Gmkowal, I too like to have fun, what kind of site would this be if it never had a light side? Gmele, I have no experience with the new VPI brick. Probably the only person who could accurately answer the question would be Harry at VPI. I don't know if they abandoned the original idea or just added or changed some of the plates inside to effect the sound differently. There are probably products that are improved with both the old and new version of the VPI. My own experience was negative, but conflicting results are to be expected in high end audio. |
Al, I was just poking some fun. Just taking the opportunity to make a post on the lighter side of audio, nothing more, nothing less. I hope it gave you a chuckle. |
Albert-VPI has recently come out with a "New Improved" version of the Magic Brick. Was wondering if you know if this version is still a problem with the magnetic field of the component?
Best-Gary |
Albert, you may be onto something here, LP#9 as an additive for gasoline. Hmmm ... |
Gmkowal, I cannot tell if you are having fun, or don't believe in the effects of magnetics. Actually the post about the motorcycles by *Recres* is a true story. Evidently reducing the "hash" in the on board computer of racing vehicles (motorcycles and cars) improves the performance. Obviously in this application, any detriment to the sound of the exhaust system (ala audio) is of no concern to the driver. As far as my remark about the performance gain with LP#9, on motorcycles, the poster *Recres* is the inventor of this product and I know him well enough to like to tease him. |
Ladies and Gentlemen, I have to tell you all about the marvelous tweek my local HiFi shop sold me the other day. He sold me two hours consulting time with a Feng Shui consultant for only $8000.00. The consultant recommended I never connect power to my amp, pre-amp or CD because when they are turned on they generate much too much EMF's. She also recommended I immediately throw the speakers out in the trash because the magnets in them are too powerful and also causing too much EMF. After conplying with these and a few other expert suggestions I found that my stereo sounded much less bright; as a matter of fact there were no highs at all, and much less muddy in the bass and midrange; as a matter of fact there was no bass and midrange. Well, looks as if it has made striking improvements in the sound of my system. The brightness and muddiness is indeed gone. Sure was worth the $8000 and certainly less expensive than that $95,000 power cord he sold me last month. But wait a minute...there was no sound :-) |
Is it true that you can add some of the LP#9 to the gasoline of the 750 Motorcycle and make it like a 1000? |
Ben Piazza of Shakti has been infiltrating the automotive industry. It seems that the addition of the Shakti "On-Lines" on the computers and coil wiring on factory sponsored racing motorcycles, makes a 750 seem more like riding an 850. So, for those of you with more than one hobby, this may be a fun experiment. Happy motoring! |
I would like to state that the Shakti stones do work, at least in the sense that they effect the sound of many, but not all components. I probably should not post my opinion at Audiogon, because I really like the guy that manufactures the Shakti products. However, I really dislike the sound of the Stone itself. As far as what they do, there is a device inside that disrupts the magnetic field of the equipment it is placed upon. Yes, the VPI brick did the same thing, but in an even WORSE way. Take a VPI brick apart, and inside are about a dozen pieces of cut up (rather rough) scrap metal plates. Since they are steel and therefore ferrous, they immediately effect (disrupt) the magnetic field of the product. Right here I would like to point out that many manufacturers construct their products of aluminum and other NON magnetic metals, just to avoid the effect that a VPI provides. That being said, I went crazy when the VPI brick first came out, because I really loved the sound it provided as a damper, but hated what it did for the magnetic field. It took a rather long time for me to discover that the sound was partially from the weight and partly from the steel. Please remember this was in 1985, 17 Years ago! Not many of us knew about magnetics and damping all that well then. The solution with the VPI test was to purchase the milky plastic hinged boxes from Container Store and fill them with lead. Pure lead is non magnetic, and safe, as long as it is enclosed in the box. Adding them and then the VPI allowed me to test the difference the MAGNETICS played in the test, aside from the mass loading. Finally, the weight of the Shakti stone is not near what the VPI is, but the bottom of the stone is covered in a soft damping material. This material, combined with the fairly large surface area of the stone, and with even its relative light mass, often will provide a change in sound, even when there is no effect on magnetics (i.e.: a piece with no transformer/minimum power supply). I tested the Shakti stones several years ago, when the manufacturer sent me 6 of them free for evaluation. I could not find any piece of active equipment that I wanted them to stay on. The only place where they worked for me was on the power supply for the Versa Dynamics turntable. It worked there because the disruption of the magnetic field from the power supply was preferable to the distortion caused WITHIN the phono cartridge that otherwise was being bombarded with a large noise floor from an active magnetic field. Short answer: Put the stone where it may NOT harm an otherwise noisy device, and that may block the noisy device from interfering with an active device. A wild version of this was placing the stone on top of sub woofers that were used ONLY for surround sound. While the regular two channel was playing the subs were off, but too much trouble to remove from the room (too large too!). The stones placed on top during two channel and removed for movies was the only way it was a win / win deal. Obviously the radiation from the large magnetic field of the sub woofer was affecting my (then) reference amp, the Atmasphere MA2. Sorry this was such a complicated response. |
