noise floor drops using PPT products, the extended reverberation time and the hall-like ambience is mind blowing. Some like the as-is sound of a padded studio room--I’m not sure where artificial begins and realism ends---have to accept the sound as what was intended.  

Frank, I would think that artificial digital reverb wouldn’t be your cup of ’coffee’! :)

Thanks Krissy, I shall do so. I had a feeling being near the crossovers would be best. It will be a good excuse to get inside the speakers and paste the wiring, connections and caps within before blue tacking the cards to the crossovers. Results at 11 😀

lemonhaze ...

1.  Try the Mat either way ... on top, or beneath the Oppo. 

2.  Try pasting the Oppo's connections ... the IC's and the PC. 

3.  I don't know the answer to the "steel box" question.

4.  Yes, I did listen to every Filippa Giordano recording offered on Spotify. Thanks for the recommendation.

She has a beautiful voice, no doubt. Unfortunately, the recordings are very processed, using too much artificial digital reverb for my taste. I like natural sounding recordings. A little of that reverb is ok, but too much is too much.

I understand why many folks like it, as it makes the sound stage appear larger and more cavernous. Not my cup of tea though. I predict that once you have your system up and running using the TC and the E Mats that you will be hearing a lot more of that processing in some of your recordings as well. :-)

Take care ...

Frank

@oregonpapa,
Hi, as I mentioned in my post I am busy renovating so at the moment there is nothing really for me to try the TC on. All kit is packed away because it is like a sand storm inside the house when I am grinding and chasing walls and concrete floor for heating and lighting.

We do have a small room away from the mess where we can relax and watch TV. In this room we have an Oppo, small amp and little bookshelf speakers. I could place a mat on the Oppo but should it go on top or underneath and which way should the label face?  Also I do not wish to treat any connections yet as I want to hear the improvements taking place when I finally reassemble my main system. I will be adding room treatments and would not like to confuse the results of this with the PPT products.

I have a mat against the circuit breakers. There is no steel box enclosing the breakers so I have placed a piece of cardboard between the mat and breakers to prevent any shorts. Is it the steel box surrounding the breakers that has a deleterious effect on sound and the mat somehow reduces or prevents this? What I am asking is if the mat will still improve things although there is no proper box.

BTW did you ever get around to listening to Filippa Giordano that I recommended when I last addressed you?

Hey Mac48025,
 Timmy sometimes tells new customers to try the Ecards on  their crossovers;  it's a huge bang for the buck. <3  Report back what you think??? <3  Enjoy <3 Krissy <3

Facebook?   Another good thing perverted to what it is today.  Nothing to do with audio so I will zip it.

With taller speakers would I be better off with the E cards on top of the speakers or affixed to the back closer to the crossovers? Thanks

uberwaltz ...

I know the feeling. The E Cards I'm using for the bedroom system were taken out of the family room TV system to try this experiment. Now, I don't want to take them out of the bedroom system What to do ... What to do??

Much appreciated Bill and Frank

I have  one card under the lps for my Aries Mini, one under the Mini itself, two under my Goldnote phono, three on the Ayre ax7e.
Do not want to move any so.....

looks like I need buy some more cards!

uberwaltz...

I have a bedroom system that consists of my computer (PC), and a pair of Audioengine A2+ powered speakers. Just using the stock speaker cables that came with the speakers.

I put E-Cards on top of the speakers, and on top of the PC. The results are very satisfying.

1. The computer screen has a much better picture. Great for cruising YouTube videos.
2. The music from my Spotify account is much better. The speakers completely disappear. The music has a lot more body. Better 3-D imaging. Lots of depth. The real payoff is how relaxed the music has become and how visceral human voice is. Love those sultry female ballads! :-) Listening to a live recording of Mel Torme at the moment. Delightful!

I'll leave everything in place overnight and report back in the morning. 

Frank

Under TT motor. Tom

<3 Yes. It's a Facebook thing. <3 It turns them into actual floating hearts. Everything is said with love. <3 Indeed.  <3  Mémère used to say, "In a world where you can be anything....be kind." 

<3 Streaming?  I have a few Alpha Cards under my ROKU player. <3 I  <3 LOVE IT. <3  Less....nix that.....ZERO buffering.
It's a pretty big deal for us.... being we live in the sticks. <3 lol

 They also work well on the modem. <3 A noticeable difference. <3 I lined up 6 Ecards under my Mac Book Air. <3 It seems to run cooler and charge faster. <3 OH.  And the fan doesn't kick on so often  when I play Candy Crush. LOL. <3 Small but powerful. <3 

<3 An entertaining and highly intellectual group of fellas. <3 We love to read this thread. <3 Thanks so much!  <3 Krissy 

Yes Uber. I have cards on my SOTM trifecta.  Two each! Love the results after a few days. These cards are great on linear power supplies for our digital front ends also. 

Mrs_PPT?

^^^ uberwaltz ...

They seem to work everywhere tried by most who have tried them. Wish I could help out, but Vinyl and CD's only here. Oh wait ... I can try them under/over my PC to see if the SQ of Spotify is improved. I'll get back to you ...

Frank

The plot has been lost for sure.
Any takers on using ecard or emat on a music server?

I always thought it was a sideways heart, meaning that everything is said with love...maybe?

The holy Trinity? 

<3 = ?

Indeed Elizabeth!
You have a lot to answer for.

Lmao

😁😎😁😎

It's most likely and probable that it's from visiting these forums that are filled with "geniuses" who are graduates of the Cheech & Chong University!

@clearthink- If it's not too embarrassing, would you explain to everyone what circumstances in your life caused you to be such a tool?

 Elizabeth, how come you refuse to let me send you two cards to try? Just curious.... <3