Rja, I have a fuse chip on my each of my 3 dedicated circuit outlets, works great there.
For sure the fuse chips are a great starter chip, then I would say the power chip, followed by the large cap chips (if your amp has some large caps). |
Ozzy... Where-in you say you "placed the power chip on the iEC just before my Audience Conditioner"... are you saying you placed the power chip on the PowerCon conector? |
Well, I actually have 3 of the Audience aR2p-TO units.
But yes, apply it before it goes into the Audience unit. Perhaps even on the Audience unit itself would also be ok but I was a little concerned about attaching something stickey to it. |
Ozzy, I have yet to stick the Power Chip to my HB Cable Designs PowerSlave. Rather it is just sitting on top the PowerSlave. I would not worry about the adhesive on the Power Chips. It is hard to peal some of these Chips off, but they do pull all the adhesive off.
I have added two Transformer Chips on the torodials in my LSA Statement Plus amp with a very great improvement. All of my electronic components have Transformer Chips. I am on hold right now as my listening room is in use as a bedroom for my granddaughters. |
I just ordered another power chip for another one of my Audience units. |
Well, I placed the new Power chip on my other Audience aR2p-TO unit that my preamp and Amp are plugged into and I think it was too much.
Hard to describe, but the music doesn't seem as relaxed. I also removed the power chip from my other Audience unit that powers my Digital equipment.
I think these chips are too close to the equipment.
Next, I will probably try them at the circuit breaker box. |
Ozzy, in my experience Chips take several days to settle down. |
Tbg , that may be true, but I did not like the sound and a moved them to the Circuit breaker box.
I have a power chip at the top left of the first row of breakers. Across from that on the right, I have a Cable chip at the top row of breakers.
At the bottom of the breakers on the left I placed a Cable chip and on the bottom right another power chip.
I must say I am thus far pretty impressed with this combo and placement.
I actually think my LED TV picture quality that is located outside of the Audio room actually looks better.
I wonder if other appliances throughout the house will benefit with this configuration. Perhaps better energy efficiency? With my luck though they will probable suck more juice and my electric bills will go up... |
This is an impressive tweak thread - lots of experimentation. Has anyone tried these on a Mac Mini or an external HDD? If so, which chip and where did you put it. I noticed that VHAudio has a "semiconductor" chip but didn't see any mention of it here. |
Mg8. I have placed various chips on my Hard drive but I din't notice any change. |
These chips remind me of the Combak Resonance Devices that were featured back in TAS in Issue 75/76. I bought them at the time, and put them on my JVC XLZ-1010TN player. What a change in the sonics! It seemed to clear up fuzziness from the sound and allowed rhythms, especially prevalent in jazz music, to set the system on fire, figuratively speaking.
It seems that these chips do the same things, only on different components. Has anyone tried them on a CD player yet?
As for the Shakti online stabilizers, I wondered how they could work. The irony is that I've had The Shakti Stones since 1996 and didn't hear what they did back then. Maybe my ears got better as I got older (nope, just a joke. Really, a real joke: I had my hearing tested and my lower treble range is down a bit). Anyway, perhaps it's that I'm better -- much, much better - at setups, because when I finally bought them (I put them on interconnects and my Shunyata speaker cables across the "=" and "-" leads and I can EASily hear their effect, especially instruments in the back of the soundstage.
I'm no longer surprised by any of the so-called tweaks, but a caveat: placing them is not so easy as to simply put them on a component and think that that's the best place. Tube traps are like that: exceedingly small movements, like nudging them along the wall to the right or left, so small you can barely see that you moved them, has effects completely out of proportion to the "nudge." I aver it is the same with anything that affects resonances. My Finite Elemente Spider Rack's rubber dampers position under a preamp is the difference between hearing the sound a flute creates and hearing the body/instrument itself. and these movements are infinitesimal. Anyone moving a tube trap 1/2" is in Tube Trap 101. 1/60" would be more likely and the ones on top of it can be moved in other directions equally small and will shock you that such tiny increments do what they do (and it's NOT all good, to go against the current slang).
I'm impatiently awaiting my Quantum chips (thought they had arrived tonight, but it was the Otterbox for my Droid. Great, but once I saw what it was, I was bummed).
Waiting, waiting, waiting....but I've no doubt they'll bring more magic to the music than I already have. |
Gbmcleod, don't be too quick in your judgment as they "break in." Wait at least over night. Strangely, I think, they seem to breakin only once. |
Tbg:
Thanks for the insight. My chips arrived today: both the fuse and speaker "chips."
