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COMMENTS (8) | Permalink | Accessories , Speakers under $1k , Writer: Danny Kaey , iPod Accessories | Posted by Danny Kaey on May 07 '08

Preview: STAX SRS 3010 Earspeaker System

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COMMENTS (2) | Permalink | Accessories , Headphone Amps , Headphones - Full Size , Writer: Danny Kaey | Posted by Danny Kaey on Apr 13 '08

Quantum Physics Noise Disrupter

And now, a tweak. Reviewing machine Bob Levi over at PFO takes a look at the Quantum Physics Noise Disrupter. With a name like that, how can you not be interested? Simply, the Disrupter is a big black sponge for EMI interference. Stick it on top of your gear and it sucks away nasty electrical interference, no cables required. Numerous products claim to tame EMI but, as Bob says, all must bow down to the new champ:

Is the Disrupter a magic bullet? It absorbs EMI noise better than any passive device ever produced, including the Shakti Stone or the VPI Magic Brick. It is every bit as effective as an active device, and is easier to use.

Now, in Bob's review, he points out that there can be too much of a good thing. In fact, he found placing various Disrupters in different places and on different components changed his system's sound in all kinds of funky ways. The old joke is that cables are an EQ device, making up for your system's flaws. With the Disrupter having such a huge effect on the sound of a component, are we entering an era where EMI absorption is the new flaw-masking device?

Price is $75 for a small Disrupter and $225 for the big daddy.

Quantum Physics Noise Disrupter Review
Audio Magic

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RealityCheckCD Duplicator of the Gods

So I was with some established audiophiles over the weekend doing, you know, audiophile things and, all of a sudden, this beige box is thrown on a table accompanied by all these little spray bottles of clear liquid. I recognized the box from past articles here and there but it didn't connect just what the heck the thing is.

Simply, the RealityCheckCD is a CD press for your living room. We've talked a lot about why CDs are inherently inferior (for you non believers, read about it here) and why USB audio as well as high-end CD players do what they do. To correctly CDs flaws, the RealityCheckCD methodically extracts the original content from your poorly pressed CD and puts it on a new custom black CD (because black is better, I guess) using superior pressing methods than the original crap CD machines the labels use.

The duplication process is actually really easy: original CD in top tray, virgin CD in bottom tray, hit green button, 15 minutes of ???, and magic! Then you use the spray liquids to polish up the CDs for better laser retrieval in your hi-fi CD player. I'm not sure I completely understand the entire liquidization process (there's like 4 different liquids) but, hey, I'm told that's what the instructions are for.

Now, I wouldn't be going to great lengths to describe this thing if it didn't work. In fact, I hate tweaky stuff and believe tweaks are part of what keeps the industry down. Tweaks scare the hell out of audio newbies and make us look like raving lunatics. *cough*

So, anyway, the RealityCheckCD is up and running and we're popping CDs in. SonicFlare contributor Danny Kaey had some girly CD -- he's just like that, I guess -- with really bad mastering. We put Danny's new black CD in and, guess what, everyone flipped out. You can't make a silk purse out of, you know, girly music, but it was stunningly better. None of that tweaky joker stuff where you have to cock your head, squint and then pretend you hear a difference, this was huge. And as anyone waved their arms and tried to describe the sonic changes (using audiophile language, of course), I put my incredible intellect to work and said, "the CD stopped sucking." Everyone nodded profoundly. Yes, the RealityCheckCD simply makes your CDs stop sucking.

With a price around $600-700 (depending on options), this is one tweak I may have to get my grubby hands on. There's no website yet, but you can contact the man behind the curtain George Louis to purchase. Clark Johnsen over at Positive Feedback talks in great length about the RealityCheck CD here and Enjoy the Music's Bill Gaw reviewed it here. Freaky stuff but I'm a believer. Of course, the real question raised by all this is just what kind of improvements an HDD-based system can provide using similar extraction methods...

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Loricraft PRC-3F record cleaning machine

yummy! mmmmmh... deliciously clean records! On a serious note, this is the mack-daddy of all record cleaning machines, the Loricraft PRC-3F - LINK - made by well err Loricraft of course. I reviewed this puppy last year at Positive-Feedback and gave it the ol' two thumbs , way up! up award. Built around the same principals as the famous Keith Monk's developed machine in England (Loricraft is also British) this unit can be yours for a little over 2k. What you get is the most awesome of all record cleaning machines which functions unlike all others, except for the Keith Monk's. The difference is that while all other machines use some form of brush which stretches across the record surface to clean up muck and dirt, the Loricraft uses a pivoted arm with a megga-strong suction motor to clean the record from the label on out. The difference you wonder? Simple and ingenious: while the arm moves across the record, a cotton thread is constantly moved past the suction cup to eliminate any build up of dirt you just cleaned off the record! Totally awesome!

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NixiChron Tube Clock

Not exactly audio-related but definitely damn cool, the Nixichron GPS clock uses classic Nixie tubes run off a satellite link for precision retro time-telling. If Zanden or Art Audio were to make a clock, this sucker would be it.