David- don't let Leaf's skepticism affect you (nothin' personal Leafs- by the way, are you in Toronto? just a hunch!!). I would pay most attention to the posts from those who actually HAVE tried the Stones (or own them, like myself). Again, I agree with last post (Rogerwalk, above)- best effect on transport/DAC area of CD player. Good luck- I won't be selling my Shakti stones any time soon! |
Yes I did check whether its just the weight. I was very sceptical before I tested the Shakti Stone. It works noticebly on my Forsell CD transport and DVD/LD player (Pioneer 909). I did blind tests with my friends who don't have to hear a difference just because one spend the money. I compared the stone with the VPI brick and other materials of approx. the same weight (granite, sand box). The consistent result is that the stone when placed on top of CD transport or DVD transport section of my equipment deepens the soundstage and increases the audio signal to noise ratio more than any of the other mass objects. The effect is not huge but for some audio lovers it's worth it. I never heard an effect on preamps, amps, or DACs. |
Shakti stones are very light not meant for dampening effect. They are supposed to absorb EMF which causes distortion in your audio signal. As I stated above I experimented with stones on CDP, Dac, preamp, amp. Easy to audition because you add/remove stone while music is playing. I hear no improvement in sound when stone is added to my system. And yes some reviewers claim to hear improvement, perhaps in another system it would work. |
To see if the Stone is effective as anything other than a mass loading effect find an object the same weight as the stone and place it on the component in question. If the Stone has a real effect then you should be able to tell between the two. Has anybody tried this experiment? - Dan |
I THINK IF YOU DO PROPER WIRING AND HAVE GOOD SHIELDED CABLES THIS STONE IS JUST ANOTHER OF THE MANY SNAKE OIL PRODUCTS OUT THERE.DONT BELIVE WHAT MOST REVIEWRS HAVE TO SAY.WHEN YOU GET FREE GEAR YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE STUPID TO SAY IT DOES NOT WORK.GIVE IT A TRY AND LET US KNOW. I BET A DEDICATED AC LINE WOULD DO MUCH MORE. |
Leafs are you saying the Shakti products dont work? I havent commited to buying.Im just trying to get a feel here of what others think.Leafs, have you tried a stone in your system? Seems like lots of people like them.I know of several big shot reviewers that swear by them.Who here has had real experiance with them? and? |
what a bunch of snake oil.you must really have nothing better to do with your time than wasting it playing with stones.get a grip and tell your dealer to get a life and sell you something that might actually make a difference. My God what is this hobby comming to.Well if your guilable why not get takin to the cleaners. If you want to add weigt to your gear buy a 2" slab of marble.it will do the trick or fill a cigar box with sand. |
It's amazing what some people will throw money away on. |
David-You might want to check out some VPI Bricks they cost $80 a piece and do the same thing as the Shakti plus mass damping. I use them on my CAL Icon CD player, my Ayre V3 amp and EAR 834P preamp, on my Audible Illusions M3A I could not use them because of the venting so on that piece I use a series of brass wieghts that Pierre Sprey at Mapleshade sells called Heavyhat Triple points. Pierrie's wieghts are used only for damping. The wood affect also IMHO brings out a more natural sound to the instruments. See link below: http://www.audioadvisor.com/product.cfm?productid=2573 Another great new tweak are the Cardas Wood blocks, I use them coupled with Black Diamond cones, and the effect is not subtle. I put them between the equiptment and the BDR cones. The Cardas RCA covers are also great, much quiter background. Best-Gary |
Of course it all depends and the design and existing EMF shielding of each component. I have played with stones on various pieces, easy to test just listen with and without, and I feel they don't make a noticable improvement. As a matter of fact I could detect no real difference in sound. But with any tweak item, different systems may produce different results. My epuipment is all Musical Fidelity SS, Bel Canto Dac1. |
I use 3 stones- one of them on top of DAC area of CD player- noticable results- slightly smoother, hair less grain, etc. (guess its reducing digital 'hash' etc.). Second stone is on top of DCS Purcell upsampler, and third is on top of A/V processor. I tried on top of tube preamp, but not as much effect. Overall, I highly recommend. Hey, whatever its doing- works for me! |
david99: my advice is to place the shakti in a pre-heated 300 deg. oven for 30 minutes, then with mittened hands put it under the foot-end of your covers when abed you go on a three dog night. on a slightly more serious note: the presumed effect of the stone is more likely to be perceived on your pass than balanced atop the rouge's power supply. |
