Lloyd Walkers latest crystal tweak

ptmconsulting · « **on:** 17 Nov 2013, 08:01 pm »

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/

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) Crystal on the front of the cartridge: 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. Didn't expect this.

(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.

Now, pile on all you naysayers who haven't actually tried this for yourself before commenting.

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ptmconsulting · « **Reply #1 on:** 17 Nov 2013, 08:01 pm »

Side shot:

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #2 on:** 17 Nov 2013, 08:17 pm »

A known absorber so no surprises. Smokey quartz is what is inside Alan maher cbf's.

WGH · « **Reply #3 on:** 17 Nov 2013, 09:16 pm »

Quote from: ptmconsulting on 17 Nov 2013, 08:01 pm

Now, pile on all you naysayers who haven't actually tried this for yourself before commenting.

Have you tried substituting a small rock of the same weight? For comparison purposes only of course.

ptmconsulting · « **Reply #4 on:** 17 Nov 2013, 09:50 pm »

I will leave further experiments to others. I am personally satisfied with what I have found in my system trying this tweak. But by all means, if someone wants to try the small rock experiment then be my guest.

However, quartz (and a few other crystal types) has known electro mechanical properties, which may contribute (or may be the whole point) to the results I found.

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #5 on:** 17 Nov 2013, 10:13 pm »

So where did you find your crystal?

Thanks for the report...

Best,
Anand.

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #6 on:** 17 Nov 2013, 11:18 pm »

Quote from: poseidonsvoice on 17 Nov 2013, 10:13 pm

So where did you find your crystal?

Thanks for the report...

Best,
Anand.

Try eBay.

Also, I had a 6 outlet audio magic power cond that had its hot wire wrapped around a chunk of tourmaline. Hardly anything else in the box and this was a $1000 pc.

BobM · « **Reply #7 on:** 29 Mar 2015, 02:53 pm »

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)

yeldarb · « **Reply #8 on:** 29 Mar 2015, 10:36 pm »

Try JTV.com. You can buy bags of cheap jems, cut or cabachon. Try different colors. Different minerals. Make some cheap earrings to keep your WAF high.

neobop · « **Reply #9 on:** 30 Mar 2015, 08:58 pm »

Have either of you tried storing the crystals in a pyramid? If I may suggest, first get or construct a pyramid of conductive material. It should have sides of 57° aligned with the cardinal points of the compass, not true east/west.

This might make the crystal magic so strong you'll have no output from your cart. Perfect for the sound of silence while you contemplate the meaning of life.

Seriously, one record apiece doesn't cut it. Please try a familiar record with prominent acoustic bass, like Ron Carter. See if his sustain is affected.
neo

neobop · « **Reply #10 on:** 1 Apr 2015, 12:31 am »

Didn't mean to put a damper on things, just kidding around. LLoyd Walker is a savvy guy and I don't doubt you've heard something.

Absorbing stray electrons, or whatever the crystals do, brought to mind the VPI brick. Anyone remember that? This was a steel or iron brick enclosed in wood. You put it over a power supply and it made it quieter. It worked. Only problem was it killed the sustain on acoustic instruments, especially string bass. This wasn't a maybe kind of thing. I tried it on every high end power supply in the store, amp and pre. Results were 100%, hence the question about sustain.

There's another similar device the PHT Transducer.
http://app.audiogon.com/listings/cartridges-synergistic-research-pht-phono-transducer-transform-your-turntable-2015-03-15-analog-92307-apple-valley-ca

Comes in two flavors - Blue Velvet and purple haze. You get one of each.

Haven't tried this one either.
neo

BobM · « **Reply #11 on:** 1 Apr 2015, 12:32 pm »

I haven;t heard any results on those Synergistic Research mini-cups yet. Though I have heard the unbelievable claim that the ones that go on the wall actually make a noticeable improvement in soundstage. I personally can't see how this can happen since they have no electrical properties and are too small to even be noticed by a soundwave. But... stranger things ...

As for the quartz crystal, it does indeed have properties that affect electromagnetic and EMI/RFI blocking properties. So at least there is some explanation on why it might make the difference I hear. Here's a video which demonstrates the electromagnetic field properties of quartz crystals. It is real, it's science, not imagined.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuZLO2pRpbs

Voncarlos · « **Reply #12 on:** 1 Apr 2015, 12:54 pm »

Isn't this basically the same thing as "Van Alstine's Grado Longhorn" tweak?

BobM · « **Reply #13 on:** 1 Apr 2015, 02:05 pm »

No, that is only adding horizontal/lateral mass. The crystal does add some mass, but it more importantly has electromagnetic properties which aid the cartridge to convert mechanical movement into an electrical signal.

Occam · « **Reply #14 on:** 1 Apr 2015, 02:34 pm »

Bob,

Is your cartridge metal bodied? I've found that metal bodied carts require far more emf reactive crystals than non-metallic bodied carts. On the 3 non shielded carts I've done this with, Miyajiima Mandake, Dynavector DVT Xv-1t and Cardas Ruby Heart, the maximum amount of crystals (which are less reactive than your quartz family ones) have been 40 milligrams. The results have been anything but subtle, more like getting smacked upside the head with a 2 x 4, but in a good way....

FWIW,
Paul

woodsyi · « **Reply #15 on:** 1 Apr 2015, 02:58 pm »

Since quartz is a piezoelectric material, is it working as a vibration damper?

Occam · « **Reply #16 on:** 1 Apr 2015, 03:38 pm »

Voncarlos · « **Reply #17 on:** 1 Apr 2015, 04:27 pm »

Quote from: BobM on 1 Apr 2015, 02:05 pm

No, that is only adding horizontal/lateral mass. The crystal does add some mass, but it more importantly has electromagnetic properties which aid the cartridge to convert mechanical movement into an electrical signal.

How do you know that it isn't the glue/epoxy causing any perceived change?

neobop · « **Reply #18 on:** 1 Apr 2015, 06:01 pm »

Quote from: Voncarlos on 1 Apr 2015, 04:27 pm

How do you know that it isn't the glue/epoxy causing any perceived change?

Epoxy doesn't have the electrical properties of quartz crystals. It's used for potting and in that application it's benefit is presumably derived from physical stabilization. The Longhorn is an outrigger placed near the level of the cantilever pivot. It's function is to stabilize tracking for an under-damped cantilever.

Even if you consider epoxy as a dielectric, I don't think quartz type properties would apply.
neo

Occam · « **Reply #19 on:** 1 Apr 2015, 06:17 pm »

Quote from: Voncarlos on 1 Apr 2015, 04:27 pm

How do you know that it isn't the glue/epoxy causing any perceived change?

I'm not Bob, I didn't use glue or epoxy, but ....
I use sticky/poster/museum-tac, familiar to the audio community as Bostich Blu-Tac, but I prefer to pay $1.29 for a slab.
I've compared a rebalanced tonearm with the sticky-tac holding the crystal to the cartridge to just a blob of the sticky-tac that weighed the exact same as the previous crystal plus its attaching sticky-tac, within the limits of my Swiss Mettler gem scale (+- 1.5 milligram). The result is that the effect was only present with the crystal. FWIW

Edit: Bolded the word 'rebalanced' to emphasise the fact that with each and every addition or removal of any mass from the cartridge, the tracking force was re-adjusted to that same original tracking force extant prior to any of this crystal stuff. Knowing BobM, I assume he did the same, although limited by his formal engineering education and background..