As a mostly-lurker who grew weary of Sistrum's explanations long ago, I've got to say the more I read these explanations the more self-contradictory and less credible they seem. There is such a lack of rigor in Sistrum's efforts to explain the science of their product, you wonder why they don't just give it up and let the product stand on its performance, which after all many have said is very good.
It was interesting to have Robert of Starsound come on board to straighten things out and then say things like, a Sistrum platform is an active device because it vibrates. Starsound seems to take a lot of these kinds of marketing liberties in its technical explanations.
More surprising is the admission itself that Sistrum stuff vibrates a lot. We've read a lot of claims tantamount to saying that Sistrum racks are near-perfect conductors of vibrational energy, channeling all the energy to ground. We've been told Sistrum drains energy away, avoiding the futile sins of trying to absorb and damp energy. Now, Robert says that Sistrum racks vibrate "continuously and simultaneously [sic]," that the noisy Sistrum "rattle triangle" creates a multitude of freqencies, both above and below the audible range. Which is it going to be -- coolly conducting the energy to ground, or continuously and excitedly vibrating it off?
There's nothing new about the latter approach. One could argue that based on this explanation, Sistrum racks are damping devices, something that the more vocal Sistrum backers seem to think is the original sin. Damping devices absorb potentially harmful vibrations and throw off the energy at frequencies that will do much less harm (they certainly don't just absorb and absorb until they explode). That appears to be what Sistrum does.
Part of the problem with these discussions is that isolation vs. coupling and damping vs. conducting are fine dichotomies at the theoretical level but are not very useful labels at the practical level. I think any structure that's sturdy enough to risk putting your equipment on and practical enough so that you could take your equipment off of it without having to unweld it or something equally extreme is going to be doing some isolating and some coupling. Arguing about equipment as if they are embodiments of theoretical ideals is pretty useless, but it does reveal a tendency of audiophiles to want simple and elegant-sounding explanations that audio equipment marketers can and do take ready advantage of.
Lastly, in the face of criticism, Sistrum defenders often resort to saying something like, "Why don't you try it and see if you don't think it's great?" Finally, a half-way sound argument. But my and others' objections are not about Sistrum's performance. They're about the very questionable, science-like claims and explanations that, for some reason, Sistrum backers seem more devoted to forcing upon the rest of us than supporters of just about any other product. Their question seems to imply that if you were to try and enjoy a Sistrum product, than somehow that would prove that the line of science-like verbiage that Starsound puts out is valid.
I've been reading these pages long enough to know first-hand that Starsound came on the AudiogoN scene in a less-than-honorable way. There are at least a few calm Audiogon voices who speak highly of Sistrum equipment and don't indulge in the marketing nonsense, so I do think these products have merit. But to some of us, their marketing creates a very different image than I'm sure they'd like their product line to have. Robert provided an interesting explanation of the origin of the name, Sistrum, saying that the musical instrument called the sistrum was used ritually by temple chantresses to ward off the forces of chaos. Starsound's marketing definitely recreates the mood of this origin story. Please, I don't want to see a white paper, if it's more of the same. Let the product speak for itself. |
Hello Jay.Your right.. The easiest way to explain Sistrum is to have someone put it to use in their system. It then becomes the most effective means of communication.All the mis conceptions and predispositions melt away..Tom |
Of course Jay is right! he points out the very essence of all this mess, of which you are a MAJOR contributor: But my and others' objections are not about Sistrum's performance. They're about the very questionable, science-like claims and explanations that, for some reason, Sistrum backers seem more devoted to forcing upon the rest of us than supporters of just about any other product. Their question seems to imply that if you were to try and enjoy a Sistrum product, than somehow that would prove that the line of science-like verbiage that Starsound puts out is valid. |
PA, I think it's best to keep this in the I. Let me hear from Sean what he thinks. He might merely ditto you, but I'd rather hear it from him. What was it about Lak's system that made the Sistrum conducive, but not to your "complex" system? The Sistrum is "designed to be marketed ( rightfully so) to particular individuals." Would you care to elaborate? thanks in advance, warren |
Mejames: I may have misinterpreted your original post as asking if i would be willing to measure / test one of these devices more-so than just demo it. I am not against trying any product. Then again, i will only invest my money into a product that i think is worthy of the expenditure to begin with, regardless of a money back offer.
