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Cable elevators - conventional wisdom wrong?

Reluctant to put any considerable money in them, the reasons for using cable elevators seemed intuitively correct to me: decouple cables mechanically from vibration and insulate them from the carpet's static. I have therefore built cheap elevators myself using Lego building blocks. (Plastic with a more or less complex internal structure; moreover, there is enormous shaping flexibility, for instance you can also build gates with suspended strings on which to rest the cables)
In their advertisement/report on the Dark Field elevators, Shunyata now claim that conventional elevators are actually (very?) detrimental in that they enable a strong static field to build up between cable and floor causing signal degradation.
Can anyone with more technical knowledge than I have assess how serious the described effect is likely to be? Would there, theoretically, be less distortion with cables lying on the floor? Has anyone actually experienced this?
karelfd
bar81
791 posts
 
I don't know about all that but the Shunyata Dark Field Elevators look nice at least ;)
bacardi's avatar
bacardi
663 posts
 
I bought the Hifi Pyon Mythologies first custom elevators for my Synergistic Research cords and they work great. They do take a week or so to settle in but after there is a noticeable difference in detail, defenition and black background. They raise the cords off the carpet about 4-5 inches which is perfect height from the QLS's MPC's and other cords plugged into it. Very elegant semi gloss black. Ok'd by Ted D. himself specifically for the S.R Tesla power cords and speakers active sheliding...check em' out.....AAA+++

Regards Bacardi
mmarvin19
157 posts
 
If I may summarize the opinions on this thread:

> risers improved SQ by 3%
> risers resulted in large improvement in SQ
> risers resulted in no SQ improvement
> risers resulted in worse SQ
> use plastic risers
> use anything other than plastic risers
> use those glass thingees from telephone poles
> avoid the glass thingees
> collect the glass thingees and sell them to an antiques store
> use one particular brand of risers or don't bother using risers at all
> don't even try risers if your mother-in-law lives with you
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
Yup, that pretty much covers it Mmarvin19:O)
eweedhome
227 posts
 
Mmarvin19 - Truly brilliant summary, although I might offer a slight amendment to the last: don't even try risers if you HAVE a mother-in-law. They'll heckle you even if all they do is visit every now and then...and that will open the door to heckling from everybody in the family, except for the dog.

Speaking of dogs, one of my friends and I both have Shelties, and we've noticed that, if we can get them to lie on the speaker cables, the sound warms up just a bit after about 5 minutes. I'm not sure it works with any other breed.
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