I agree with Lacee that the directionality of fuses is more obvious with the chips. I have the HiFi Supremes and I most definitely heard the difference in directionality of the fuses with the WA Quantum chips on them. I could hear it even before placing the chips on them (they sure don't stick easily!), but it was more obvious WITH the chips on them.
I also agree with Ozzy point #6: "The speaker chips work pretty well, but the placement on your speakers matters." I put them vertically and horizontally, and, listening to Renee Fleming's Handel recording, her voice flattened out and lost subtle dynamic shadings when I placed the chip on the top half of my speaker horizontally. I was non-plussed and removed it, and her voice came back to life. Then I looked at where I placed it (more like, slapped it on) on the other speaker and duplicated its placement. This worked better. I also noticed that when I let it sit for a few minutes and played the same cut again, the woodwinds were more vivid.
I have to say, I like the fuse chips the best. The speaker chips, I will, as Tbg suggested, give time to see how they sound tomorrow (if there's any power tomorrow: this is the night of the "Storm of the Century" in the Northeast (MAN, is that snow high: I can't see the wheels of my van!). Actually, I'll listen to them a little later, but they clearly DO sound better, even if played just a few minutes later. Interesting. I saw on another site (or maybe it was this one on another thread) that the perception was that the sound got louder, as though one had turned up the volume controls. Yup. No question about it: about half a decibel, I'd guess, or maybe even a full decibel, but it unquestionably sounds louder. And there IS more weight to instruments, although that may simply be the sense that there's more "push" behind the instruments towards the listening seat (as in jet-propelled, although not quite that dramatic, but you get the idea). Still, "weight" is a good way to describe it.
My only concern is moving the speaker chips around the cabinet of a floorstander. That's a lot of space to cover to find the optimum spot, but vertical placement (on my speakers only) seems preferable to horizontal. I've no idea why that would be, but Fleming's voice was disparagingly deadened - and the voice flattened out, as in a balloon fully inflated, and one half-deflated - when the speaker chip was in the "wrong" spot and horizontally placed. I'll have to play around with it some more).
If I were recommending them, I'd go for the fuse chips, simply because they're cheap. Also, for the snake-oil crowd, empirical evidence beats speculation every time. If a person can spend $11 on popcorn/soda or even just the price of a ticket at a theatre, it would seem to me that spending $7.95 for something that lasts longer, and could actually benefit one's system is a no-brainer (and one doesn't gain weight from the fuse chips, so think of it as dietary supplement).
I can see how a body could miss its effects, though. |
Gbmcleod,
I hold the fuse chips in place with just enough cellophane tape to wrap around the fuse once.
Chuck |
Thanks for the tip, Chuck. That's exactly how I did it, too!
I do have a question for those with the Hi Fi Supreme fuses: did you put them on the metal end (not on the end itself, but the metal part of the fuse that covers the end, or did you keep it entirely on the body part with the text on it? |
I have just put one of these on my Zyx Universe cartridge and it took a couple of hours until it was in full song: the increase in field depth and clarity is astounding, indeed |
I have just put one of these on my Zyx Universe cartridge and it took a couple of hours until it was in full song: the increase in field depth and clarity is astounding, indeed |
The Synergistic Research Quantum fuses have dampening in the center but still benefit from the Quantum Chips. I also use tape to hold them on but some equipment with IEC fuse trays hold the fuse so tightly that this is impossible. I have found you can attach the Chip after the fuse is in the tray. |
Tbg,
Did your SR Qauntum fuse sound good immediately or was there a break-in period? I got some recently and in my case they definitely improved with additional hours.I wonder how much this varies with different components and systems.
Regards, |
Charles1dad, oh, yes, they improve with time. And if you remove them and later put them on something else, you experience the same thing.
Antigrunge, You remind me that I haven't put one on my cartridge yet.
|
Antigrunge:
Having just received some more chips for different placement (capacitor, op-amp/dac chips), I decided to place the capacitor chip on my cj preamp. I had played The Eagles Hotel California album (specifically, the "Hotel California: and "New Kid in Town" cuts, and Paul McCartney's Red Rose album ("Red Rose Barn" and "My Love" cuts).
It's barely been a half hour and the thing I noticed immediately is the forwardness in the midrange/upper midrange, so, coming online and seeing your observation, I had to smile. Interestingly enough, the upper bass/lower mirange seems sucked out a bit: the backup voices on "Red Rose Barn" (McCartney) were less obviously Black backup singers (I'm also a Black backup singer...well, I WAS one), and more generic in tone, as though the throatiness that characterizes a great deal of 60s and 70s singers. I found this fascinating.
