Sort Kones

[m5sime]

I have been experimenting quite a bit with tweaks and often find they are nearly all very hard to hear or so small that I question the value for money. 

 

I surprised myself with two AC and one BC sort kone from nordost. 

 

These when put under my kit I struggled to hear a difference..  I tried a few tracks and also underneath the DAC, the PSU,  the mains block and the amp. 

 

Then I tried one ; the BC under the mains cable headed for the socket amd on a repetitive baseline I heard more bass, richer and prominent. Yes - I heard a difference and this was just under a the mains cable! The cable was not on carpet FYI. 

 

A pair worked well under my mains strip. 

 

I was ready to send them back, but think I'll be buying more!  

[k-man]

Some decent folk here have recommended Jim Smith's book Get Better Sound. 

[semente]

17 minutes ago, k-man said:

Some decent folk here have recommended Jim Smith's book Get Better Sound. 

 

Under the DAC or under the mains cable? 

[k-man]

@semente

 

[m5sime]

14 minutes ago, semente said:

 

Under the DAC or under the mains cable? 

It seemed to work under the DAC and also the power feed from my mains block. I had to keep checking what I was hearing but the bass was better defined and bolder. Subtle but just glad I have heard something lol ? 

[m5sime]

40 minutes ago, k-man said:

Some decent folk here have recommended Jim Smith's book Get Better Sound. 

I hadn't heard of it amd just looked, thank you 

[elcorso]

You could use Jim Smith's book under your gear and make a blind listening test against the SORT Cones.

If you get better results with the book it's cheaper!

 

Roch

[k-man]

Roch, your avatar is bloody scary! Your bonsai tree had a therapeutic effect on me while lurking CA.

[crenca]

I simply use 4 Yggy's to support my equipment.  I think the zero crossover glitch points to a special absorbent property of the circuit board - I get more definition, wider sound stage, more instrument focus, and less veil (particularly when eating veal) this way.

 

I used to use #4 Huggies (about 5 stacked together and wrapped in tape) but when the switched from printing Micky Mouse to Minnie Mouse no the butt I lost some low frequency definition.

 

For power, I simply place my cables in a hyperbaric altitude chamber for about 8 hours a day.  Really cleans up the midrange, though female voices sound a bit "breathy"...

[m5sime]

It seems the sarcasm factor is high today :-) As one that struggles to genuinely hear what others seem to rave of,  I thought I would share a genuine albeit subtle difference. 

[elcorso]

1 hour ago, k-man said:

Roch, your avatar is bloody scary! Your bonsai tree had a therapeutic effect on me while lurking CA.

 

K-man, I'll switch to a Bonsai avatar again on this days. My Bonsais were in maintenance due to our dry season and I don't know the climate in Computer Audiophile.  I guess Chris Connaker would supply some water.

 

I didn't know my actual avatar was so bloody scary. Sorry for that!

 

Roch

 

1 hour ago, m5sime said:

It seems the sarcasm factor is high today :-) As one that struggles to genuinely hear what others seem to rave of,  I thought I would share a genuine albeit subtle difference. 

 

Dear m5sime, please follow your heart, after align your chakras. As Barry Diament used to say, if you ask three experts you would get ten different answers.  Because I'm, not don't even consider mine.

 

Roch

[sphinxsix]

2 hours ago, k-man said:

Roch, your avatar is bloody scary!

But not as scary as Pan's Labyrinth monster. These are unfortunately eyes not ears on his palms,  so it would probably be a better avatar for home cinema forum.

 

 

2 hours ago, elcorso said:

You could use Jim Smith's book under your gear and make a blind listening test against the SORT Cones.

If you get better results with the book it's cheaper!

 

As far as I know nothing cheap will work. Get some Shun Mook accessories!

http://www.shunmook.com/

[elcorso]

16 minutes ago, sphinxsix said:

[...]

As far as I know nothing cheap will work. Get some Shun Mook accessories!

http://www.shunmook.com/

 

Please do not pull my tongue...   I have plenty of Shun Mooks, former dealer for my country and learned a lot from Bill Ying's acoustic knowledge !

 

Roch

[k-man]

Dear @elcorso I wasn't offended at all. Just some opportunistic banter with you since it's been a while I engaged a CA 'fine' member  such as yourself. Please don't switch back on my account!

 

[semente]

7 hours ago, sphinxsix said:

But not as scary as Pan's Labyrinth monster. These are unfortunately eyes not ears on his palms,  so it would probably be a better avatar for home cinema forum.

 

 

 

As far as I know nothing cheap will work. Get some Shun Mook accessories!

http://www.shunmook.com/

 

I wonder if that is where the word schmuck comes from...

 

But they do use maple, must be good stuff.

[sphinxsix]

6 hours ago, semente said:

 

I wonder if that is where the word schmuck comes from...

 

But they do use maple, must be good stuff.