Other than that, testing of such a product and obtaining meaningful results would require days on end of very rigorous and systematic analysis. I have neither the time, patience or "optimal" equipment to do such. While it is possible that i could perform some rudimentary tests and obtain results, i'm quite certain that if they didn't jive with what Sistrum and the Sistrum devotees expect, it would only further inflame the situation.
Jayboard: That was a very reasonable post that summed up much of what i've been "trying" to say. That is, the techno-mumbo-jumbo that Sistrum and their supporters keep foisting upon us does not add up and is actually quite a turn-off towards their products. Maybe the product does work as claimed, but i can see no reason as to why it could / should and they don't seem to be able to explain why it does, if it does. Sean
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Warren, you just asked me for my system layout a few days ago. It's self explanatory. Just add the number of pieces. Then look at Lak's.
As for marketing, it is evident the Sistrum is a *boutique* product. So are the explanations... |
I own a Sistrum rack and am very satisfied; in fact I have never been more impressed with an accessory, as they are beautiful to look at, completely neutral, and natural sounding.
Having gone through torture while experimenting with countless racks, and isolation device configurations over the past two years; which included names like: Grandprix, Polycrystal, Aurio pros, Still Points, Walker audio. Etc, etc. - not to mention endless
A-B-ing with all different types of combinations - I realized that this was no longer fun anymore, as I was becoming insatiable – and had begun to lose my compass north.
After talking with the - I believe - highly ethical and knowledgeable guys at Star Sound, I ordered a 36" rack, and have never looked back. Again-nice looking, large sound stage- opened up the sound dramatically, better dynamics, tighter bass, while remaining completely neutral and natural sounding; I could also turn my volume up 15-20% + higher on most CDs', as the background was so much quieter. Last but not least: I sleep better now not having to worry about tweeks that "might of been"..
Very happy with their racks, I decided to try their Sonora cable, having experimented extensively with Shunyata (Anaconda), and Virtual Dynamics (Nite series) power cords and interconnects - all with much of the same above frustration..Star Sound prevailed once more, while re-enforcing the above positive results I had with the rack - a no-brainer at about 1/2 of the price.
There appears to be definite synergy achieved when using their equipment together.
Sorry to go on about Star Sound products, but I feel that they don't always get the credit they deserve on Audigon. Considering that they are aurguably one of the highest technology based audio manufacturers out there - that also happen to sound good as well.
Lastly: Their new Caravelle Speakers –of course I had to try a pair.. and all the great things that Warren expressed have been basically my experience too, except that I haven’t received their Sistrum proprietary stands yet (a critical component).., and have instead been using my cheap lead-filled Target stands for now, so a little premature to comment. Though I will say that even without proper brake-in, and with the wrong stands, they were far superior to my Verity Fidelios – which are about twice the price.
These guys, and their technology at Star Sound - in my opinion “are for real”.
Associated equipment: Meitner front end and Jadis integrated amp. |
Saffy, wait until you get those Caravelles on top of their dedicated stands. Fasten your seatbelt. You have heard nuttin yet. The upper end will blossom. Everything will improve. What you have now? Man, do have something to look forward to. Please share with us, your tympanic experiences after you get your stands. peace, warren |
Gosh, these threads take a life of their own. Engineers, Physcist and Muscians! I guess it's left up to our ears to decide. I don't know the science or really care, but I have used Sistrum and still do. I notice more detail without brightness but more important more musicality. That's what I listen for. Energy is going to find the Earth to ground itself anyway, the Sistrum seems to increase the efficiency of this transfer which increases the accuracy of the read and lowers the vibration on the boards. Now don't take this as science because I prefer the PychoAcoustical approach as in reference to the 73' Hamm AES studies. I simply like what Sistrum does for my system. My only regret is that I don't have an infinite amount of $$$ to do it all. |
I'm not sure that Star Sound needs to release every bit of its intellectual property to respond to routine debates by the same small subset of people who, I believe, even if presented a slice of engineering truth, wouldn't purchase the product because either they aren't in the market for a new audio rack, don't like the people who work at the company, or have a different opinion on what the truth should be.
