[hmen]

It's not just the little bag of pebbles its the special audiophile hospital grade milspec scotch tape that's holding them onto the wire that really makes it work. Does attaching two little bags of pebbles double the effect? 

[EthanH]

I don't find it so unbelievable that some audiophiles would spend money on tweaks like "brilliant pebbles" that so clearly defy common sense.  As a newcomer to the hobby, I regarded claims of power cords influencing a system's sound quality as nonsense, but eventually discovered that a $10 Volex actually DID sound much better than the stock cord on my CDP.  When I told my non-audiophile but somewhat technologically savvy and music-loving friend he thought my mind was playing tricks on me until I A/B'd the cables for him; after doing so he confirmed the Volex made the CDP sound much better.  It makes no sense to me, but I've heard it.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a much more expensive cable than the Volex for my system, but knowing that power cables do in fact influence a system's sound I can no longer be so sure that speaker cable doesn't matter, or ICs are all the same, or even that a more expensive power cord would not be "worth" the extra money.  There are people that believe common sense and science suggest that all CDPs, amps, and cables ought to sound the same if designed properly - a lot of audiophiles would say that their own experience contradicts this belief.  Is believing that a bag of rocks will improve your system's performance really such a ludicrous suspension of common sense when?  Maybe, maybe not, however, I know I wouldn't spend MY money to find out.           

[Wayner]

Electricity doesn't really follow common sense. It is the laws of physics at the molecular level.

W

[prokennex]

So how much of a change do these Brilliant Pebbles make? Are they in the same league as ic changes and speakers cables? Is it subtle or readily apparent.

Are they a special type of rock or can I go to the beach and pick some up?

No I'm not buying some to find out.

[*Scotty*]

Human beings and Audiophiles both desire to feel in control of things. When some one is unsure about how things related to the Audio hobby work and cannot build their own equipment or speakers, using tweaks offers the ability to affect or give the appearance of affecting how their system sounds.
The degradation of our educational system may also be partially to blame for the financial success of these endeavors.
Something about suckers and minutes comes to mind.
Scotty 

 

[lonewolfny42]

I would not consider IC's, speaker cables, and power cords tweaks.
Without them you'd hear nothing.

Pebbles....chips....and other junk that is suppose to amaze....those are tweaks.

[doug s.]

this post below is so much funnier than the sonic rock - and the sonic rock is a riot!   

doug s.

I have a small room with speakers close to the side walls, I use the large BPs to absorb side wall reflections. Changing their location e.g in the corners as opposed to where they are now, just behind each speaker close to the wall, changes how bass/mid-bass sounds as well as the depth of the images.
I have a glass bookshelf, which I can't remove, behind me and placing the mini BPs on one of the shelves removes rear reflections and places with some music, the images a few feet forward to the right and left.
I spent a couple of weeks with each type of BP, trying various positions until I was finally happy with the results.
Now the proper way to solve my problems would be to get rid of the furniture behind me and invest in treatment i.e for corner, side, rear walls. If I did the math proper room treatment would cost a lot more with no guarantee it would improve on what I currently have. At some point in time I will take that risk with proper room treatment but for now BPs work and work well for me.
You can check the site for prices. I bid on Agon for all of them so I paid much less but to me they are worth a lot more than their retail price and in hindsight would have paid even more.

[chadh]

All this skepticism sounds like it comes from a bunch of people who are living in fear.  Why will none of you admit that your system just isn't sufficiently resolving to hear the difference that brilliant pebbles can make?

Chad

[meby]

You think that is funny.  The idiot on Audiogon is now selling phone calls.  You pay him, then he calls your house and through teleportation he permanently improves your system over the phone lines.

[lonewolfny42]

You think that is funny.  The idiot on Audiogon is now selling phone calls.  You pay him, then he calls your house and through teleportation he permanently improves your system over the phone lines.

Yeah....We had that thread here already...

[JohnR]

Regardless of your opinion of the product, please refrain from using terms such as idiot and knucklehead to refer to the vendor. This reflects badly on us as a site and is a potential legal issue. Thanks.

[doug s.]

john r is right - the idiots & knuckle heads are the vendor's clients, not the vendor.     the vendor strikes me as quite brilliant, actually.  like his pebbles?     i am sure he's laughing all the way to the bank...   

doug s.

Regardless of your opinion of the product, please refrain from using terms such as idiot and knucklehead to refer to the vendor. This reflects badly on us as a site and is a potential legal issue. Thanks.

[Wellfed]

john r is right - the idiots & knuckle heads are the vendor's clients, not the vendor.     the vendor strikes me as quite brilliant, actually.  like his pebbles?     i am sure he's laughing all the way to the bank...   

doug s.

Regardless of your opinion of the product, please refrain from using terms such as idiot and knucklehead to refer to the vendor. This reflects badly on us as a site and is a potential legal issue. Thanks.

ewe think sew?      And what about those guys who own 6 or more tuners?   

[lonewolfny42]

john r is right - the idiots & knuckle heads are the vendor's clients, not the vendor.     the vendor strikes me as quite brilliant, actually.  like his pebbles?     i am sure he's laughing all the way to the bank...   

doug s.

Regardless of your opinion of the product, please refrain from using terms such as idiot and knucklehead to refer to the vendor. This reflects badly on us as a site and is a potential legal issue. Thanks.

ewe think sew?      And what about those guys who own 6 or more tuners?   

doug owns all those tuna's so he can hear different stations all at the same time...cool.

[Wellfed]

john r is right - the idiots & knuckle heads are the vendor's clients, not the vendor.     the vendor strikes me as quite brilliant, actually.  like his pebbles?     i am sure he's laughing all the way to the bank...   

doug s.

Regardless of your opinion of the product, please refrain from using terms such as idiot and knucklehead to refer to the vendor. This reflects badly on us as a site and is a potential legal issue. Thanks.

ewe think sew?      And what about those guys who own 6 or more tuners?   

doug owns all those tuna's so he can hear different stations all at the same time...cool.

I've never seen him so scrambled.      He must have picked up a nasty little SW habit.   

[lonewolfny42]

Speaking of knuckle heads....when I was very young....I did have Knucklehead...and Charlie McCarthy. But I was a very bad ventriloquist...



Guess I didn't watch enough Ed Sullivan shows....

[doug s.]

john r is right - the idiots & knuckle heads are the vendor's clients, not the vendor.     the vendor strikes me as quite brilliant, actually.  like his pebbles?     i am sure he's laughing all the way to the bank...   

doug s.

Regardless of your opinion of the product, please refrain from using terms such as idiot and knucklehead to refer to the vendor. This reflects badly on us as a site and is a potential legal issue. Thanks.

ewe think sew?      And what about those guys who own 6 or more tuners?   

six tunas?  mere amateurs! serious tuna addicts like myself own 20 or more!  i am hoping, some day, to thin my collection down to 6, actually...   but, at least, i can hear music with them!   

doug s., tuna keeps me well fed... 

[Wellfed]

Not only that, you get to exude that special sense of superiority unique to those rare individuals possessing uncommonly huge amounts of common sense.   Tell me, how great is it being you, and not someone like me? 

[Jim N.]

I hope this forum does not deteriorate to the level of Isolation Ward, Prop Head or Tweaks at AA

[doug s.]

Not only that, you get to exude that special sense of superiority unique to those rare individuals possessing uncommonly huge amounts of common sense.   Tell me, how great is it being you, and not someone like me? 

really great!!!

doug s.