Bybee purifier is great

[BobMajor]

In the constant quest for a sound closer to analog I've bought an anti-jitter device, the Monarchy DIP (Digital Interface Processor) Classic and now a Bybee Slipstream Quantum Purifier RCA adapter from Bolder Cable. I've really like Bolder Cable's digital cable and their M-80 interconnects. It's especially nice since they give a 30 day money back guarantee.
The Monarchy DIP Classic into my Channel Islands Audio DAC made a noticeable iimprovement on reducing jitter (both high end sibilance and low end bloating) and firming up the soundstage.
I expected a similar effect from adding a Bybee Slipstream Quantum purifier (latest model) between the digital cable and the DAC and I was very pleased with the result. It is definitely worth the $160 I paid (now $200 although Cryotweaks.com sells pairs of them for less). It dramatically widened the soundstage and also dramatically improved the sense of a continuous space between sounds on the soundstage. The individual sounds already had had their defined position but the Bybee purifier revealed a much more lively and continuous soundstage. It also got rid of any sense of edginess or sibilance in the high frequency and seemed to increase the bass frequency response somewhat.
I'm very pleased.

 

[Welly Wu]

That's good for you. However, there are plenty of folks around here who think Bybees are just snake oil. It's hard to justify their price and effectiveness because they typically are installed in various components; thus, it makes it far more difficult to ascertain their level of performance separate from whatever component they have just been modded into. Usually, the euphoria of having them installed in conjunction with other modifications to some component makes it difficult to figure out if they're having any direct benefits whatsoever. I'd rather put that kind of money toward some other modifications thank you very much.

 

[ooheadsoo]

If you ever get a chance to do some direct comparisons, let us know. I feel that honest people with good ears exist on both sides of the fence.

 

[eric343]

I'm glad you like them.

However, one of the most respected members on this board (Dr. Kevin Gilmore) has repeatedly said that not only are their effects entirely due to the placebo effect, but they can emit hydrogen gas and cause equipment to explode if installed inside certain equipment. Personally, I'll save my money and perhaps even my life, thank you very much

For the record, Bybees consist of a core that is filled with misch metal (which can or will produce hydrogen gas when in contact with the moisture in the air) and a low-value resistor that lets the current bypass the high impedance (read: barely conductive) misch metal. Misch metal, I believe, is the stuff used in cigarette lighters and firestarters to create sparks when rubbed against an abrasive wheel. (and availible from UnitedNuclear.com)

I would provide you with a link to the exact posts, but the search function is not availible.

 

[kyrie]

"Bybee Quantum Purifiers address several kinds of electronic noise. Thermal noise in electronic equipment is typically created by the excitation of phonons, which are resonances in conductors caused by the movement of electrons through the quantum well. Phonons are a type of noise in themselves; they are caused by a certain class of electrons colliding with the crystal lattice of conductors (silver, copper, etc.) through which they are being transmitted. Such phonons travel, not at the speed of light, but of sound, and therefore are instantly out of phase with the signal."

Anyone who knows even elementary electromagnetism would laugh so hard at this that tears would stream down their faces...if bybees do improve sound, it's definitely not for the above reason. I cannot say whether Bybees itself are snake oil or not, but the explanation that the company itself gives is pure snake oil without any doubt.

 

[strohmie]

That's some high class BS.

I normally don't point users off the forum, but they have a 100+ post thread about the bybees at diyaudio.com -- long but informative. Search bybee on the main page.

 

[tortie]

Bob, you are in a great position since the bybees you have is the RCA adaptor version and in my understanding you can A/B your system with or without the bybees. Please do post additional findings or effects. Thanks

 

[loveheadphones]

phonons do travel at the speed of sound. a phonon is essential a quanta of lattice vibration. all solids exhibit some lattice vibration. at higher temperatures solids vibrate more, creating more phonons (thus "thermal noise").

as for the "certain types of electrons," remember that conductivity is basically how well electrons can flow without hitting some type of obstacle on their way through a voltage difference. purer metals have less of these obstacles because their crystal structures are more uniform. (of course, those purer metals will exhibit different limiting conductances, but that's due to the type of crystal structure and size of the atoms) so i can see those "certain types of electrons" being a layman's term for picking out the ones that end up hitting those obstacles (defects in crystal structure, dislocations, etc.).

just wanted to offer another viewpoint. i don't know what misch metal is.

i have an elementary understanding of electromagnetism and i'm not laughing

 

[minya]

fool:money:

il:water

- Chris

 

[BobMajor]

I'm not in a financial position to just keep any tweak which has been recommended by someone if it doesn't deliver its money's worth. I and a friend have A/B'd the Bybee Slipstream purifier I put in before the DAC. The results I stated in the original post are definitely worth the money to me. My system isn't that expensive (look at my profile).
I recently compared three highly regarded amps against my modest Headroom Home (old version which I leave on 24/7 which I've found tremendously improves its performance). I was expecting to like these three highly rated amps more than my 5 year old amp. I was expecting to buy one of them since I could get a really good deal on all of them. They included the MPX-3 and the Ray Samuels Emmeline (their top amp). These amps may be desirable for people who listen to recordings where a natural soundstage hasn't been attempted by the recording engineers. They both create a "bloom" around each sound which gives a sense of spaciousness. However, I listen mostly to well recorded classical music and this "bloom" to me just obscured the natural soundstage. The third amp was the Meier Audio Prehead. It's a great amp but despite frequent A/B testing I couldn't detect any noticeable improvement in performance over the Headroom Home. I think that the Prehead sounded excellent even when just turned on whereas the Home sounds completely unimpressive under those circumstances. But once the Home has been running for about 2 days it's just as good as the Prehead.
What I'm saying is that I listen very critically to any component I try and it has to pass the test of my ears without preconceptions. Both Bolder Cable and Cryotweaks offer 30 day no hassle money back guarantee on the Bybee products. Why be afraid to give it a try rather than be swept up in prejudice.

 

[bozebuttons]

I have used the bybee ultra quantuam speaker filters and had a modwright dvp 7700 with bybee filters in it.
They cleaned up the sound, bass was improved ,more detail but the one thing I didn't like about them and sold them was the system became thin sounding, a little lean in my system.I have read others who have used them have the same complaint.
They do work,and the differances in the speaker filters where very noticeable,not placebo as they could be taken in and out of the system in minutes to verify.
In the right system I can see them having a pos effect.Highly regarded modders use them,if they didn't work I am sure they wouldn't use them.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

At least he like sthem. Placebo or not, they're cheaper than those alligator clips that run five hundred pound British Sterling. Man, anyone who buys those and says they make a difference needs help.

The SlipStreams are easier to swap in and out of a system, which makes it easy to A/B them for others who don't know what's going on.

 

[ampgalore]

Phonons, eleconons, what's next, resonons, quanonons? And what about charmonons? quarkonons? What other sub elementary particles are there? Just stick "-onons" on them, and you enter a whole new realm of imaginary physics. And while we are at it, how about quackonons?

 

[tortie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampgalore Phonons, eleconons, what's next, resonons, quanonons? And what about charmonons? quarkonons? What other sub elementary particles are there? Just stick "-onons" on them, and you enter a whole new realm of imaginary physics. And while we are at it, how about quackonons?

Quackonons? If you want your head to explode, try reading Peter Belts theories

http://www.belt.demon.co.uk/

 

[loveheadphones]

when you look at things on a small scale things that were originally considered continuous (in classical physics) take on discrete quantities (hence quantum physics)... a photon is the smallest "quantity" of light, a phonon is the smallest "quantity" of lattice vibration... these things are not imaginary, they are measurable and they have consequences as well as implications...