Price is $500 and comes in either the polished steel or painted options of red, blue or green. The cheaper Compact GPS version comes in at $350 and sports a transparent acrylic chassis. Picture next page.

NixiChron Tube Clock

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Enjoy the Music 2005 Audiophile Gifts

Enjoy the Music posts their Greatest Audiophile Gifts of '05. Gear for the serious audiophile, the list contains half tweaks and half DIY parts for those handy with the soldering iron. And all are reasonably priced -- no $1200 WE 300B stocking stuffers here.

Enjoy the Music: 2005 Audiophile Gifts

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Audiodesksysteme CD Improver

I had a very interesting conversation over the weekend with a fellow member of the audio press about the future of the CD. Following up my post on the benefits of USB audio, he identified CDs as an Indiana Jones-like maze filled with all kinds of traps that keep us from the glorious sonic treasure. He hypothesized that music servers would be the dynamite to defeat all the silvery pitfalls and, in one fell swoop, make quantum chips, CD pens and CD copying a thing of the past.

Until that day comes, one product from Audiodesksysteme claims to make your CDs sound a whole lot better by carving a bevel on the outer edge of your CD. The bevel is an attempt to fix the mistakes made by the lazy bums who run the CD manufacturing plants. Similar in concept to the cheap de-scratchers you can get at Best Buy, the $699 Glass Sound Improver takes 30 seconds to shave off the outer layer of your disc. According to UltraAudio, the little bugger works and works well.

In a way, isn't it just downright sad that stuff like this actually works? It makes one wonder just how many CD tweaks it takes before we reach the true content beneath.

Audiodesksysteme Glass Sound Improver Review [UltraAudio]
Audiodesksysteme Home
Ultra System [US Importer]

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Earbud Clip Headphone Wrangler

The Earbud Clip owns your iPod. At $10 per 4 pack, the Earbud Clip screams audio stocking stuffer.

Check out OhGizmo! and the Earbud Clip website for reviews from "legitimate" e-publications about why this is the "GREATEST INVENTION EVER!"

Earbud Clip Home [via OhGizmo!]

Permalink | | Posted to Accessories | iPod Accessories

Marigo Labs CD Stabilizer Mat

What is it, you ask? The Marigo Labs Stabilizer Mat is a little layer of carbon fiber and Kevlar, embedded with silver wire and other technologies, that you place on top of your CDs. What the hell does it do? Well, it makes all your CDs and DVDs sound and look better by taking out the vibrations, "draining of charges and spectra-modified light absorption."

Forget the technicals, this little mat simply makes everything sound better. And it works. Really. $200 is what the signature version costs ($95 for the regular version). Check out the review if you think this is just more audiophile voodoo and why you too should buy one.

Marigo Labs Stabilizer Mat [Enjoy the Music]
Marigo Labs Home

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Walker Audio SST Innovative Applications

Here's a fun look at alternate uses for Walker Audio's Super Silver Treatment. The SST goo is, essentially, sex lube for audio - you slather some of the silver compound on your audio connections (speaker cables, tube sockets, anything) and the audio greatly improves. Really.

In this little article Loyd Walker himself describes his tests on other pieces of equipment, like, oh, his motorcycle. What difference does it make? His fuel efficiency went from 36 to 46 miles per gallon. Pretty wild. Check out his article on how to do it yourself and also treat a number of your audio components.

Walker Audio SST Artlcle [Positive Feedback]
Walker Audio Home

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Vibrapod Isolation Devices

Here's a tweak that's cheap enough for owners of everything from $20k amps down to xBoxes and $150 DVD players: the isolation device. There are lots of isolation devices around - some cheap, some ridiculously expensive - but none have gotten as much attention as the Vibrapod. Vibrapod offers two products: the Pod and the Cone. The Pod is a little rubber saucer while the Cone is pictured above. Both work fine but the reviews usually state that when the two are combined, they form a deadly duo of isolation, vastly improving the clarity and sharpness of your audio or video gear.

Yeah, yeah, you say. Isolation is bunk. Don't believe me? Buy the little buggers and return them in 30 days if you're not satisfied (doubtful). Oh, and the price is only 8 bones for either a Pod or Cone. You'll need a total of six per component (3 Cones and 3 Pods) which will run you...calculator...48 big ones. Oh, and the Pods are weight-specific - buy Pods for the wrong weight and you'll throw their mojo way off.

Vibrapod Home [Product home with tons of reviews]

Permalink | Comments (1) | Posted to Accessories | Isolation Devices

Review: Disc-It! CD Storage

Admit it - you don't put the CDs back in their cases while switching from album to album during a "critical listening" session (read: relaxing with a beer). This little nubbins can hold up to eight CDs and costs a whole $4.95. It'll probably be the cheapest "upgrade" you'll make to your system the whole year.

Disc-it review [Gadgeteer]
Disc-it [Product Home]

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