Personally, I'm getting tired of this debate because its an endless do-loop. Before I purchased my SP-7 I read all the negative comments on the products because I often find that's where the real drawbacks can be found. What I read were critiques on marketing and questions about the design that were the result of lacking information. Almost 100% of these posters were people who never owned the Star Sound product they reviewed. Their argument made simply: Star Sound hasn't disclosed sufficient engineering data to support the fact that the product works and, as a result, it sounds like mumbo jumbo, so its not worth purchasing.
As I said above, I don't believe Star Sound has to post anything. Microsoft certainly doesn't post information on how its code works...and you bought it anyway. More to the audiophile point, the same debate occurs within upsampling vs oversampling conversation, and with DVD-A vs SACD vs Redbook. If you don't like what you hear, don't buy the product.
As a side point, those engineers or analysts who are asking so many questions about the products haven't called Star Sound, despite repeated offers to answer additional questions. These people should really, really understand that a detailed conversation needs to be had - not a white paper. This is because the nature of the conversation requires substantial agreement on terminology, discussion of formulas, and why those decision making tools are used. I'm not aware of too many companies that will make an executive technical designer available in response to fairly anonymous comments on a web forum. I'd pose the question to those who have been asked to call Star Sound: Why haven't you called?
However, I read many posts from owners of the products who said the products work. So, who should I listen to: the engineers who don't have the data to back their positions (because Star Sound hasn't given them the data) or the owners of the products? To me, the fact that Star Sound doesn't provide detailed information about how their products work, really doesn't impact my decision. This is partially because I'm sure whoever designs their equipment is better at it than I am, and partially because I accept that I don't need to see 100% of data to make a decision.
Based on the information that is public, and a 30-day moneyback guarantee, I had all I needed to try the Sistrum SP-7. I didn't return it - the product works. |
Psychiccritter.. you in all of your one liner wisdom and your soup sandwich approach to hi-fi will never get it.. you, yourself and not I, have predetermined that...Tom |
Tony, couldn't have said it better myself. Aspirin, for one, (and there are many more) has been around for for years and has been quite effective, wouldn't you say? There are still a host of things that aspirin does effectively that cannot be explained scientifically, including, getting rid of an old fashioned headache. Theory, yes, but no solid scientific reasons. If a drug's effectiveness, say aspirin, cannot be fully explained, will you still take it when you get a headache? Aren't you happy and satisfied that it works. I, still, do not undertand the reluctance to try a product, that offers a full moneyback guarentee if you're not happy. Why o why are so many, (actually, it is really a few) so close minded about giving the Sistrum Rack Systems a trial?
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance--that principle is contempt prior to investigation"
-Herbert Spencer- |
science has still not proven why cement hardens, go figure...last I looked folks were using a lot of it and liking it. |
I don't think Bayer or Microsoft claimed their products work in a way that they could not. If they did, I'm sure a knowledgeable someone would be considered responsible in calling them on it. That's the point your otherwise fine posts are beside. FWIW - the mech of aspirin has been known since the seventies. |
Love the quote Warren. It definitley applies here. |
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The empire sings a different tune! Sistrum backers are no longer repeating Star Sound's self-contradicting techno-slogans. Instead, they have started saying things like, Star Sound doesn't have to explain anything to us (I heartily agree, so I hope they stop!)... we don't know why aspirin or cement works, so should we stop using them?... we should just judge the product on how it performs, etc., etc.
This is such a sudden role reversal, I worry that there's been an invasion of body-snatchers. But, hey, it's a step in the right direction. Nobody's choice of equipment has been criticized here; noone's taste has been impugned; there's just been a protest over junk science. Enjoy your stuff. |
I love the way this junk improves the sound of my stuff and so do my friends also enjoy vasts amount of smiles when they listen to their stuff on top of this junk.It makes their stuff sound bigger taller wider as if the band has moved into their places to play till 4am just before they gotta go deliver their paper route. Just all around the result is better more enjoyable stuff. |
Jayboard: Your post wreaks of logic. Logic has no place in this thread or in the purchase of audio / audio support componentry. That is, at least according to some. Please don't stir the pot any more and let this thread die a peaceful death. Sean
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I find it humorous that some(actually about 3) people think that an entire product line could be designed (from the ground up) around a certain concept, works totally awesomely(according to the users), yet these same people think that the manufacturers have no clue how it works (Even after several explanations).
