[Ghoostknight]

i will buy a test sample of these: https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005001619670752.html (this seem to be mainly graphite) and see whether they are conducting, this would be actually quite a cheap alternative to put your crystals inside and get some kind of orgonite, if my "theorys/expierences" are right...

i found these after looking for some (rather expensive) shungite cups, also copper cups would be an alternative, but i feel like all the copper/bass alternatives will be resonating on its own to a large degree when placed on top of speakers

Also this melting oven thing comes with a perfect fitting lid... its interesting to see wether closing the lid will have an effect

 

[cdacosta]

First try at a gold plated copper RCA plug filled with Tourmaline powder and sand sized pieces. The shell is thick aluminum. When tried on the amp output, with positive in RCA (so both positive and negative are in contact with the Tourmaline) my amp went into standby mode. Amp works fine with only negative in contact with Tourmaline. Note that there is no contact that can be detected when testing for continuity between negative and positive external contacts even though the Tourmaline was in contact with both poles.

Pics show the second plug I modded. Only comes into contact with negative pole when contact is made on the components RCA jack. Tried it on the amp first and then DAC. On both the DAC and amp sounded like the Tourmaline got over saturated very quickly. Presentation got really warm, kind of dark. Rolled off upper frequencies. I am sure resolution was also lost. This reminds me when too little of the mineral material is used as filtering material for ground box like device. I was wondering if this would happen. May work with a crystal or crystal mineral mix.

The effect is definitely easily audible.

 

[Ghoostknight]

When tried on the amp output, with positive in RCA (so both positive and negative are in contact with the Tourmaline) my amp went into standby mode. Amp works fine with only negative in contact with Tourmaline. Note that there is no contact that can be detected when testing for continuity between negative and positive external contacts even though the Tourmaline was in contact with both poles.

i cant plug something into the 6.3mm jack of my active speakers either, there is some kind of detection that a plug is inserted i think... tho i thought this is something special to 6,3mm (and the active speaker circuit, where it switches inputs)

i have not noticed any problems with either rca cap on the devices i tested it on but i also made some 6.3mm ones a while ago

Pics show the second plug I modded. Only comes into contact with negative pole when contact is made on the components RCA jack. Tried it on the amp first and then DAC. On both the DAC and amp sounded like the Tourmaline got over saturated very quickly. Presentation got really warm, kind of dark. Rolled off upper frequencies. I am sure resolution was also lost. This reminds me when too little of the mineral material is used as filtering material for ground box like device. I was wondering if this would happen. May work with a crystal or crystal mineral mix.

oh this is what you mentioned as oversaturation? IME i get the same exact sound signature (warm, kinda dark (because of boosted subsonics/bass)) when i just used too much tourmaline for my liking... please test this: since you mentioned that the tourmaline was fairly fine ... try some coarser one (probably around 3-5mm to really hear the difference)

imo there is no such thing as oversaturation, but these chinch caps give you the opportunity to filter directly at the device with a compact design that has in relation to its size really great ground surface area ... imo not needing a cable probably even amplifys the effect

 

[Ghoostknight]

btw i just made some prehnite rca caps... the effect of the rca caps seems greatly amplified compared to just putting the crystals on the speaker

2 rca caps atleast doubled the effect from what i was getting with 100g on each speaker as 5-7mm stones

 

[cdacosta]

i cant plug something into the 6.3mm jack of my active speakers either, there is some kind of detection that a plug is inserted i think... tho i thought this is something special to 6,3mm (and the active speaker circuit, where it switches inputs)

i have not noticed any problems with either rca cap on the devices i tested it on but i also made some 6.3mm ones a while ago


oh this is what you mentioned as oversaturation? IME i get the same exact sound signature (warm, kinda dark (because of boosted subsonics/bass)) when i just used too much tourmaline for my liking... please test this: since you mentioned that the tourmaline was fairly fine ... try some coarser one (probably around 3-5mm to really hear the difference)

imo there is no such thing as oversaturation, but these chinch caps give you the opportunity to filter directly at the device with a compact design that has in relation to its size really great ground surface area ... imo not needing a cable probably even amplifys the effect

Through experimentation I know ground boxes can get oversaturated. It is as Entreq says, their guidelines I think are spot on. I will try variations, easy to do.

