I heard this tweak at RMAF and brought it home on a 30-day free trial. Unfortunately it turned out to be a real system killer. I had 20 of the HFTs and tried them with and without the FEQ, using a ladder to put them up and take them down repeatedly. I couldn't believe how awful it was. Made it hard to enjoy my otherwise excellent ~$45k system.
I had a similar experience with their Quantum fuse. Never did trust anything with "Quantum" in the title. HiFi Tuning Supreme fuses, on the other hand, made my amps sound significantly better.
I think I have about 30. Yes, I have 4 on each speaker. And then 4 on all sides of my Dac and Player. I also placed 4 each on the bottoms of the those same components.
But, I also have the HFT's and the Audio Magic Bells.
On my walls I have 3 on each side wall placed at first reflection points and in between. I have many on the front and back walls. They seem to work best on the front and back placed within the speakers.
I also have them placed on the backs of my JL F113 subs and on the wall behind them.
Thanks for this valuable information. When you say "I also have the HFT's" are you now referring to them on the walls?
I have about 50 in my system. I found the same thing. They are most effective on front and back walls. They constrict the sound stage on the side walls.
Do you find they are more effect on one component vs. another?
Sabai, The HFT's are the Synergistic units. I have those mixed throughout with the others. I think after the walls the best place is on Digital equipment.
I also will have a few packs of the SR ECT's to place inside my digital gear. I would liked to have tried my DIY inside but they are copper and very conductive.
Thanks for this information. I thought you were using DIY HFTs in your system. Are you not? You said in an earlier post that yours were better sounding than the SR HFTs.
I thought so -- as per your earlier post. My DIYers are excellent. I have no basis for comparison because I have not heard the SR or Audio Magic. What do the bells add to your SQ?
I am finding some of the SR placements not so good. It takes a lot of experimenting to get this right. Your suggestion about digital is helping me optimize. My DAC and transport are now the focus of my attention.
Goetzfam, I think adding a crystal to the finished product would block the horn like shape. Perhaps if I build more I'll put a crystal in before I insert the cone into the cap.
Goetzfam, I think adding a crystal to the finished product would block the horn like shape. Perhaps if I build more I'll put a crystal in before I insert the cone into the cap.
Years ago I read about glass and similar materials as they apply to vibration control. I have had excellent results with pieces I have bought from Prism Research Glass, Inc. in Raleigh N.C.
I use the sixteenth inch thickness of Quartz glass discs in conjunction with vibration control pieces, such as Symposium, BDR, and Aurio. I place the discs on both sides of these pieces, making a sandwich of them, so that the Quartz glass has contact with the bottom of the speaker or electronic piece and the shelf. It does change the sound, for the better, IMO.
I also experimented with DIY HFTs, and found that, by breaking the discs into smaller triangular pieces (the company does not make them smaller than 2" discs, I think) they provide "support" for the HFT. I roll a thin bead of BLU Tack and affix it to the open side of the HFT. Then I attach it to the Quartz glass, and affix the Quartz glass to the wall, for example. On the back of the Quartz piece is either a piece of double sided Scotch tape or a small circle of Blu Tack. I can hear an improvement this way, versus simply placing the HFT directly to the wall. I think the Quartz glass might be "energizing" the movement of air?
Ozzy - I own 10 HFTs and a FEQ. They are crazy good so your DIY version being even better really intrigues me. I understand you use 1/8" copper caps. I found the Hareline cones on Amazon. You said to use the "large" cones. The "large" cones are 1/4" according to Amazon. Is that the correct ones to use? The other options are medium at 7/32", small at 3/16" and x-small at 5/32". Yours appear to fit so well I just want to make sure I order the right cones to fit the 1/8" caps. Thanks again Ozzy!
FYI - pay attention to ozzy! I thought he made a typo so bought some 1/4 inch caps and they are way too large for the cones. Go figure. Turns out the 1/4 inch caps spec out at around 3/8 in.
