Where are you placing them if you only had one or two? What is it doing to your system?
I need some straight answers please! I can hear a difference in Powercords and cables and all others for sure, CONES and isolations devices work but depending, on my Table, you bet! On my amplifier I am not sure. so......any inputs are appreciated
Really nothing to contribute to the actual OP subject, but speaking to things working without explanation, my first encounter with a record platter weight reset my belief in logic in reference to this avocation.
The other one was selling retail solid billet cones placed under floor standing speakers (Snell) in 1983. Worked magically.... and nobody was stoned or drunk. The effects of stabilizing sound stage, tightening bass and focusing vocals was inarguable. And we sold a lot of those things. Precursor to Gaia and Townshend.
OP posting date duly noted. Just had some extra time on my hands.
It depends on what you use them for — if you threw one at an audiophile’s head it would bounce off of it without making a dent — we are a hard headed bunch.
Here are the choices: 1. They work, and you believe the explanations for their effectiveness 2. They work, but you feel the explanations are hype, and unscientific 3. They don't work, and you feel cheated and scammed. 4. They don't work, without hearing them, because there's no rational reason 5 They work, it seems like voodoo, yet there's no denying your ears. 6. They work, you're sure they do, but are too embarrassed to admit it to others 7. They don't work, but you've allowed yourself the delusion that they do
I have a tweaker friend who has a system made up of a discontinued 50w solid state amp driving discontinued inefficient planar speakers, under $2,500 tube preamp, home-made speaker wires out of jeweler's silver wire, Shakti Stones and Holographs, Steins, Black bodies, Bybees, and other tweaks. His system produces jaw-dropping real sound. None of the over $200,000 systems I heard at the NYC Audio Show could even touch this system. Some could go deeper, but that's it. I belong to option 5. Hearing is believing.
Gee Tvad, I thought you knew where I stood long before now. If you want to believe these kind of tweeks work it's fine. But don't get ill because there's still a few semi-sane people who disagree with your non scientific findings.
Shatki bricks are even better but not nearly as good as shatki cinder blocks. In-the-know audiophiles will want to raise the blocks to 2.5 meters above a cd player (too ensure good bass extension) and then let go directly over the cd player (while the music is playing), this will tend to put an end to digital harshness, although initially the harshness may actually increase. Research tends to show that after only one such shatki cinder block application there is a significant dampening effect. This is not a subtle effect such as one notices with silly changes like new speakers or room treatments. Anyone will be able to percieve the change in tonal characteristics after one application.
"Otherwise, Google "Shakti Stone patent" for the details"
I did. Look what I found:
Some users report receiving threatening transmissions from the star system Alpha Proxima when Shakti's "The Stone" is used in conjunction with the Shakti "On-lines". Anecdotal evidence also exists suggesting that "The Stone", when ingested, produces acute schizoid behavior. Symptoms include, but are not limited to, incoherent babbling about "airy highs, a sweeter mid-range and punchier bass" as well as rushing out and spending what amounts to a modest starter home on custom power cables and Rhodium plated interconnects. When confronted by an audiophile in this dangerous and agitated state use extreme caution and avoid, when possible, the use of the word paperweight.
Hi all ! Of course they work , they are system dependant . Usually anything on top of components that has some weight to them will tighten bass and "lower" the sound overall . Anything under , like feet or blocks of wood will generally "raise" the pitch a little and add more highs .The best approach is to use a little of everything....wood ,brass , etc .
Since I know full-well that some enjoy mockery rather than trying anything remotely being characterized as a tweak which I think is ridiculous, I will enter this fray. I once had ten Shakti Stones. Now I have none. I found that I could not predict the circumstances were they had a positive effect, a negative effect, or no effect. All three happened to me.
Some times they would steal all dynamics out of the sound, sometimes they would reduce the noise level in the music, and sometimes they did absolutely nothing. At one point I concluded that they could be nowhere near the signal. Often this proved impossible. I gave up.
I should say that I have had a similar experience with quartz disks, such as the Acoustic Revive QR-8s and RIQ-5010s. There no question that under some circumstances they are very effective, in others totally terrible, and in yet others have no effect.
So, yes they can work. Where you may get great differences is unknown. All that I can really say is that, like me, you may get frustrated with the trial and error.
The humor here is unbelievably stupid. The people making fun of these thing are closed minded DOLTS.
I have an old high end system. (Mirage, ARC) I am lazy so I don't bother with any tweaks at all. It's because I am lazy, not because they don't work.
I have heard improvements that the Shakti stones make on a friends system. Definite, significant improvements. One or two persons have noted that they obtained improvements by putting the stones around electrical service boxes, etc. That makes sense! Look at the patent on the Shakti stones. Look it up on Google. Study the drawings closely. Read the text. Then THINK! What effect would that assembly (the actual contents of a Shakti stone) have when placed near an intense E and M field? Simply put, the stones' contents absorb some of the E and M energy thus reducing the amount that freely radiates through an area.
