[IanATC]

Chaps,
          I am about to embark upon an experiment that I believe will produce noticeable sonic benefits.  

Materials needed:
copper foil.  I purchased some 30cm x 30cm x .152 mm from a crafts supply house.  The copper sheet should be at least 6-7" wide, and between 5/6 thousands of an inch thick.

Concept/theory :
             Components in a single chassis are subject to all kinds of electromagnetic waves, noise and interference bouncing about inside, especially if the case is ferrous metal.  This is the reason behind dual mono, and separate chassis for power supplies. Aluminum cases alleviate this to a degree, as does use of toroidal coils instead of iron transformers.  However, even in that case, I believe there will be an improvement in definition and detail that will be more than subtle.

Procedure:
For led's, lights, cabling and other parts I will make a copper shield/jacket to serve as a barrier against radiated  interference.  I will do it this weekend, and post the results change or not.

Note:  
I have NOT set my expectations high.  I think the theory is sound (no pun intended)  and it should be a cheap and effective tweak.  There is only so much isolation a 1k or 2k component has compared to a 7k dual chassis component. I do not approach this from a voodoo, snake-oil or placebo aspect.  I am hoping that it works much the same way clean power, dual mono, dual chassis and discreet layouts help.

If this works....even a little, it will be $12.00 well spent!!  
If it doesn't, I just blew the same amount a new Justin Timberlake cd costs...

[cryotweaks]

Instead of copper shielding, have you considered Stillpoints ERS?  Its only a few bucks more, and from my personal perspedctive is more effective.  In full disclosure, I am a dealer for the product however.  But you can ask around, and I'm sure you will hear the same thing.


Cheers

[_scotty_]

IanATC,The main signal carrying portion of the circuit board should be a minimum of 1.5in away from any metal surface this includes the case floor and walls as well as your shielding.  The EM radiated from the circuit board extends into space in all directions.  If any thing is nearer than 1.5in. to the board the EM field will be deformed and your will hear this as a constriction in the space reproduced by the circuit and the dynamic scale that the circuit can reproduce will limited.  In all my projects I try to avoid running signal carrying wiring close to the chassis floor or walls for the same reason.  My circuit boards are always mounted on the midline of the chassis an equal distance from the top and bottom of the case. With this in mind you can try an experiment. With the top off and the stereo playing try placing the copper sheet as close as you can to the circuit board without causing a short and see if you can hear any difference when it is moved progressively farther away. Of course if the circuit board you are trying to shield is already mounted on the floor of the chassis,
nevermind. I am not a dealer for ERS paper, but I have used it in my digital amp to sop up internally generated RF noise and likwise in my SACD1000. Interestingly enough ERS has no effect on my DIY buffer.
The buffer has no gain or feedback and has a greater than 30mHz bandwidth. It does not Detect RF signals to use a radio term. A combination of both techniques could prove very effective a lowering the noise floor. Also is the unit star grounded. This can make a very big difference in the sound. Have fun with your project.

[IanATC]

IanATC,The main signal carrying portion of the circuit board should be a minimum of 1.5in away from any metal surface this includes the case floor and walls as well as your shielding.  The EM radiated from the circuit board extends into space in all directions.

Well, I have to further examine the layout.   One of my concerns is anything that carries voltage, not matter how small.  That is, a connection for wiring, wiring close to chassis wall or components.  I will have to fiddle about the weekend and see what will work the best...if anything.

cheers

[randytsuch]

I am not a dealer for ERS paper, but I have used it in my digital amp to sop up internally generated RF noise and likwise in my SACD1000. Interestingly enough ERS has no effect on my DIY buffer.

Scotty,
Where in your 1000 did you put the ERS?

Randy

[_scotty_]

randytsuch, I put some vertically by the switching power supply on exterior case cover and horizontally above the analogue board on the cover. This seemed to work well.  It took about half the paper on the inside to generate the same effect as just setting a sheet on the outside.

[audioengr]

This can be tricky, depending on what you are shielding.  If you wrap all of the resistors, caps and inductors, you will not only change the values of the inductors, but you will likely add some capacitance to the circuit, which may cause roll-off. Wrapping IC's can be just as tricky.

I would recommend using Mu metal around the transformer to block magnetic fields.  Then build boxes of copper around any microprocessor sections, particularly the clock distribution.  This is what usually radiates.

Stillpoints ers is a bad idea for analog IMO.  I have tried it and it always rolls-off the music.  It can be great for digital though.  I use it a lot in my Transport mods.

[viggen]

Regarding this ERS stuff, I like to think of it as equally effective on shielding away interference as well as absorbing it.  I use a tiny amount to line the inside of interconnect barrels with dramatic results.  Well, I use Bulletplugs, so this is easy to do, I don't know if you can do this with other kinds of barrels.