I know that this is a (very) old thread, but I have been experimenting with DIY HFT clones built exactly to ozzy’s directions (I think) and am having unexpected negative results. I started with 5 of them in the SR Stage 1 config, added 5 more according to the SR Stage 2 config. They are very powerful in their effect. The highs became excrutiating in both configs. I move them around on the wall, mostly moving them progressively downward toward the floor, and noticed a change in tonality with each movement, but the high-frequency ringing was still killing my ears.
I then tried them on my room’s rear wall (only) and am liking the effect, moving the soundstage forward and adding perceived space between and behind performers. I had exactly the same experience with my Shakti Hallographs. Didn’t work well in the same room’s front corners (behind speakers), but work very nicely in the rear corners (behind my listening position).
I have the supplies to build 20 more and am hoping for some advice from those that are using them successfully around their room.
Dave; Did you ever have success with Ozzy's HFTs? I am thinking about buying supplies to try these, but your post raised some red flags. Not having seen any of the actual parts I wonder if there are better way to put here together - is there a "best glue" to use? Is there a preferred glue technique? Do you have a close-up photo of one of yours? Maybe if Ozzy sees this post he can provide a close-up photo. (I can't find them in his photos of his setup).
Dave, There is another thread on Audiogon, just called,"Synergistic Research HFT's". That thread seems to have a little more activity. I've just posted a few things over there. Oregon Papa has already noticed my activity, so maybe others might be able to help you on that thread. This one seems to be dead.
"For all you DIY's. I have received many emails to make these items. They are quite simple to make.
I used 1/8" copper caps with a large copper cone from a company called "Hareline" inside. Hareline makes items for fishing lures and can be bought from Amazon.
The caps however, will need to be purchased from a plumbing house. Then just simply glue the cone inside the cap. The cone is a direct drop in. I used Elmer's school glue to seal the cone inside the cap.
Audio Magic also places a crystal in the middle of there "Bells". I suppose you could use (Blu Tack)to hold a crystal in the cap before gluing the cone in it. Personally I don't think its necessary.
When you place the cones (I used blue tack) on the wall or the equipment, place them in the middle first with one at the height of your speaker, then near the floor and perhaps one up high. If you go to high with them it may accent the higher frequencies. But do experiment.
The others were placed at the first and second reflection points on the side walls.
At the wall behind you, I placed them again in the middle, at floor level, mid and high.
Then from there you can experiment through your room and equipment. Some places they worked good and some not so good.
I must add that I also own the SR FEQ unit which is supposed to excite these things."
If one is not a DIY person, I do hope you will consider trialing the Synergistic family of room treatments. I am extremely happy with the sonic improvement to my listening room. I use the HFT's on the walls and ceiling, and on the speakers. I was just at the LA Audio Show and the sound from their room was outstanding! I do think rooms need acoustic tuning and the Synergistic Research approach have been much more positive than the old approach of damping and diffusion. In addition my living room does not look like a sterile recording studio.
I managed to source for the 1/4" copper cones but have no such luck finding 1/8" copper caps from plumbing suppliers and other hardware stores here in Singapore. Any kind soul here willing to sell me your extras if you have any?
These plumbing accessories are identical looking to the product Audio Magic sells. I suspect they may be the same -- in which case he has an excellent profit margin,
I recently installed 10 hft's, 5 hft 2.0 and the 3 wide angle x pack along with the feq. It's quite amazing to hear the improvement soundwise.
I put the x wide angle which I a golds color dead center on the wall between the speakers and the other 2 normal wide angles at ear height either side of the listening position.
Even though I have four Shatki Holograms (one in each corner of the room) and a compliment of Tube Traps in the rear, a ten pack of HFT’s transformed the room and finally completed the room treatments. Great product and highly recommended.
Bit surprised by this, the UEF dots made quite an impact. I borrowed 6 HFT's for the wall behind my speakers (Magnapan 1.7i's) and they made a small difference in soundstage depth (made a huge difference on my friends system though). Tried a 10 pack of UEF dots and the difference was astounding. Added 5 more and even more imaging precision and timbre accuracy. Has anyone tried level 4 and 5 (20/25 dots)? Do the improvements continue?
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