Theoretically the stones would be most effective containing E and M fields around areas where the E and M fields are the most intense. And protecting low level signals from spurious E and M fields.
If you would take the trouble to read the patent you would see that shakti stones are on the level. They are legit. All the people that have made dismissive comments here belong in the "Flat Earth Society." So dumb.
If you can notice the blind spot created by putting a pea in front of your speakers your auditory acuteness is sufficient to detect a difference from the Shakti Stones. It amazes me what some will pay for an tiny difference in sound (better?)
I was browsing through(my father's!) MSEE tube textbooks from the early 1950s and came across a statement that a block of ferrous material placed on top of a transformer improves electromagnetic coupling between the windings. This explains the old transformer laminations found inside VPI bricks and perhaps the ferrites in Shakti stones. Expensive, mystical repackagings of simple ideas...
Rapogee, there are sound scientific reason why items such as powercord and isolation devices can influence and alter the sound of a system. And you correct that some will influence some devices more than others.
Unfortunately, there is no scientific explanation as to why shakti stones can influence sound; its all down to placebo effect.
I would say it would be system dependent. My local dealer did an in-store demonstration with his Musical Fidelity equipment and there was an audible difference.
Looks like Musical Fidelity have some work to do in improving the EMI immunity of that particular equipment or its packaging.
I would say it would be system dependent. My local dealer did an in-store demonstration with his Musical Fidelity equipment and there was an audible difference. But when he brought the Shaktis to my home and tried it on my Parasound system, we both agreed, we couldn't hear any difference. And you can imagine he tried many stones in different locations in my Parasound system to no avail.
I tried a Shakti stone on my Simaudio W-5 amp. It didn't relly do much in that application.I don't doubt that they would work with other equipment, etc , but just didn't do it for me. At least I tried it.
09-10-06: Timrhu They definitely work if you believe they work.
09-11-06: Jax2 I believe if you believe in the belief that there is a possibility of believing something will work in the real world, and that your belief is what makes that thing work....wait a minute, I lost track of my beliefs...the whole thing's just unbelievable anyway.
Snatch the Shakti stones from my hand, young Grasshopper, and it will be time for you to leave.
Marco
2 best answers! :-) I don't know which one is better - Timrhu's answer is spot-on w.r.t. many things in audio. Marco, who I consider the court jester of Audiogon, has us tangled up in our beliefs as audiophiles - so true!
I also have bought two and tried them on all my equipment. I couldn't find any differences either. Then I put them outside of the main circuit breaker panel. They actually work for me there!
I have bought two and after many many experiments and opinion gatherings, I have found that they have no effect, no matter what you put them on. I am very open minded and admit readily and often to the efficacy of tweaks but shakti stones are a scam in the classic sense. At least my findings have lead me to believe that.
I think the Quantum Physics Noise Disrupter works a little better! I found that the Stone made the sound of my equipment lifeless. It cut into the soundstage to much for me. The Quantum did less to change the sound. My system had a deep black backgound to start with. It works well with my DAC! Great on the highend, but I lost some low level detail. I'm still working with it!
I can take them out one by one. You may have a point that the stone hurt the player. I could take one off my amp and see what happens. I'm off line right now due to a broken cable and waiting for a replacement. I may give it a try and let you know.
They work great, IF you use them right. But first, they need to be harmonically balanced. You do this by putting the 'family stones' in a vise and tighten down real snug. Then you release the tension. At first, you you will notice some slight discomfort, but upon release you will immediatly noticed a vast improvement! Thus, you have been harmonically balanced! :) the only thing left to do after that is check your warp drive coils, I think they need a little tweaking too.
I have had three stones installed for a year - one on each amp and one on my Hydra. Couldn't really say they made a difference until I took a stone off the Hydra and placd it on my cd player. I had forgotten I had made this change and when I listened a few days later, the highs sounded unnatural, almost edgy. It was pretty bad - not at all how I remembered my system sounding. It was the same on vinyl, squeezebox and FM. I checked the whole system and couldn't find anything wrong, until I remembered I had moved the stone. When I placed it back on the hydra, all went back to normal. Great sound had returned. Now I know they work.
Yioryos, it doesn't work that way, but I find that if you stand erect about 6 feet from the speakers and hold one stone in each hand, it improves your blood circualtion.
I do not have any "Absolute Sound" or "Hi-Fi" mags around to compare to but I am sure they would make even more improvement.
I have some rare NOS Sears Roebuck catalogues from the 1960's that I was just about to list here on A'gon. Ping me off the list and we can strike up a deal!
I have finally found a use for "Stereophile" magazines. I place two stacks of four mags each on top of my modded Elite player. Definitely improves bass impact and definition and foucs/definition of vocals. Drums are more solid and an upright bass is more defined.
I am not sure if the improvement is from dampening or(and?) stray noise protection but there definitely is an improvement. I receive similar improvement from Nordost Pulsar Points so I think it may be resonance related.
I do not have any "Absolute Sound" or "Hi-Fi" mags around to compare to but I am sure they would make even more improvement.
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