I think it far more likely that these same people lack the necessary technical understanding to grasp the obvious explanations that have been put forth several times on this thread already.
Just because certain individuals fail to accept or understand certain technical facts about the working of these products, has no bearing on anything. These products still do work as advertised, and operate exactly on the principles described at least twice in some of the above posts. Discussions of "logic" when totally misapplied, and based on faulty misconceptions about our product, are not helpful to anyone.
Thousands of other audiophile users do accept and understand these concepts, and buy the products, and are ecstatic with the results. Statistically, that makes the few grumblers and misunderstanders in this thread a negligable representation, which is to be expected when dealing with large numbers of people.
I'm truly sorry that some cannot manage to grasp the idea behind these products, but it has been explained at least twice.
If this is not enough, there is another explanation forthcoming, as promised, from our engineering staff. We really would like to have everyone understand these things if possible. We don't want to leave anyone "out in the cold", except to the extent that they may refuse to accept our statements.
Please stay tuned for this, if you still are having trouble with these concepts.
For the rest of the people in the world, we can continue to do business as usual, and continue to improve the sound of peoples' systems who can understand and do buy our products. |
TWL, I hadn't intended to post on this thread again until I saw your "white paper".
As it stands I have read all of the posts in this thread, am somewhat technically inclined, and I still do not understand the design principals espoused by your employer or yourself.
I believe a maunufacturer and its representatives should bend over backward to explain its product in terms which either a layman or a technician can understand, something that can easily be done without fear of revealing something that isn't protected by trademark, copyright, or patent protection.
For some reason, which is unfathomable to me, you have elected to denegrate those who have questioned the current statements of yourself and your employer rather than (1) Publishing materiels that anticipates these questions and answers them before they are asked or (2) responds to the questions with specific answers explaining how your product specifically resolves the problems which typically cause the questions to arise. Personally, I'm a sucker for specificity, but I'm not suseptible to your present arguments for your product that say because the manufacturer says it sounds good and a lot of people who use it say it sounds good then it must be good and your questions are there for ignorance based or inappropriate.
It may be good, but then again if you put BS in a box with a pretty ribbon you will not only sell a bunch of boxes, but you will get testimonials as to its great flavor.
As for me, you no longer need to be concerned with my questions. The apparently corporate attitude conveyed in this post has killed any interest I might have had in your product. |
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Twl -
"I think it far more likely that these same people lack the necessary technical understanding to grasp the obvious explanations that have been put forth several times on this thread already."
Your statement is that your rack's design rests on a theory of unidirectional energy flow based on the 2nd law of thermodynamics. There is nothing obvious about this 'technical explanation' except that it is a simplistic and inadequate analysis of the transfers of energy involved. The second law of thermodynamics says that energy flows from a source to a sink, that it takes work to force it to flow in the opposite direction, and, (in the fine print) that this flow often becomes irreversible because of the difficulty of reassembling the dispersed energy.
Let's neglect for a moment the building structure sitting between your rack and the earth. Earth's crust has its own vibrational frequency sensitivity - it does not propagate higher frequencies well but readily propagates low frequencies (trucks, earthquakes, low & constant seismic activity). The directions and distance of propagation vary with crust structure and force magnitudes.
The meaning of this from a rack's point of view is that earth can be a sink at some frequencies and a source at others.
As to your statement about anything sitting on the floor/ground moving along with the floor/ground : you're missing the point. The force/energy analysis of a rack sitting on a vertically vibrating floor is not different than that of a component on a shelf experiencing airborne vibration - but is more complicated. It now includes gravity as well as higher magnitude translational forces.
The reason for the lack of response to your statements is that anyone trained in physics or engineering knows that adequate analysis of these energy transfers is a complicated process of theory and measurement. I don't happen to think that Audiogon is the right place for such a discussion, and I agree that the thread should be allowed to die. |
Good-day,
Robert here at Star Sound Technologies, LLC.
Hello Sean, I have not forgotten about your published question. This morning I was finally able to read all the threads posted from the previous week.