 

Yep, maple is good for sound! My bass guitar with maple neck and fingerboard :

(unfortunately the instrument is better than the instrumentalist  but I'm working on it )

 

As for Shun Mook they also use ebony and other materials out of which the most important one (they don't speak of it openly) is called :

 

MYSTIQUE.

 

I bet not every CA member has heard about it so let me explain..

 

Do a very simple experiment - sit down in front of let's say your DAC (full lotus position is the best) and concentrate on it (the DAC) for 30 minutes. Don't strain - stay concentrated but relaxed, it's important! Then go back to your listening chair and play some music. Everyone who did this experiment confirms that after the concentration session the DAC sounds much better.

 

Here is interesting part. Borrow some good cables from a dealer or a friend. Sit down again for 30-40 minutes concentrating on your speakers' drivers one after another (you may also try visualise the crossovers and focus your attention on them, it works great too!). Then go to your sweet spot and play some well recorded music. Next switch the cables. Hear the difference.? The session like that can easily make your speakers good enough to start to show sound differences between cables (if they didn't do it before) - it's confirmed by 90% of the people who did the experiment! And I'm deadly serious here - I'm a 'cables influence the sound' fraction member as some of you probably know. You may be tempted to upgrade your cables obviously but usually the system's SQ improvement due to the concentration session is much bigger than the sound differences between different cables..

 

And that's it - next time do the same with the amp and repeat the whole procedure from time to time (its effects unfortunately tend to wear off with time) enjoying your zero cost .. 

 

.. MYSTIQUE UPGRADE!

 

And please report on the scale of your system's SQ improvement here 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[elcorso]

1 hour ago, sphinxsix said:

 

Yep, maple is good for sound! My bass guitar with maple neck and fingerboard :

(unfortunately the instrument is better than the instrumentalist  but I'm working on it )

 

As for Shun Mook they also use ebony and other materials out of which the most important one (they don't speak of it openly) is called :

 

MYSTIQUE.

 

I bet not every CA member has heard about it so let me explain..

 

Do a very simple experiment - sit down in front of let's say your DAC (full lotus position is the best) and concentrate on it (the DAC) for 30 minutes. Don't strain - stay concentrated but relaxed, it's important! Then go back to your listening chair and play some music. Everyone who did this experiment confirms that after the concentration session the DAC sounds much better.

 

Here is interesting part. Borrow some good cables from a dealer or a friend. Sit down again for 30-40 minutes concentrating on your speakers' drivers one after another (you may also try visualise the crossovers and focus your attention on them, it works great too!). Then go to your sweet spot and play some well recorded music. Next switch the cables. Hear the difference.? The session like that can easily make your speakers good enough to start to show sound differences between cables (if they didn't do it before) - it's confirmed by 90% of the people who did the experiment! And I'm deadly serious here - I'm a 'cables influence the sound' fraction member as some of you probably know. You may be tempted to upgrade your cables obviously but usually the system's SQ improvement due to the concentration session is much bigger than the sound differences between different cables..

 

And that's it - next time do the same with the amp and repeat the whole procedure from time to time (its effects unfortunately tend to wear off with time) enjoying your zero cost .. 

 

.. MYSTIQUE UPGRADE!

 

And please report on the scale of your system's SQ improvement here 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More than "mystique", but it's OK with me

 

I was reading this morning about how to plant bell peppers and found something I know from my twenty years Bonsai experience: “Before you transplant your seedlings into your garden, gradually expose them to outdoor conditions. By reducing stress, the plants will become larger and more productive.”

 

It is best to live a quiet life, in a quiet environment, away from the noise.

I have already been blessed, because I have always been able to choose where I work and live.

Maybe this give the ability of a better concentration when I listen to music?

 

Shun Mook is mostly based in Diospyros crassiflora (Gaboon Ebony).

The fine music instrument industry use Ebony on clarinets, piano and on violin, cello, fingerboard and tuning pegs. And, of course, Maple.

 

I don't like to talk too much about wood 'virtues' on this days.  Some people are destroying our world atmosphere cutting all the trees they can.  When I buy some wood it is from a fallen tree, where I go to the mountains to see it. Or from certified ecological tree plantations.  This is the only mystique in me

 

Roch

[NOMBEDES]

I use snort cones.  Fill a dixie cup with cocaine.  Everything sounds better......a little fast like a 33.3 on 45 RPM, but better.........

[Ralf11]

41 minutes ago, NOMBEDES said:

I use snort cones.  Fill a dixie cup with cocaine.  Everything sounds better......a little fast like a 33.3 on 45 RPM, but better.........

 

 

certainly a pointed remark...

[semente]

 

 

And I could say oo oo oo

As if everybody knows what I'm talking about

As if everybody would know exactly what I was talking about... 

[sphinxsix]

1 hour ago, NOMBEDES said:

I use snort cones.  Fill a dixie cup with cocaine.  Everything sounds better...

Doesn't sound cheap, especially in comparison with Jim Smith's 'Get Better Sound.' but probably worth trying. I might have problems with getting dixie cups where I live though