 

[Ghoostknight]

Through experimentation I know ground boxes can get oversaturated. It is as Entreq says, their guidelines I think are spot on. I will try variations, easy to do.

idk i havent looked much into entreq, the only thing i expierenced was what you describe when i used too much tourmaline... specially with placing the crystals on the speakers where ground doesnt matter at all

 

[cdacosta]

Tried about 10% Tourmaline and the rest Magnetite in the RCA cap that only has the ground making contact. Mini ground box right? Nope, too little mineral material.

Listened before and after test with the Magnetite RCA plug. Wanted a baseline to make sure (although it is really obvious anyway) the difference heard. The system sounded so good, just beautiful, musical and spot on without the plugs. The Tourmaline and Magnetite plug versions absolutely degraded the performance to an unlistenable level. Although will note the Magnetite version was better than the Tourmaline version.

Now what I am thinking is "maybe" if one can get the right crystal mix in the plug, this could improve performance. Crystals for tuning ground boxes and on top of gear work, will have to try and see.

 

[Ghoostknight]

Tried about 10% Tourmaline and the rest Magnetite in the RCA cap that only has the ground making contact. Mini ground box right? Nope, too little mineral material.

Listened before and after test with the Magnetite RCA plug. Wanted a baseline to make sure (although it is really obvious anyway) the difference heard. The system sounded so good, just beautiful, musical and spot on without the plugs. The Tourmaline and Magnetite plug versions absolutely degraded the performance to an unlistenable level. Although will note the Magnetite version was better than the Tourmaline version.

Now what I am thinking is "maybe" if one can get the right crystal mix in the plug, this could improve performance. Crystals for tuning ground boxes and on top of gear work, will have to try and see.

Did you try coarser tourmaline? i mean like 5mm crystals
im still thinking you may just dont like the tourmaline effect (i think you also said before you dont put it inside grounding boxes)

its strange that i can "overdo" the tourmaline effect with 1-2g inside rca plugs but placed on speakers i need like 50-100g for the same outcome, tho you can adjust the effect of rca caps and crystals on top of speakers just the same, either with crystal size or amount as it seems (as you may have noticed with your second version, tho idk how magnetite changes things)
not sure if i buy into entreqs marketing to sell you one box per device

 

[cdacosta]

Did you try coarser tourmaline? i mean like 5mm crystals
im still thinking you may just dont like the tourmaline effect (i think you also said before you dont put it inside grounding boxes)

its strange that i can "overdo" the tourmaline effect with 1-2g inside rca plugs but placed on speakers i need like 50-100g for the same outcome, tho you can adjust the effect of rca caps and crystals on top of speakers just the same, either with crystal size or amount as it seems (as you may have noticed with your second version, tho idk how magnetite changes things)
not sure if i buy into entreqs marketing to sell you one box per device

Have not tried larger Tourmaline pieces yet in a RCA plug. I do use a small amount of Tourmaline (powder and chips) as part of the ground box mix. After a year of almost daily experimentation with ground box development, I found Entreq to be correct about everything they say.

I know you have not tried ground boxes. Just to share with you, the effect difference between using RCA plugs to filter vs a properly built ground box is massive. Please understand this is not to underplay your efforts to use a RCA plug to improve an audio system's performance. I would not of even thought of it until you mentioned it awhile ago. I will try crystal and mixes and larger Tourmaline pieces to see what that does.

 

[Ghoostknight]

No, i think overall this topic has much todo with preference, thats where my idea came from not doing mixes and doing different crystal types of rca plugs, so people can mix and match on their own, basicly
imo i would just not feel comfortable doing "one size that needs to fit all" mix because i know how subjective this is and preference may vary greatly between persons

but i guess one coud say a mix sounds somewhat balanced where a pure crystal type sounds more heavly leaning into one direction, then it depends if you like the direction
(tho i havent really found one mix where i like quartz in it so far)

 

[Ghoostknight]

Actually i had a funny testing idea, to maybe understand the effect better

i still have this new-ish schumann generator where its basicly a variable sinus tone generator with an antenna, i could cutoff the antenna, solder two wires instead and connect the wires like the guys did in the quartz microphone video to a larger crystal with conductive glue and see what happens, specially different frequencies applied to the crystal would be interesting to test

maybe this contraption tops all other crystal tweaks...