In order to assist you and the balance of interested parties and provide a greater understanding of our technology, today I have taken a few steps towards this new short term goal of ours.
I have asked one of our mechanical engineers to write a descriptive paper on Coulomb friction as I feel the more information we can provide you with the concerns to the actual problem itself (associated with equipmentÂ’s efficiency of performance) the easier it will be to digest the rest of the information that will follow. We will have a separate link to our website that we will post here in order for everyone to review this initial paper.
I have also requested that Brent Riehl, our Lead Designer and inventor of the Audio Point®, to provide more accurate information and in a more descriptive manner than I am capable of. We know that the information provided by Brent will clear up a few concerns and present a more detailed picture for you. We also realize that his involvement will lead to even more questions and that situation we view as a positive thing.
In addition we have also requested that Dr. Wilbur Highleyman, D.E.E. and one of our founding members to provide additional technical information on the applications of resonance control. Dr. Highleyman is currently in Africa and will be returning in two weeks so please afford us the time it takes to respond here.
After reading your replies concerning actual testing at your residence and realizing that you have knowledge of how much time involvement it takes to properly research and test resonance, we want you to understand that Star Sound would never create any animosity should your testing results differ from ours. Your environmental surroundings are completely different than that of ours as this characteristic alone would have a profound impact on your overall results. Actually anyone providing us information based on third party testing of our products would be graciously accepted here as that type of service costs upwards of thousands of dollars to procure.
If you really enjoy the process of discovery as you seem to rely on much of what you find through your own understanding and testing methods, we are working on providing you a few formulas that have helped us in the past. These are only formulas as we cannot guarantee you that the results you attain will be of a positive nature or similar to ours, but it is a fairly reliable initial approach. At the very least it should help you with your overall knowledge with concerns to vibration and the controlling methods thereof.
I am sorry that we are not timelier in providing you information and answers but we are a very busy group this time of the year. I will soon commit a bit more time to remain focused on helping you as much as we can. We simply ask that you have some patience as we begin this course.
As always – Good Listening!
Robert Maicks |
Gee, I posted the cement thing without even being a Sistrum owner...no bandwagon here. However, since posting, I recieved Sistrum stands for my speakers. Needless to say, I haven't "tested" them, nor have I returned to my physics books of twenty plus years to "figure" them out. Even with a white paper (that honeslty I won't fully understand anyway), why would I buy on that alone? I trust my ears...and I am keeping them, gladly. In the business world there is a lot of BS...but ultimately someone has to make a sale in order to remain in business. If you would like to know the differences I heard and the equipment that I own, etc. please feel free to email me. I will gladly assist a fellow audiophile who is honestly looking to upgrade their system. Otherwise, I really do have better things to do....like listen to music. |
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Ohlala:
I notice that a certain pinheaded poster, in the old thread, has @ least changed his moniker since then, but unfortunately his delivery remains the same.
I purchased a commercial audio rack and Neuance shelves shortly after the old thread died out (still using it/them). |
I agree, not much has really changed, and Sistrum continues to be at, or regularly contending for, the top position of the performance platform and racking category.
When platform and racking systems get compared at the top of the heap, as to which one is sonically best, Sistrum is always mentioned in the mix. It has always been this way since the intro of the products(quite to the consternation of some).
When something is new or better, there are always those from the "old camp" who feel threatened and make disparaging comments, while never trying or experiencing the product themselves. No amount of explanation will do, because they simply refuse to accept it. The common name for such activity is "naysayers".
I think that this will continue, because it is, to some degree, human nature for some people.
I would only hope that this really small percentage of the naysayers would try the products themselves, and become experienced on the subject.
Of course, we at Sistrum never say that anyone HAS to try or use our products. Just that we RECOMMEND that they try them. And we cheerfully accept any returns of our products with a full 30-day refund without nitpicking. I really fail to see how this seemingly arouses such ire from a certain group. We make products for home audio use. If you like it, you can buy it. If not, then don't. It is as simple as that. Our strongest sales technique is to actually have people audition our product because once they try it, they keep it.
