Will the insanity NEVER end?!

[MonkeyMan]

PLEASE, somebody stop these people...

If you thought the "Brilliant Pebbles" were over-the-top, check THIS out

That's IT! I'm going to start-up a little LLC that sells ridiculous crap to audiophools. Heck, even if I sell just one unit of product I'll be "in the black."

 

[bigshot]

Here's another good 'un!

http://www.tricell-ent.com/Shakti.htm

See ya
Steve

 

[virometal]

Don't worry if the time is incorrect!

 

[Covenant]

I want to find out the addresses of all those companies' customers, and leave a little

"You have been had by Ace Ventura"

card outside their doors

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot Here's another good 'un! http://www.tricell-ent.com/Shakti.htm See ya Steve

Hi ya,
eyeteeth

I'd distinguish between Shakti and that clock who's existence is incomprehensible.
Oh yes now I get it: Every minute!

Effective or not at least the shakti stone folks have made an effort to show effectiveness with a white paper and respectable name endorsements. They aren't very specific though about applications within those studios (I haven't combed the site). They should be IMO. I'd try one for free.

http://www.shakti-innovations.com/audiovideo.htm
SHAKTI is used by the following recording and mastering studios:

Abbey Road Studio
Pink Floyd's Astoria Studio
Steve Hoffman Mastering
Moment Records
Stan Ricker Mastering
Doug Sax's Mastering Lab
Paul Stubblebine Mastering

SHAKTI is endorsed by the following engineers:
Lew Johnson (Conrad Johnson)
Bill Conrad (Conrad Johnson)
Jochaim Gerhard (Audio Physic)
Steve McCormack (McCormack Audio)
George Cardas (Cardas Audio)
Rod Madnick (Perpetual Technologies)
Stige Bjorge (Scan Tech)
Derrick Fuller (DCS)
Jean Jacques Van Leween (Audio Matiere)
Mike Custer (Sumo Electronics)
Bob Graham (Graham Engineering)
A.J. Conti (BASIS Turntables)
Ted Denny (Synergistic Research)
George Tice (Tice Electronics)
Stephen Ballet (Reflection Audio)
Peter Suchy (Clearaudio)
Jeff Combs (James Loudspeakers)
A. Taguchi (JVC Music)
Paul Baily (Abbey Road Studio)
Bascom King (Bascom King Designs)
Tom Campagno (Quintessence Acoustics)
Ron Hedrich (Marigo)
Gene Dubois (MacIntosh Car Audio)
Steve Little (Center Stage Loudspeakers)
Steve Klein (Sounds of Silence)
Bill Hamilton (Hamilton Audio Loudspeakers)
Michael Kochman (Echo Busters)
Bill Stierhout (Quantum Technologies)
Ram Ghoshal (Moment Records)
Steve Hoffman (DCC)
Stan Ricker (Stan Ricker Mastering)
Doug Sax (The Mastering Lab)
Paul Stubblebine (Stubblebine Mastering)
Phil Taylor (Pink Floyd's Astoria Studio)
James Guthrie (Pink Floyd Recordings)
Gary Garfield (Musical Fidelity Disc Solution

[size=large]What a bunch of no talent rubes! [/size]

 

[Jon L]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eyeteeth Hi ya, eyeteeth I'd distinguish between Shakti and that clock who's existence is incomprehensible. Oh yes now I get it: Every minute! Effective or not at least the shakti stone folks have made an effort to show effectiveness with a white paper and respectable name endorsements. They aren't very specific though about applications within those studios (I haven't combed the site). They should be IMO. I'd try one for free. http://www.shakti-innovations.com/audiovideo.htm SHAKTI is used by the following recording and mastering studios: Abbey Road Studio Pink Floyd's Astoria Studio Steve Hoffman Mastering Moment Records Stan Ricker Mastering Doug Sax's Mastering Lab Paul Stubblebine Mastering SHAKTI is endorsed by the following engineers: Lew Johnson (Conrad Johnson) Bill Conrad (Conrad Johnson) Jochaim Gerhard (Audio Physic) Steve McCormack (McCormack Audio) George Cardas (Cardas Audio) Rod Madnick (Perpetual Technologies) Stige Bjorge (Scan Tech) Derrick Fuller (DCS) Jean Jacques Van Leween (Audio Matiere) Mike Custer (Sumo Electronics) Bob Graham (Graham Engineering) A.J. Conti (BASIS Turntables) Ted Denny (Synergistic Research) George Tice (Tice Electronics) Stephen Ballet (Reflection Audio) Peter Suchy (Clearaudio) Jeff Combs (James Loudspeakers) A. Taguchi (JVC Music) Paul Baily (Abbey Road Studio) Bascom King (Bascom King Designs) Tom Campagno (Quintessence Acoustics) Ron Hedrich (Marigo) Gene Dubois (MacIntosh Car Audio) Steve Little (Center Stage Loudspeakers) Steve Klein (Sounds of Silence) Bill Hamilton (Hamilton Audio Loudspeakers) Michael Kochman (Echo Busters) Bill Stierhout (Quantum Technologies) Ram Ghoshal (Moment Records) Steve Hoffman (DCC) Stan Ricker (Stan Ricker Mastering) Doug Sax (The Mastering Lab) Paul Stubblebine (Stubblebine Mastering) Phil Taylor (Pink Floyd's Astoria Studio) James Guthrie (Pink Floyd Recordings) Gary Garfield (Musical Fidelity Disc Solution [size=large]What a bunch of no talent rubes! [/size]

