[jtwrace]

I've read on another forum that many people are using these in cables and equipment.  I know it's not a new trick but am curious if anyone here has tried it.  What are your thoughts on them and where have you used them?

[Big Red Machine]

If you dig deep and read the info out there, the ion alignment when using quartz and other minerals makes some sense.  I have bought pounds of quartz - sources are hard to find - and duplicated the Alan Maher style products with good success. 

[sts9fan]

Using how?

[rollo]

  Using them at the Circuit Panel. Located at the wire bundle entry. For me so far the most affective power conditioning tweak used. The other location is inside the duplex outlet box behind the duplex outlet. Had them on the circuit breaker that feeds the CDP and the breaker that feeds all else. Did not like that effect too much of a good thing. A bit Hi fi sounding.
   Where they have made the most impact is on our TV cable power supply and router. Go figure.
  One must just experiment to find what combo is best for their systems. They work and to good affect.


charles

[Big Red Machine]

In addition, placing a container of them over all transformers and inside outlets or IEC areas of components.

[jtwrace]

In addition, placing a container of them over all transformers and inside outlets or IEC areas of components.

Do you mind sharing your purchase source?

[woodsyi]

Smokey?  Clear?  Size?  Orientation? 

[Big Red Machine]

Do you mind sharing your purchase source?

NO single source.  I used Ebay and one supplier does not have any more inventory.

Smokey quartz is okay as well as clear.  There are also many other minerals like Tourmaline that perform similarly.  I'm out of town and away from my hardcopies.  The 1/4 to 3/8 inch size was the typical size put into the devices I have seen.  I found the supplier of the plastic cases in Ohio that Maher used and bought a bunch of cases very cheap.  He uses some secret sauce to coat his and I don't know what that is.

Random orientation.

[Elizabeth]

I bought about 18 pounds of small various types of quartz "xmini" and a few "xxmini" stones from eBay.
Quartz:(see Wikipedia for Quartz)
Rose Quartz,
Yellow Quartz
Smokey Quartz,
Golden Tiger Eye
Red Tiger Eye
Sun Stone
Red Jasper
Amethyst
Green Aventurine
All in 1/2 pound weight baggies, from one seller.

Many folks have various methods to treat the crystals: mineral oil and baking, antistatic spray for clothing.
I used a differnt product, i had on hand: Ford Silicone high temp brake grease. It coated the items well, made the sticky so they would stay on 'form' I put them in, inside baggies. And fulfilled the need to coat the minerals with a non conductive product.
I had (two weeks ago) ripped my entire two channel system apart to install a PS Audio P600 behind it, (in place of a Monster 7000SS, but the P600 needed a lot more room)
So while doing so, I installed antistatic foam all over, (another tweak), and the quartz (mixed up various sets of various types) in 2oz baggies everywhere.
The quartz (I have found) is most useful around A/C connections.
So, along with a third tweak (taping the prongs of A/C plugs with Teflon, then squeezing it down to the stubs, on EVERY plong in my house)
I also added a set of separate lines: in my apt it was from a single 20amp breaker in kitchen with four 12 gauge sets ofwires from that one outlet to my stuff 40ft of milspec teflon 12 gauge wires, one to each powerline conditioner, and a fourth spare one for a future Goertz toroid A/C device) in quad spiral fours with a pair of grounds between, all wrapped up nicely with teflon tape
I reassembled my setup. Adding in the pigtail wire on amps/speaker negative post connection, i have tweaked my way to tweaking nirvana.

All these tweaks can be explored over at Audio Asylum the "tweak/DIY" asylum.

The quartz crystal tweak has two theories, not combined. One is for quartz in space, or some other tweak i do not use. The second Quartz tweak theory is of Quartz's piezoelectrical properties. Which is that quartz creates electricity when compressed. So the idea is to reverse this and use up electrical stray radiation by allowing the quartz to soak up the RMF EMF around it, and vibrate.
Thus removing a soource of pollution around Stereo stuff.

One useful tool in this battle is a "Greenlee GT-16 non contact adjustable voltage detector" $22 Amazon. (other brands suck for audiophile uses, the Greenlee GT-16 is perfect)
Anyway, sniffing around the system for hash, the crystal tweak can stop a lot of it.
So if you want to be 'scientific' about the crystals, get the Greenlee GT-16 and do your own sniffing.

