[jimdgoulding]

Shaki stones, anyone?

[Elizabeth]

Shakti Stones are similar to VPI bricks.
I bought two VPI bricks and was given a third.
The VPI brick is a pile of steel plates stacked, wrapped in a nice wood box. They weigh a ton.
The VPI bricks are most useful when placed above a large (standard square frame) transformer.
I am currently only using one in that capacity. Over the separate power supply to my VAC Standard preamp.
All the rest of my stuff have toroid transformers. I have a second VPI brick just sitting between my Bryston  power suppy, and the Bryston phono box.
The VPI brick on the VAC helps, THe other ??
I ony paid $12 each for the two.
Some have tried to sell VPI bricks for as much a $125. each on Audiogon.

Shakti claims to have some more sophisticated arrangment inside. IT still is the same idea. A mass of material which can soak up stray voltage.

[dBe]

Shaki stones, anyone?

There are a lot of different materials that exhibit piezoelectric effects.  When there was a blown batch of wafers at Philips we would throw them in a big cardboard drum and they would get sent to a recycler that ground them up for use as RFI absorbing media.  The doped wafers had all sorts of semiconducting materials that suck energy when they try to conduct.  Same kind of thing with the Shakti.  Materials from silicon carbide to others in that family can be mixed into thermosetting resins and there ya go - an RF sink.  I use similar materials in the MacSandwich.

Dave

[nickd]

I have heard the "Shaki stones" in action. The demo was performed on VAC tube electronics in a Montana EPS based system at CES a few years back. In that high res system, the effect is not hard to hear. I heard it as a lower noise floor. the system was extreemly good on it's own, it just got better with the stones in place. The biggest difference was when the stones were placed over the power supply on the Preamp and the CD player. I was not suprised that the manufactures downplayed the effect. Their gear is very good and not inexpensive. Admitting a small "stone" made the system better is not an easy pill to swallow. However, there were a few of us in the room who heard it and we all noticed how politicaly seperated the listeners became right away. The engineers balked, the audiophiles rejoiced and the Stereophile reviewer who was in the room (Barry Willis) looked right at me and said "I told you these things are cool".

Dave,

I really had no Idea you were into the RF sink kind of tech Dave. You should express that in your posts and advertising. It is good science. My guess is it is way easier to hear than to measure with current equipment. I also think most open minded audiophiles are looking for that type of tech if it is offered at a reasonable price. Accessory's based on science that actiually have positive audible results. My kind of thing.

[dBe]

I really had no Idea you were into the RF sink kind of tech Dave. You should express that in your posts and advertising. It is good science. My guess is it is way easier to hear than to measure with current equipment. I also think most open minded audiophiles are looking for that type of tech if it is offered at a reasonable price. Accessory's based on science that actiually have positive audible results. My kind of thing.

Nick,

My BIG thing is RFI and EMI mitigation.  There are pages and pages in other threads here where I talk about the nastiness that resides in and on power.  I have a whole line of products dedicated to scraping that junk from power in all forms.  I'm just pretty quiet about how I do it.      RFI sinking is really old tech when we get right down to it.  It is with the advent of all of the digital toys that it has become much more important.  You would be amazed at the plethora of materials I have and use in my shop.  I ain't tellin', though.

Twisted, huh?   

Dave

[brj]

I've never seen one or really read much about them, but my impression is that they're heavy enough that they may provide a chassis damping effect as well.

[dBe]

I've never seen one or really read much about them, but my impression is that they're heavy enough that they may provide a chassis damping effect as well.

Oh yeah.  They do.  Chassis damping is just "another one" of the easy and cheap roads to better enjoyment.

D