I agree. There's a sea of tweaks out there, and it does take an open mind as well as healthy dose of skepticism to sort through them. But in the end, one can't REALLY know until he tries it out. I'm pretty sure Shakti stone and Shakti On-Lines are variations of RFI/EMI absorbers along the lines of ferrites, Stillpoints ERS paper, Shunyata "stardust," which all do similar things.

The Lil clock, I have no idea if/why it would do anything, but mind is a powerful thing...

 

[bigshot]

Brilliant Pebbles have a white paper too.

If I mailed a muffin to Doug Sax and wrote, "Here is a FREE magic muffin for you to make your sound better!" I could list him on my Magic Muffin page. At least until he found me... I bet he'd never find me though... it isn't likely he reads audio related snake oil that often.

A little healthy skepticism is a good thing. Just because it has a white paper, and some names on the website, it doesn't mean dangling rocks off your cables will make a difference.

See ya
Steve

 

[Patrick82]

A reviewer said that Shakti isn't needed when having a Solid-Tech Rack Of Silence. Will music sound good when there is an earthquake vibrating your CD player? If it sounds worse, then any slight vibration will do the same, however subtle it may sound. Just because someone doesn't hear the improvement doesn't mean there isn't one.

As for the "Intelligent Chip":

Quote:

So here I am, standing naked before you, telling you that this chip, with no scientific explanation behind it, sounding like the worst snake oil imaginable, did and does make a difference on all digital discs I've tried. I hate reporting it because I know I'm going to lose credibility in the eyes of many of my readers, but all new discoveries that go against known science tend to put the experimenter in disrepute. Some have reported that his group didn't hear any difference, but John Curl and Clark Johnsen (two reputable high enders) did.

Would I buy it after reading this review? No.

But it is kind of unfair to laugh at new discoveries no matter how silly they appear. It reminds me of "Planet Of The Apes" movie where the apes said "Nonsense!" when the human said he could fly with a machine.
Imagine a monkey doing A/B-ing between different headphones. Monkey: "Nonsense! These headphones sound exactly the same."

Wasn't it the same with power cords and interconnects? Now power cords are a standard upgrade in your system.

Edit: They have a top 15 list of tweaks under $60 and I have only tried Xtreme AV QuickSilver Contact Enhancer, in my system it made a $2000+ improvement. As for the other tweaks I don't think they will make a big enough difference that they are worth the time and money, but if I have tried them my answer would probably be the opposite since I have got surprised many times from upgrades I didn't think would improve much.

 

[johto]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 They[/URL] have a top 15 list of tweaks under $60 and I have only tried Xtreme AV QuickSilver Contact Enhancer, in my system it made a $2000+ improvement. As for the other tweaks I don't think they will make a big enough difference that they are worth the time and money, but if I have tried them my answer would probably be the opposite since I have got surprised many times from upgrades I didn't think would improve much.

Are you eating mushrooms?

Nonsense!

 

[Mogul]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 A reviewer said that Shakti isn't needed when having a Solid-Tech Rack Of Silence. Will music sound good when there is an earthquake vibrating your CD player? If it sounds worse, then any slight vibration will do the same, however subtle it may sound. Just because someone doesn't hear the improvement doesn't mean there isn't one. As for the "Intelligent Chip": Would I buy it after reading this review? No. But it is kind of unfair to laugh at new discoveries no matter how silly they appear. It reminds me of "Planet Of The Apes" movie where the apes said "Nonsense!" when the human said he could fly with a machine. Imagine a monkey doing A/B-ing between different headphones. Monkey: "Nonsense! These headphones sound exactly the same." Wasn't it the same with power cords and interconnects? Now power cords are a standard upgrade in your system. Edit: They have a top 15 list of tweaks under $60 and I have only tried Xtreme AV QuickSilver Contact Enhancer, in my system it made a $2000+ improvement. As for the other tweaks I don't think they will make a big enough difference that they are worth the time and money, but if I have tried them my answer would probably be the opposite since I have got surprised many times from upgrades I didn't think would improve much.

