QSA Stones
I have had 6 QSA Stones on top of my power conditioner (2 each of red blue and clear) for about three months, and have really enjoyed what they bring to my system. This week, I got another set of 6.
One thing I have learned over many years in this hobby is the importance of power supplies, and the impact they have on the sound of individual components and systems. A number of audiophiles with DIY skills upgrade the power supplies on components with bigger and/or better capacitors, and in various other ways. Unfortunately, I lack the skills to do this.
I ended up placing the new stones on top of the power supplies of my CD transport and amp (1 red, blue and clear on each). To me the very positive results sound similar to upgrading the power supplies, without all the hassle of soldering etc. Particularly with my amp, there was an increased sense of ease and musical flow, along with more solidity and authority.
I don’t claim to have any real explanation as to how the QSA stones work, but it seems to have something to do with their interaction with electromagnetic fields, such as those around power transformers. Fortunately, I don’t need an explanation to enjoy the results🙂
@gochurchgo I'll bite. I think its all horse sh*t. All of it. But do they have a money back guarantee? If so I could be persuaded to try it. I'm kind of a sucker for sub $100 tweaks. Agreed. Anyone selling a reputable product will have a full money back guarantee or even a trial period. Please let me know the details. I am unable to find a review posted at a reputable industry website...perhaps someone can post a link? These seem earily similar to the guy who used to sell "Brilliant Pebbles" and had pictures of taping them to your ICs. He also had a "Super Intelligent Chip" that you put on top of your cd player and somehow lazer light would leak into the room and activate the magic. http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina64.htm |
@oldhvymec. Funny thing is I have tried all this stuff, Shitaki Stones, Petoskey Stones, Tuning Sticks, Crystals and none if it did anything, Did not even make my wallet lighter as I sent all the crap back and only bought this stuff from vendors with return privileges.@jerryg123 Fair point. There is some twisted logic in this thread. If someone tells me they have tried hitting themselves on the head with a hammer and it hurts, then I do not have to do the same thing to have an opinion about hitting yourself on the head with a hammer. Likewise the converse if someone tells me it feels great. If a product has value, it will be sold at reputable dealers, reviewed in the trade magazines and publications, and most importantly, there will be competition from other companies to sell similar products and take advantage of the economic laws of opportunity and market share. Of course, shills will state "You have under-developed listening skills" , "Your system is not resolving" , or the old and tested "They require system synergy with components you lack". Don't comment statements apparently are needed by the shills helping someone sell something. One doesn't need to buy expensive rocks to have an opinion about said rocks. |
The stones/pebbles/magic rocks scam has been around a while. Interesting study would be to see what states allow Corp or LLC from these people. Maybe it is in the words of the marketing literature....words like "May" and "Could" instead of a fact? Here is a thread from 2007 https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/review-machina-dynamica-brilliant-pebbles-tweak - No idea if this guy is still selling rocks. Audiophile Rocks were sold by Coconuts Audio....they are shut down. One guy I read swears by cans of spam & soup. Have to admit they will be a better price point than a painted rock. Another fellow even swears by Charcoal Briquettes......something to do with Carbon. Puts them under components, on top of speakers and lays bags on cables. Charcoal. I can only imagine the mess. While I have an open mind, I do not smoke my breakfast. Contempt prior to investigation is never a good thing but it requires limits. Never a new debate here so I look forward to the wonderful and exiting news about how these old scam tweaks are breaking new ground and the delightful reasons why Upscale Audio, Sweetwater and Audio Advisor, just to name a few, are not selling them. I am going to call a couple of the top 10 audio equipment dealers in the country and ask when they plan on stocking these wonderful rocks. Strangely enough they began selling these things when the internet became popular. I'm having trouble finding magic rocks that predate the 90s. The only stones I can find are, of course, Rolling. PS. For 1500 bucks you can buy this piece of wood. https://www.shakti-innovations.com/product/hallograph/ I doubt many will want to buy because for that kind of coin you can actually improve your system by upgrading a component. |
Can someone with a little technical knowledge let me know what kind of rock (the actual mineral) this item is? I have tried several different types of rocks this morning on my components and have seen zero results. If there is a claim that a rock can improve sound, my friend who is a geology nut will help me test the correct ones. Also, the brick and the charcoal was a total failure. |
Thanks for the Link George. Upon further study I note that the seller of these items take careful care not to claim they actually work. They use the phrase "These seem to ....." twice, and the phrase "these reach the upper mids".....which of course is a meaningless statement. A rock can not "reach" anything. Legally, if they actually worked, the statement would read "These Do X,Y,Z." not "These Seem to Do X,Y,Z". This keeps them from legal exposure for running a scam. It also keeps them from being shut down by their local regulatory body. It is sad that these types of people do this....imagine some poor guy on fixed income being told,..."just buy more rocks and it will sound amazing." Please cancel my request for the technical information.....however If someone would be specific as to the mineral needed, I will gladly audition the rock. I just tried a bocce ball and it did not do anything either. |
@georgehifi That link does the same thing....read the text.....the claim is "SEEMS to.....blah blah blah" It would not be legal for such a scam to imply the stones actually do anything. I could care less about the cliques here that bully people. All it takes for evil to prosper is good men to do nothing. So many guys in this hobby are older, and frankly, their faculties are not as sharp as they used to be so "caveat emptor" is not fair to the disabled. Perhaps you should start an Official Audio Scam thread? If you are passionate, you could post similar threads in other forums? I have emailed some of these vendors to send me a "demo" set before I purchase but of course zero replies. My opinions of those who support taking advantage of the less mentally acute has been substantially lowered. I would not trust the same to suggest a headphone holder. Honestly, perhaps the entire thread is a joke by folks having too many cocktails and a good laugh. Or they have smoked their breakfast one too many times? |