What some (unbiased?)people(who admit to never hearing the products) have to gain by trying to imply snake-oil claims, when the products obviously have legions of happy users and magazine awards over 4-15 years of time, is not too clear to me. But it is clear to me that these same folks seem very irritated that Sistrum supporters(and company personnel who clearly state their affiliations) would post on these forums, and we are always met with pretty close to the same group of opponents, year after year, who STILL have never tried the products and STILL refuse to accept any amount of explanation.
However, I would invite anyone to try any/all of these very good products and learn what the fuss is all about.
DISCLAIMER: For anyone who still is not aware of my affiliation, I am employed by Starsound Technologies, the manufacturer of Sistrum Platforms, Audiopoints, Sonoran A/V Wire Designs, and Harmonic Precision electronics and speakers. |
That New Zealander knows his tuning, I have to say.............. But I reckon the idea of light and rigid, to make sure energy stored is minimised and released quickly, is in natural conflict with the concept of damping. By its nature damping tries to absorb energy and not return it later, but that is a difficult ideal to achieve in practise. It is in this trade-off that I feel there is as much art as science - finding the trade-off that does the least damage to the music. The reason why I like the items closest to the component to be damped or even compliant (in the case of the feet) is because the component needs to be both isolated from vibrations by the total structure, but also damped. |
Within the subject of similarity, I could not find any accusations of Sistrum snake-oil in the 2001 thread, which I consider an issue separate from shilling. Another, more amusing similarity is Robert Maicks having the exact same time constraints. I have to say the amount of irony is has broken my meter, including me "opening the door" for another Twl promotion.
PS - Being newer to audio than Sistrum, its not that I am biased by products or ideas that have been around longer, if that matters to anyone. I own audiopoints. |
TWL Promotions presents...
He needs that *mature* waitress. This past Sunday afternoon I was called to work all night and I went to the 24 hr diner. Yes!, those *mature* waitresses are in shape from all that walking back & forth. Not the prettiest faces, but I'm shure performancewise they will not dissapoint any *mature* man with adequate stamina. Start skipping rope, Tom! |
Actually, I'm not in very bad shape. I could use a couple more miles a day on the track.
Thanks for the "promotional opportunity". |
This hydra type of thread refuses to die. The more someone tries to kill it, the more heads it grows. As someone lacking techinical knowledge but a firm believer that the right rack makes or breaks a system, I love it! |
Mhu I have a rack to prove it..Sistrum rack that is..Tom |
Oh yea, Who is the pin headed poster? Tom |
I have both Sistrum and Neuance and both work great! Take your pick, you win or you win. Trust your ears! |
I have found the sistrum stands to work very well in my system. Surprising that PF recently recommended a $47k amp ONLY if you buy Sistrum stands with it?
Well, it works very well on my "much less expensive amp" :).
Try it, what have you got to lose? Trust your ears... |
Scotty, I'm unfamiliar with your system. Can you tell me exactly what changes this product made in your system if any? What were you using before you put this in the system that you compared the Systrum stand to? Did it work as well? Thanks......... |
scotty333 could you explain who is PF ? |
I am pretty sure PF means Positive Feedback. |
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I tried various "stuff". You can email me for details. What surprised me the most was the level of improvement. Yes, I expected an improvement, but not as much as I got with the sistrum amp stand (and I have the lesser model). I have VAC equip. amp and pre + dac. The VAC stuff is terrific tube equipment by the way. A big difference was the speaker stands. As an example, the aurios just didn't do it. I know others like it, I didn't. BD was nice, musical, but not in the same league as the sistrum speaker stands. So,,,I tried their lesser model amp stand. Lower noise floor, more musical, more detail, better soundstage, imaging, cleaner highs, better bass...you get the picture. But what i like the most is the improved dymamics...what the heck, a free trial....I actually tried the stuff based on reading audiogon. It really works. If you really want to know, I am not even tempted to try other stands, it sounds that good. I ordered the upgraded amp stand. I will let you know how that sounds after I break it in. |
Scottser, you gots to be careful on this thread. If you rave about Sistrum, be prepared to be called a "shill." ....'twill be a little less painful, now, thank god. Glad you love them. I know where you be.....there's lots of yogurt out there.....the cream always comes to the top..peace, warren |
Warren, When someone brags about their stuff, even if they can't describe the things that make it great, or even if they have little frame of reference thats OK. They are not shills. However, when someone sends e-mails unsolicited to other forum members encouraging them to buy Star Sound Products, as you did to me very recently, they become something more than enthuiastic consumers. You can call them what ever you like, but I can live with the term shill. |
Newbee, I've been called worst. Let's rehash this thread and go over it another 140 posts worth. It's the Audiogon enui waltz.