Patrick, I just read the post you linked to where you describe the PS Audio power cords. You didn't like what they did to trance music, so you keep the power cords and sell the trance music?

I always thought we listen to music, and choose equipment to aid in our enjoyment of said music. Apparently you buy equipment to listen to the equipment? I don't mean to pick on you (I probably sounded harsh in the CD-R thread...), but perhaps take a step back and try to figure out what you are trying to achieve.

Please take this as friendly advice. I do enjoy reading your posts and find you add a lot of valuable information to Head-Fi.

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 A reviewer said that Shakti isn't needed when having a Solid-Tech Rack Of Silence. Will music sound good when there is an earthquake vibrating your CD player? If it sounds worse, then any slight vibration will do the same, however subtle it may sound. Just because someone doesn't hear the improvement doesn't mean there isn't one.

Well, it's certainly a darn good indication that there might not be one!

I've had CD players that you could turn upside down and sideways without hearing any difference. I live in Southern California, but I'm not going to buy a hideously overpriced equipment rack to make sure my Mahler survives the big one without skipping!

There are enough things that really matter to deal with to keep anyone busy enough to never get around to dealing with cosmic rays and ground temblers. Your Planet of the Apes reference gives me a good idea of how these companies get away with selling stone soup year after year.

See ya
Steve

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot but I'm not going to buy a hideously overpriced equipment rack to make sure my Mahler survives the big one without skipping!

It is not about skipping, the amplifier also benefits from less vibrations, as do power cords, you don't have to be a genius to figure that out. I haven't read any "white papers" because it already makes sense to me. Do I hear a difference? No. But if someone else does, I eventually will too, it just requires training and experience. I will certainly buy that rack in a few years after my hearing has improved.

Seems like you don't like any tweaks for some reason. Did you become a skeptic about everything since you got your SACD player and didn't hear an improvement?

 

[RedLeader]

see, at this point it stops being about the music, which is what this hobby is supposed to be. It is then all about the equiptment, and all the tweaking you can do with it. Bah I say, you're ignoring why you have all that money invested into that stuff in the first place.

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mogul Patrick, I just read the post you linked to where you describe the PS Audio power cords. You didn't like what they did to trance music, so you keep the power cords and sell the trance music? I always thought we listen to music, and choose equipment to aid in our enjoyment of said music. Apparently you buy equipment to listen to the equipment? I don't mean to pick on you (I probably sounded harsh in the CD-R thread...), but perhaps take a step back and try to figure out what you are trying to achieve. Please take this as friendly advice. I do enjoy reading your posts and find you add a lot of valuable information to Head-Fi.

I don't like music, I like perfection. I chose audio because video isn't as close to perfection. The reason I like trance music is because it has a perfect beat, but the clock inside CD players is never perfect so a CD-R has to be burned that has less jitter, people call it "toe tapping rhythm" and it is often subconscious. It is easier to recognize it if you practice a sport that requires good timing.

All tweaks just make music sound more like it is supposed to sound. If someone doesn't care about perfection I can understand why he wouldn't hear a difference at all!
Those tweaks are made for $50 000+ systems, it's the testimonials from those with cheap systems that make it look like a placebo. If you have a $2000 system and don't hear a difference doesn't mean it doesn't work!

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedLeader see, at this point it stops being about the music, which is what this hobby is supposed to be. It is then all about the equiptment, and all the tweaking you can do with it. Bah I say, you're ignoring why you have all that money invested into that stuff in the first place.

It depends on your definition of music. For me music is like a puzzle, and I don't want pieces missing from the puzzle. I want to hear everything in the music and not use my imagination for the missing samples.

Those people who enjoy music can just use the cheapest audio gear and use their imagination, and the people (artists) who enjoy music even more create their own music in their minds. They are creators.

But I rather like to explore and find what is on the recording, I search for the Truth instead of being narrow minded and ignorant. I try to understand everything. As you can see, a placebo effect is the opposite of what I want to accomplish.