 

[Ghoostknight]

Actually i had a funny testing idea, to maybe understand the effect better

i still have this new-ish schumann generator where its basicly a variable sinus tone generator with an antenna, i could cutoff the antenna, solder two wires instead and connect the wires like the guys did in the quartz microphone video to a larger crystal with conductive glue and see what happens, specially different frequencies applied to the crystal would be interesting to test

maybe this contraption tops all other crystal tweaks...

i actually just did it because i was curious...

the crystal put between the cables definitely increase the intensity, just like the antenna but the effect is much more "harmonious" compared to the antenna, im not sure if this is because the antenna just has better transmitting strength or if it has something todo with putting a piezoelectric crystal there but imo the effect with antenna was not long bearable which is not the case for the crystal type contraption

1. also i should note that i used clear quarz crystal, this surprised me because i usually dont like quarz ... and i get a more harmonious feeling here...
2. the transmitting strength of the crystal was altered when choosing different sides for the cables
3. binaural beats just come trough as with the original antenna and frequency matters here

Well, what i take from this? imo we can assume that the different effects come (atleast partially) from applying external electromagnet fields or electricity to the crystals and i guess the noise profile of your (different) devices actually might change the outcome you get from a specific grounding box or crystal tweak, could someone confirm this?

 

[Ghoostknight]

 

[Ghoostknight]

Well, what i take from this? imo we can assume that the different effects come (atleast partially) from applying external electromagnet fields or electricity to the crystals and i guess the noise profile of your (different) devices actually might change the outcome you get from a specific grounding box or crystal tweak, could someone confirm this?

i havent played much around with this if im honest... most tests were done on my active speakers, just because it has the most effect there and to minimize variables while testing

tho i also placed some on the aune x8 dac before... i would say the change was around 30-50% of that placed on the active speakers, the effect was around the same i would say just to another "effectiveness degree"

usually i would say amps are more noisy (and also play around with a lot more current) maybe this is why things get more effective/audible here, tho maybe this also just has something todo with the speakers actually vibrating in addition to ground noise, i guess this also more logical sense after my tests with placing crystals on top of speakers ... they kinda resulted in " as soon you lift off the crystals from the decoupled speakers (from the floor) the effect they do nearly vanishes completely, tho they still have some effect placed somewhere in the room, maybe specially in corners where bass builds up or when your desk is vibrating because of not good decoupling etc, but i havent experimented here much beside placing them on top of speakers

 

[cdacosta]

i actually just did it because i was curious...

the crystal put between the cables definitely increase the intensity, just like the antenna but the effect is much more "harmonious" compared to the antenna, im not sure if this is because the antenna just has better transmitting strength or if it has something todo with putting a piezoelectric crystal there but imo the effect with antenna was not long bearable which is not the case for the crystal type contraption

1. also i should note that i used clear quarz crystal, this surprised me because i usually dont like quarz ... and i get a more harmonious feeling here...
2. the transmitting strength of the crystal was altered when choosing different sides for the cables
3. binaural beats just come trough as with the original antenna and frequency matters here

Well, what i take from this? imo we can assume that the different effects come (atleast partially) from applying external electromagnet fields or electricity to the crystals and i guess the noise profile of your (different) devices actually might change the outcome you get from a specific grounding box or crystal tweak, could someone confirm this?

@Ghoostknight your post gave me an idea that worked like a champ.

I have tried different crystals on cables and get inconsistent results. Tried it on different interconnects and same thing, ehhh was my feeling.

BUT, a small (6mm -8mm) flat clear crystal on a ground cable, at the component end. Placed on top of the Rochelle salt wrap, between the Velcro and the Rochelle salt wrap is a winner. Like in the pic. The crystal is so small that it is hard to see since it is directly under the Velcro, so I added a red circle so you can see where the crystal is. There is more air, a tad more nuance to micro information in most frequency ranges, and a tad quicker timing in the presentation. I have installed this on 4 ground cables and each one adds a tad more to the effect. The effect is not multiplicative, meaning 4 installations do not equal 4x the effect of the first. Note I think there will be a settling in time, but is sounds good. For a few $ for a bag of natural small crystals I highly recommend this be tried.

I also tried the following:

* Placed directly on the ground cable. The effect is too much. If someone is trying this and is not using the Rochelle salt mini wraps they can try using an even smaller crystal.

* Placed at varies points at the ground box end of the same cable. Now this amplifies what the other end install did. I tried at the binding post/or where the ground cable exits the ground box, under the GC Enhancement wraps, directly on the cable where the GC Enhancement wrap is. On top of the GC Enhancement wrap under the velcro, with a small amount of Blu-Tack (as a spacer) on the cable. I was ehhh too much. Effect intensity varies between the above mentioned installs. But different crystal types may works well at the ground box end, still have to try this. Will report back on this.