I'll observe more tomorrow when I replay the same cuts. Neither McCartney nor the Eagles' alubms sound like they're that well recorded, which actually makes it easier to hear when the voices have a smoother octave-to-octave transition. The Eagles "New Kids in Town" lost the harmonies of Henley and Frey as two separate voices, but the transient information is unquestionably sharper on guitars in particular, so it may simply be that the mid/upper mids improve immediately: the lower mids and upper bass, later.
Hard consonants (like K, T, and exhalations) are clearer, I don't think - at least, so far - that the midbass/low bass changes noticeably with the Quantum chips. But given that the noise floor is lower with the chips, the bass instruments as a whole "pulsate" more vividly.
A fascinating product. |
Sorry, I meant the "Big Barn Bed" cut on McCartney's Red Rose Speedway album. |
So, using this as a diary entry, it's now 2:03 a.m., exactly 3 hours, 15 minutes after I put the WA quantum chip on the capacitor (at 10:48 p.m.).
There is enough of a change in that time to note several things: the backup vocalists on Big Barn Bed (McCartney, Red Rose Speedwagon lp) have blossomed and it's fuller-sounding. The spotlighted effect, a sort of grainiess on guitar transients is noticeably less in effect, and the vocal harmonies on the Eagles, "New Kid" cut is back. Pretty cool at the 3-hour mark, and the amps are not fully warmed up. |
Your amps are not warmed up after 3 hours?
Crazy!
Anyone compared these to Stein Speaker Match? |
Have been playing around with WA Quantum Chips for a while. I have been using three cable chips and two transformer chips. I am using them in a headphone system comprising a modded Oppo 103 and Bada PH12 Hybrid SET tube headphone amp along with naked Sennheiser 600s. Cabling by Analysis Plus and Nordost, all of which has been cryo'd and broken in on the latest Audiodharma Cable Cooker. I am determined to get to the bottom of the WA Quantum Chips; however, so far I have to side with those who have had inconsistent results. I admit I am probably not the best person to evaluate these chips IF it's TRUE that they need a few days or a week to settle in, since there is SO MUCH else to do besides wait around for the chips to settle in. So, far I have not had an Ah, ha! moment. Last night I removed all WA Chips from the system and will try a new strategy for them in the next day or two such as trying a cable chip on the breaker box. |
G_goodwin, I have both. That is, many of the chips and the Stein speaker match plus.
The speaker match plus is different than the chips. |
Geoffkait, Try a Power chip and the cable chip on the breaker box.
I actually have 2 of both on my breaker box. |
Ozzy, thanks for the tip. I placed a cable chip on both banks of breakers and that did the trick. |
Hi Guys, has anybody tried the fuse chips on their cables and had any success or are the chips case specific. |
Have not tried the chips..but Geoff remove the ferrous front cover plate from you ac box and then take another listen.Tom |
Goodwin:
Good sense of humour, mate! Tube amps don't take 3 hours to warm up, but the chips do seem to develop whatever "magic" is in them over a period of hours. The diary entry was an update of how it sounded after 3 hours of the Quantum chips, which was, I'm sure, your making a joke.
However, just so you know (in case you don't), there are some amps that do not like to be turned off. Older Krells (that may be BYT [Before Your Time]) did not sound great if turned off for an hour or two and then back on, something well documented in the pages of TAS. |
tweakaudio, interesting comment as i am mpretty sure the chip has nothung to do with magnetism. As it the chip sounds superb, by the way... kind of unbelievable really. |
Boeing, they are quite component specific and their expense varies greatly. Some are very effective and others much less so. Everything is trial and error.