Scott, I'm just an enthusiastic Starsound consumer. That's all. No motives, other than to spread the word to other audiophools. Some out there are more sensitive to "unsolicited" enthusiasm than others. I've emailed others about the YBA Passion Integre and the Audio Aero Prima, as well. I suppose I'm a shill for those companies as well? Have been known, on ocassion to recommend Harmonix power cords and ICs. I own those, as well. Been a shill for Harmonix since January. I love being a shill. Oops, almost forgot. I'm a shill for Audio Magic, too. Just call me the shillster.
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Guys, I got the upgraded amp stand and yes its quite a nice improvment. I am definitely keeping it. Everything is just better. Better dynamics, lower noise floor, bigger soundstage, cleaner sound, better highs and lows. It took about 10 days for the mechanical break-in. |
Good to hear Scotty333. How much is Sistrum paying you? They give me a nice little kick back. Oops!, are we on the 'gon? lol....I love to hear a happy Sistrum customer. That's the difference between a shill and enthusiasm: a paycheck/ or satisfaction turning on another audiophool to something you believe in. I hope you know where I be... Makes my day...peace, warren |
No, haven't been paid a thing. I'm just trying to help other audiophiles out. It really is that good. I've been through a lot of tweaking. This is really the best. It's a full system upgrade and I've got good stuff to begin with. |
Some months ago I butted heads with theaudiotweak, versus my own home brew, lead, and melted plastic, featuring 90# of mass platform.
At that time, I was reluctant, no, make that adamently opposed to the concept that anything would, or could work better than my own product. I ranted and raved with theaudiotweak about physics, arguing Newton's Laws and so on. My points were textbook, but sometimes we have part of the information, and certainly not ALL the information.
And, as is the case, sometimes we find out something new, by simply opening our minds up.
After much sparring around, I invited the 'tweak' over, to my house, at which time, he brought an SP-3 (maybe, I don't know what it is for sure, but I think that's it.) It is designed for CD Players, or DVD, even preamps, and I would think amps.
The result of my experience was, that after 10 minutes of listening, I immediately bought it.
I will take all the flack anyone wants to throw at me for doubting this product, because IT REALLY WORKS!!
With more than 25 years of experience at listening to audio products, and so called tweaks, I have become pretty proficient at sorting out the good from the better, and up to the BEST. I would strongly encourage anyone to at least try the Sistrum under your CD player. The price is reasonable, (I thought) and the results are AMAZING; better focus, imaging, detail,and with a side benefit of about an octave of really detailed bass, gained.
I am blessed with a really good system, as I have the Halcro Amp, Preamp, and a Lexicon Universal Player, with A-1 Sound Lab Speakers. It REALLY SMOKES NOW!!
My humble apologies, to all those people at Sistrum, that I doubted.This proves again, that all that we know, is not enough, and that even things that I can't explain, can be appreciated.
Good listening. |
Larry, thanks for that post. Another, true believer. Now that you've had the opportunity to hear what coupling to mother earth can do for your electronics ask Tom to bring his Harmonic Precision Caravelles with the stands over to your place, so you can hear what their speakers can do. Hooked up to that killer system of yours will bring out the very best those speakers have to offer. They are internally constructed utilizing the same resonant tranferring principles. I've been verbally beaten to death about the Caravelles , (possibly due to my adnauseam raving, I realize) but the thought of your golden tympanics listening to these babies (having your speakers as a referent) gives me the chills. I guranentee you'll freak out when you hear them. NO doubt, in my mind. Sorry that I've gotton , a bit, off the beaten path, but we're talking about a phenomenal sounding mini monitor speaker, here. Fasten your seatbelt, there's danger in these waters. Many angry Sistrum non believer/bashers out there. I know you're up to the task. Thanks again for your honest and cogent assessment. peace, warren |