Anyway, i am most impressed with the pigtail tweak, after doing all of the above tweaking madness on my entire system.
All of them do help a bit. Cumulative i would call it. So if you try one of them on one item, do not be suprised if nothing happens!
Subtle. So with my 18 pounds of crystals everywhere, and 8 square feet of 3/8" thick antistatic foam, and a bunch of pigtails,(with extra ferrites) i am happier.
My two channel system sounds clearer, has better lower mirange than prior to the treatments.
So for $200 Yes $200 worth of eBay crystals, $25 of silicone, and a few bucks worth of ferrite, (then $100 worth of antistatic black foam sheets) i am in a better place than before the tweaks.
But i love to go overboard.
Your results may vary.
(I have three power conditioners, all $$$. A Furman REF20i for the amp, and a PS Audio P600 in 90hz A/C output mode for all digital stuff, and a Ps Audio PPP in Multiwave mode for tube stuff plus preamp, which contribute to the sucess i had with the various other tweaks i installed)

[woodsyi]

How about this Arkansas mine?  $10 a pound of quartz?

[Elizabeth]

Quartz is quartz IMO. just the size is the thing. And you would want tumbled, as the sharp edges of rough stone, while interesting, really are hard to work around.
Any quartz stones under an inch or so would be a start..
The other quartz use, in open air, on things, the bigger sizes are good though.
PS: from experimenting, i found mixing a light clear quartz type, with a dark red, or brown quartz type in the baggies worked best overall. Just an even amount of each, no matter the exact names..  IMO worked well.
Also: from experimenting with the Greenlee GT-16 non contact adjustable voltage detector, the best implementation is small crystals gummed up to be as if a solid cover. that is not loose, easy to rattle around small crystals. With a lot of air between the crystals, the RMF EMF gets through, where with a thin but solid 'gummy' (treated) layer of crystals, the RMF EMF does not pass through.

[woodsyi]

20 pounds of tumbled quartz with 8 dozen pouches for $200?

[gooberdude]

The best forum i've found thus far that's been debating crystals is at audioasylum, Tweaker's forum.  Elizabeth has some fantastic posts, along with the other 'scientists' that frequent AA.

Its a shame that Alan Maher doesn't contribute much to the forums these days.  I've recently become a convert to his products, and am floored each & every day by the sonic improvements...especially considering the $'s spent.

Keep tweaking with crystals!  These little suckers clean ac better than any other power conditioner that i've used or heard - IMO.

I have an Infinity CBF strapped to each of the 2 main positive lines inside my breaker panel, one on the Ground cable, and one taped to the face of the breaker for my av circuit.  I have (2) of Maher's Ref II filters in place as well on difft circuits. Total expenditure of $425 - $ well spent.  Soon i'll buy 5 of the ION cbf's, 1 more Ref II filter & then maybe some PE enhancers or other AM gizmo.  At that point i'll be done, my entire home treated, and spent just under $1000.
 
matt

[wushuliu]

I've done the crystal thing, mainly topaz, amethyst and tourmaline. Results can be interesting but there was a lot of trial and error and I'm not patient enough. Instead I went to Electronic Goldmine and got extremely cheap Negative Ion Generators and pointed them at the gear, with more consistent results (really spacey and wide presentation in general). Of the crystals I preferred Tourmaline when placed next to a warm object like heatsink or toroid, but it's a little pricier.YMMV of course.

 http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G1783

No doubt about it though, once you start laying crystals out on your gear you start wondering if you've gone a little too far...

[Big Red Machine]

The AudioMagic power conditioners contain large Tourmaline crystals that the hot wire is wrapped around and hot-melted to.  I took one apart once and was shocked how few devices inside and there was the green Tourmaline crystal in a loop of the hot wire.  Mostly empty box thereafter.

[Rclark]

Wushuliu that is really neat, can you please take pics of your implementation and describe it's effects a bit more thoroughly? I'll buy a few if you think I should.

[wushuliu]

Wushuliu that is really neat, can you please take pics of your implementation and describe it's effects a bit more thoroughly? I'll buy a few if you think I should.

I don't have any wired up at the moment: I experimented with them some time ago before moving to a new place and I have not had the time to re-integrate them and re-assess their performance with my new setup (too many projects!). They are still packed away somewhere. At the time they were used I had them aimed at my tangle of power cords and at the amp. The result was a somewhat ethereal quality: wide, wide stage and three dimensional.

Very easy to implement, just snip off the connectors at the end of the wires, then strip them to whatever length is needed to insert directly into line and neutral of an AC plug. Solder on longer wire if you need to increase length.

[Big Red Machine]

So you apply as directional antennas toward the subject device then?

[wushuliu]

So you apply as directional antennas toward the subject device then?

More or less. Again, trial and error is needed.

[jtwrace]

Can those prongs touch anything or do they need to be suspended using string?  Also, how can this scientifically change the sound?