Has anyone else seen the discussions at Audiogon about Lloyd Walkers black diamond tweak? Apparently he now sells black colored crystals that you stick to your headshell or phono cartridge. He states that it "reduces the EMI/RFI and static electrical noise at your cartridge and record while it is playing." I don;t think these are actually diamonds, but rather black quartz.
More info here:
https://walkeraudio.com/shop/crystal/ (https://walkeraudio.com/shop/crystal/)
So instead of paying $395 to Walker Audio I found a clear rounded quartz crystal and glued it to the front of my cartridge with a tiny dab of super glue. Of course I re-balanced the arm to account for the added mass. I've been playing records this way for about a month now.
No overtly obvious change, but things did indeed sound nice. So today I decided to put it to the test. I pulled out 88 Basie Street, an album many of us are intimately familiar with for it's great dynamics, soundstaging, space, extension and great music.
(1) Sounded really nice. spacious, meaty, textured.
(2) I pulled off the crystal and re-balanced the arm. OK, so things definitely seem a bit flatter now. Less nuance. Less space. Absolutely a difference was heard.
(3) Glued the crystal back in place and re-balanced the arm again. Yup, there's that nuance, space and dimensionality.
Conclusion: so I guess this did make a difference to my ears, whether from actual RFI/EMI reduction or from just having added mass at the headshell - I don't know. But I did hear it; subtle but there.
Another shot from the front.
Still liking the tweak ? Same affect ? Any changes ? Quartz ? Inquiring minds want to know.
charles
You should come over and listen :thumb:
Yes, liking the tweak. Yes, it doesn't look so great (but I bet you could use a smaller crystal than I did with the same effect). It was decidedly better on when I A-B'ed it on and off. No question of the increased soundstage and clarity.
Quote from: BobM on December 10, 2013, 06:10:01 AM
You should come over and listen :thumb:
Yes, liking the tweak. Yes, it doesn't look so great (but I bet you could use a smaller crystal than I did with the same effect). It was decidedly better on when I A-B'ed it on and off. No question of the increased soundstage and clarity.
Call me a skeptic: I see it as adding "mass" on the end of the tonearm. Maybe a glob of blutack works just as well :roll:
Here's a pic of my new Lyra Kleos with a smaller crystal stuck to the front. Just a small dab of moretite, nothing permanent. I did try the large crystal on top of the headshell, but this little guy on the front works better.
Smooths things out a bit and widens the soundstage. Verified these effects again by adding and removing (and rebalancing at each step)
(http://cgim.audiogon.com/i/vs/i/f/1427640462.jpg)
For those naysayers who read this and say, "what the hell could this possibly do", here's a video showing the electromagnetic field properties of quartz crystals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuZLO2pRpbs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuZLO2pRpbs)
This is actually a well understood science, not myth, not just mass. And what is a phono cartridge but an electromechanical signal generator that relies heavily on magnetic fields.
Cool stuff bob. The Synergystic PHT is another winner with two flavors for $199. Purple Haze and Blue Velvet flavor as described.
The difference is the PHT works on resonance and the crystal magnetic field. Bob Synergystic uses museum putty whatever hat is to mount them.
It would be interesting to compare the two methods. When Steve finally gets mine we can have some fun comparing. They weigh .0001gr plus putty.
charles
The museum putty is the secret.
The crystals and aluminum parts are just thrown in to justify the cost.
Back in the day Mortite was the cart tweak of all times. We have come a long way from just adding mass it appears.
Quartz being a piezoelectric material has its merits with magnetic fields and the PHT addresses resonance.
The asking price always introduces some sort of issue. Thank goodness for 30 day trials. After the marketing hype at least we can evaluate and return if not pleased with the change. BTW not a Synergystic dealer.
charles
Just BS'n
Occam (Paul Kaplan) has responded over at AC on this topic. He has done a lot of research with crystals, notably in his power cords but also elsewhere. He also heard an improvement putting these on a cartridge.
However, he says metal bodied cartridges require more than one crystal. I just might try puttying one more on each side to see if there is further improvement.