Gbmcleod, my old Western Electric and Reimyo 300B amps took a long time to sound their best. Not three hours but close to that. |
Whaddyaknow? Someone somewhere posted he didn't have any luck with the WA Transformer Chip on his transformer, but that he did have good luck with the Transformer Chips on the grills of his Sennheiser Headphones. Well, guess what? I also didn't have any luck with my 2 WA Transformer Chips on my headphone amp's large toroidal transformer so I stuck the WA Chips directly on the frame of my Sennheiser 600s right next to the transducers (No grills on these babies). Voila! Next up, a bunch of WA Chips for large capacitors for my headphone Amp and in the Oppo 103 analog section + WA Chip for fuse in headphone amp + WA DAC chip for Oppo 103. |
The chips work with the AMR Gold fuses,took them off the Supremes and notice similar improvement to sound. |
That was me- David Pritchard. Anyone try a chip on a CD? |
Davidpritchard, I stuck a WA Cable Chip directly onto each row of breaker switches at the breaker box. Now, THAT I heard! Then, on the advice of Steve at The Cable Co. I removed the metal plate surrounding the breaker box to expose the internal cabling for the circuit breakers and applied one WA Cable Chip directly around the power cable at the point where it comes into the breaker for the circuit for my system (rather than sticking the chip directly on the breakers themselves). This location location turned out to be even more powerful without side effects like over etching or shutting in the sound. However, it does raise some very puzzling questions about how the WA Cable Chip actually works. |
Davidpritchard, I would be very concerned about throwing the cd out of balance. I would also be concerned about the Chip being thrown off. |
There are no WA Chip for CDs. Remember, each WA chip is designed with a specific application in mind, inductors/transducers, cables/power cords, caps, etc. The "synthetic material" in the chip is programmed differently for each application. There is only one chip these days for CDs. And because the laser changes the nature of the synthetic material the CD chip doesn't last very long, unlike the WA chips, it must be discarded after 14 uses. But the effects of the CD chip are permanent. |
Geoffkait, Why are using a cable chip instead of a power chip on the incoming AC wires. |
Ozzy wrote,
"Geoffkait, Why are using a cable chip instead of a power chip on the incoming AC wires?"
Ozzy, the three Cable Chips I have were not getting the job done on any of my interconnects or power cords, and were just lying around, so I didn't have anything to lose by trying them on the breaker box and the power cable coming into the breaker box. The Cable Chip is, after all, recommended for power cables as well as other types of cables, so its placement on the power cable coming into the breaker box makes some sense. Not that I have anything against the Power Chip. |
I was thinking then two of the fuse size chips on a CD. That way no out of balance problems. I think this would be a good experiment by someone who has some fuse chips.
Geoff, Your position at the circuit breaker box incoming power cable is where I have a box of crystals. I like their effect here on soundstage and detail.
I do use the "Intellegent Chip" treatment on my CD's. Would the Quantum Chips add anything? Remember I have put the Music Chip on an acoustic guitar and viola and heard the difference.
I look forward to feedback. |
Davidpritchard wrote,
"I was thinking then two of the fuse size chips on a CD. That way no out of balance problems. I think this would be a good experiment by someone who has some fuse chips."
I doubt the mass of the Small Fuse Chip is sufficient to throw the CD off balance. Heck, most CD transports aren't absolutely level, anyway, so the CD will be wobbling during play. But I think one needs to have a theory about where the WA Chip is placed - in the case of the circuit at the breaker box, the Cable Chip makes sense because it is designed for power cables as well as other audio cables and the Transformer Chip on headphones makes sense because the Transformer Chip is designed for coils/inductors/voice coils. There isn't a WA Chip that springs to mind as being appropriate for a CD per se, although maybe randomly placing diffenent WA chips inside the player might eventually get results. The Intelligent Chip, on the other hand, is designed specifically for CDs and will not work on cables, caps, coils, etc. It's the way the synthetic material is fabricated.
"Geoff, Your position at the circuit breaker box incoming power cable is where I have a box of crystals. I like their effect here on soundstage and detail."
Crystals. Love 'em or hate 'em. I like their effect almost anywhere.
"I do use the "Intellegent Chip" treatment on my CD's. Would the Quantum Chips add anything? Remember I have put the Music Chip on an acoustic guitar and viola and heard the difference."
Difficult to be absolutely 100% sure but off the top of my head I kind of doubt any WA Chip will produce results on a CD. The Music Chip is designed to go on musical instruments, including acoustic ones. Would any other WA Chip work on a musical instrument? Probably not. |
So Geoff as I posted a few years back have you removed the cover from the ac mains box and left it off for improved sound ? Tom |
Theaudiotweak, I'm removing it as we speak. |
Just a thought... Has anyone tried to place a chip on the CD Drawer? |
Ozzy, even better, has anyone tried a chip on their earlobes?
I don't get how these things work, but that doesn't mean they don't work. I'm only about 85% joking with the ear lobe idea. I stuck some on my maggie fuses and they did make an audible difference. Nothing profound, but a slight improvement. |
Just installed large and small capacitor chips and fuse chip in SET headphone amp last night and will be installing large and small capacitor chips and some of the brand new semiconductor chips for DAC and other ICs in the Oppo 103 this morning.. |
There's no way anyone is going to believe this. |
Geoffkait, Yesterday, I placed a couple of the Cable chips on the incoming power cables to my breaker box. Today,after a short listen, I must say the music does sound much more open.
Best place for the cable chips.IMO
Thanks for the tip. |
