Cable elevators - conventional wisdom wrong?

Because of this thread, I decided to try my system without the Shunyata Dark Field Elevators which are only under my speaker cables. If my findings are the same as Dave b and some others, I could sell them and recover some money. I had a dealer here doing a "Master Set" on my speakers. He had never seen the DFE's before and is not a Shunyata dealer. When we put the DFE's in the system, the music took on more bloom and the soundstage widened and deepened. There was an increase in detail. My system (which is quite high in resolution IMHO)was clearly more musically satisfying and involving. There was absolutely no dulling or loss of detail. Both of us thought it was very easy to hear the improvement with the DFE's under the SC's. In my system it is one of the very best returns on investments. It seems that this is the very opposite of what Dave b and some others have heard. I have only one other Shunyata piece, that being a Python VX on my CD player. I am certainly not disposed toward Shunyata products. So, this only means as most other high end products go, be sure to try it in your system before you decide. Regards,

Bob V

Rdoc, what do you make of these differences of opinion? Is it possible that you are both right? This happens so often, that I think everyone should have reservations about others' opinions on components.

Tbg,
I live in a very dry environment with very high levels of static electricity. Perhaps getting the SC's off the carpet makes the difference. I do not know if those who thought the DFE's hurt the sound had them under more than the SC's. Any of the aforementioned reasons could account for the difference of opinion. I do know that I was biased against them, and the dealer had not even seen them before. I also mentioned to him that some of the posters on this thread thought the DFE's harmed the sound, so he may also have been biased against them. It was just so plainly evident that the DFE's made a very positive difference on my system. So, it could be system differences. I having been an audiophile for over 40 years have seen many things which were unexplainable. Just trust your own ears.
Bob

hi tbg:

i applaud your ecumenical attitude. one's own experiences are more significant when making a purchasing something.

there are so many variables involved in subjective judgments, that they are usually unreliable.

conflicting opinions , especially where contradictions are present are almost impossible to resolve by a third party.

The DFE are not the best choice with Synergistic Research Apex speaker cables, but can be very effective with other brands. I finally found that the Waipuna Sound solid risers were the best sounding elevators for my Apex cables.