Quote from: richidoo on April 02, 2015, 09:08:18 AM
Just BS'n
Busting ? Gotta have some fun eh :lol:
charles
Quote from: BobM on April 02, 2015, 09:51:59 AM
Occam (Paul Kaplan) has responded over at AC on this topic. He has done a lot of research with crystals, notably in his power cords but also elsewhere. He also heard an improvement putting these on a cartridge.
However, he says metal bodied cartridges require more than one crystal. I just might try puttying one more on each side to see if there is further improvement.
What is AC ? Traitor. :rofl: :rofl: After TWL success with crystals on the plus series All jump in.
Size and weight matter every time :roll: Hey Richidoo carries then in his pocket for good reason, they work.
charles
Crystals tend to enhance the performance of whatever they are near. So carrying them in your pocket Rich leads to ....
Hmmmmm!
Quote from: BobM on April 02, 2015, 12:53:54 PM
Crystals tend to enhance the performance of whatever they are near. So carrying them in your pocket Rich leads to ....
Hmmmmm!
Glad you said Hmmmm instead of Hummmmmmm : :-P
charles
Bob have you tried mounting the crystal or crystals on the head shell as recommended by Walker ? Walker prefers two crystals on front of head shell.
charles
I tried putting my big crystal on top of the headshell. It wasn't as effective as the little crystal on the front of the cartridge. May have something to do with the proximity of the crystal to the magnets - I dunno.
I am going to try Kaplan's suggestion and add one more to each side of the cartridge and see what I hear.
Quote from: BobM on April 03, 2015, 08:28:55 AM
I tried putting my big crystal on top of the headshell
Bob, you just need a bigger crystal!~
Is that a crystal in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
:yay2:
I did a bit more experimenting last night and this morning. Tried a few things, adding additional small crystals on the sides, putting them on top, using just one large crystal on the front and on top.
You are going to call me crazy, but here's what I hear (I won;t post this elsewhere for fear of being labelled nuts, but you all are already nuts so I feel comfortable here).
- Crystals add a bit more clarity and detail to the sound
- sometimes too much clarity and detail ends up sounding a bit hard on loud passages
- crystals with sharp edges tend to sound "edgier" than rounded tumbled crystals (no, I'm not making this up)
- the effect of the crystal is more muted on the top of the headshell than on the very front of the cartridge
- more crystal is not always better, it's a balance between added detail and clarity and your comfort level having more detail that is important (see my point about some hardness creeping in)
Right now I have ended up with a small tumbled crystal on the top of my headshell.
Quote from: BobM on April 09, 2015, 05:45:47 AM
....I won;t post this elsewhere for fear of being labelled nuts, but you all are already nuts so I feel comfortable here
Hey watch it,
(http://cdn.meme.am/instances/48132053.jpg)
Bob interesting findings so far. Did you try the rounded crystal on the face of the headshell ? Still waiting for the Synergystic PHT to try. Wonder if both are used what the outcome would be. We will find out together.
charles
Try some different gems, like tourmaline, carborundum, lepidolite, moldavite, etc.
Acoustic Revive uses some of these in their power conditioning boxes, the NC dealer told me it was amazing. Japs put tourmaline in literally everything, clothes, appliances, bedsheets.
GETCHOO SUM O DAT TOURMALINE BOI!
Soon you will start to think there is more to this crystal energy than just EM effects, then you will enjoy learning about the metaphysical properties of gemstones. http://heavenandearthjewelry.com Imagine zany new age retail mysticism combined with wacko audiophile tweak obsession! All in one person - at least until the schizophrenia kicks in! Zowee
I have some tourmaline. I didn't try it here. I have used it elsewhere and I found that it sucked out dynamics. Quartz didn't have that problem.
But when I get a chance next week I'll give it a go.
Quote from: BobM on April 09, 2015, 01:02:37 PM
I have used it elsewhere and I found that it sucked out dynamics.
Ewww yik!
I can't help it but that tweak reminds me of this South Park episode :thumb: