I don't see much on the AudiogoN Forums about the Shakti Hallograph's. This is the BEST, a Five Star world class room treatment device...."it works" is an understatement. It addresses,.. no "solves" the wall behind the speakers reflections and comb filtering distortion and cancellation. A Wonderfull piece of Acoustic Engineering. Simply Excellent and most Highly Recommended. Jim C. Audiophile/ Musician( Electric and Acoustic Guitars and Oboe ).
In case u missed my post, I extensively audtioned the hollographs, and while they changed the sound significantly, in my system in wasn't for the better.
If anyone is considering these, Buy with right to return or used at enough of discount to resell with minimal loss.
The Hallographs work, guys, and if you haven't tried them, and are commenting on them without empirical evidence...well, stay out of the line of detective work (my field). The price? Well, look, if people can charge $15k for speaker cable and some of the prices for these speakers, why are these devices getting your dander up? I had them a couple of years ago and they did exactly as they were advertised to do. I would've kept them, but Connecticut got two enormous (28") snowstorms two weeks apart and the ceiling cracked, so I had to repair it and returned the Hallographs. I also agree they must be carefully placed, but that's no different than Tube Traps, where as little as 1/32" turn can lessen ambience and transients as well. Room acoustics are very complicated, but I doubt HP put these in his Editors Choice for the fun of it. Are they really up to $1,700 now?!?! Jesus! They were $1100 back in the beginning of 2011.
I have had Argent Room Lenses for years. Used 3 for sometime and then put one in hiding. I put it behind my chair this weekend to adjust the horizontal offset of the soundstage which had slightly more weight on the left side. If move the lens ever so slightly to the right of center then the room pressure is balanced. With the Lens 3 ft. behind my chair I can move it ever so slightly and really nail the focus coming from dead center. Great Product.
Also use a variation of an acoustic concept that Peter Israelson of Star Sound Technologies came up with. This device alters and focuses the soundstage and also can interject acoustic air where needed. This device can also be used to reduce bass standing waves along the floor an area that is usually left alone. I can augment the bass and focus the edges of the sound stage by changing their position as they lay on the floor. No foam no fiberglass only adjusting the air flow in my room. Like a wing. Tom
I like my sticks. They are kool looking and add depth and realism to the sound. Having two more sets cloned to run on the sides and back of the room.
3 IPC Energizers are also in duty and it has a pretty positive strong effect on the sound. Two more coming so 5 will top out the IPC. The IPC EQ is the next try. Boat load of $$$ for the IPC EQ.
At one time I had two pair of Hallographs, having heard a very convincing demonstration I think at CES. There is no question, they work. But they need to be carefully adjusted and placed. One could literally focus the sound with them.
Although Syn. Res. recommended them with the ARTs devices, in my system the two were incompatible and I went with the ARTs. Basically, if I adjusted the ARTs to be right, the introduction of the Hallographs didn't sound right and were I to adjust the Hallograph to be right the introduction of the ARTs ruined the sound.
Both are now gone. I tried the Zilplexes and got the most realism I've heard even in a very small (13 x 10 x 8') room. I am ever mindful that others have different rooms and tastes.
I would hope that those smearing this product at the very least has seen and heard them. I can understand the skepticism if you are ignorant of the scientific and engineering technology behind them but to call them $20 worth of wood is silly.
I have heard (experienced) the Shakti at CES (the alternate show at the Hilton) and at others homes. They do make a very audible difference that even Elizabeth could hear. Is it better or worse, that is up to the individual.
Many of us have fallen into the trap that we believe that different is better. It's like saying one artist is better than the other. Subjective.
Would I buy them? No. Would I ever say that they are a scam because I don't understand the technology? That's ignorant.
Do we know what profit margin is for the Shaakti Co? Bet it's less than a majority of the cable companies. A balance sheet would be a good start before accusing an otherwise reputable company of being a high priced scam preying on the uninformed wealthy. The net is turning into my drunken uncle that has lost control of the filter between brain and mouth.
Don't like them? Don't understand them? Don't buy them! It's irresponsible to trash something that you maybe have seen a picture of and certainly never experienced first hand. Always the same cast of narrow minded characters.
Eliz - maybe you can rob Geoff K. since he must have bags of $ given his quality products and genius marketing. Short of a high risk target like Fort Knox, GK seems like a no-brainer to me. Just kidding, of course. Far be it from me to encourage a career in crime.
I am demoing these and must say they work with very high positive results. The price for them is where it should be with all the different woods and skill it takes to build these.
I dont know about the Shakis,,but I think the ,,stuff that Geof and Coconut Audio sell is pure dogcrap.I have to admit that I would take someones money in a heartbeat,if they sent me good money for a powerchord with modeling clay slapped on one end ,or a little jar full of pebbles.
I used a pair a friend loaned me for about 10 days. Tried lots of different placements. What a bunch of shit. I wouldn't give $8.50 for them. My friend agrees, but unfortunately he's the one that paid for them. He felt guilty even listing them let alone selling them to someone, but did what he had to do.
paulsax, i have played quite a bit with them. you move them around and hear pretty radical changes to the soundstage. i have had lay people sit with closed eyes hear the changes. these are room treatments, and they served me well until i got my room in order.
Originally it was designed as a Chips Bag Holder, Coke on floor ... then it became an Object for High End Marketing ( like a piece of cheap wood, painted and sold as Amp Stand ...)
Has anyone compared the Hallograph to those little resonanting bowls? Or what about the dots you stick on the walls? Does it matter if your ear canal hasn't been irrigated in the past decade?
If you're going to run with the big dog, first admit you're just a dog.
"Clearly I am in a tiny minority here so i apologize to all the rich fools, OOPS! i mean wealth investors of these marvelous products. Great to read glowing reviews of them. Glad the economy is good for some folks. For me, on my pittance i get as a handout for having worked for 30 years, i cannot dream of affording this shit."
Hey, Eliz, just curious, have you given any consideration to going back to work? Or maybe selling off the $5k Bryston preamp.
.... the sound of one pair of Hallograph is salubrious, exquisite, stunning, glorious and dazzling and the sound of another pair is superlative, smashing, magnificent, superb and impeccable...but it can be improved dramatically, when a Vibraplane is below them...so airy...this nailed "nothing" focussed in the soundstage must be heard to believe.
Unless Elizabeth's remarks are based on using Shaktis in her system they can be easily ignored.
I have had Shaktis in my system for quite a while and would not be without them. They are an essential room treatment. Even Ted Denney at Synergistic Research has recognized their sonic value and he has pretty good ears. So if anyone is going up against the Shaktis, or other tweaks, without having listened to them in their system, they are going up against some very professional ears -- besides the ears of us normal folks. IMO.
Making a statement that A or B did not work in my system is one thing. Making a statement that A or B is an unworthy product -- without having tried them -- has no value. IMO.
08-30-12: G_m_c i have a pair and used them until my room did not need them anymore. They absolutely have a strong impact on the soundstage and i think they were worth the investment. like so many things on this forum, people offer strong opinions with no experience with the product.
Agree with this post. I don't use them but have heard them demonstrated at audio shows and they are absolutely audible. Worth the money? That's up to the buyer.
I own a pair. Of course I don't consider myself a "sucker, idiot, or rich ", since I only paid $500 for mine---had I paid full retail, I guess I would have metamorphed into one.
Before I bought them, or were even interested in them, I had a chance to hear a system with them installed. The system owner become intimately familiar with what the adjustments would do within his system. He demonstrated what the changes would do. I heard considerable differences for the better . To date he has one of the finest sounding systems i have heard. He eventually became a writer for Stereophile. His current system has all the tweaks people bemoan, for good or bad, his system far beyond any system I have heard. His system is the basis for where I try to get my current system to.
I found my pair off Audiogon for $500. If anyone is in the Bay Area, I'd be willing to demo them for you to see if you can see what a difference they can make.
""Our stand, which is 4 feet in length, is also asymmetrical and does produce some audible improvement in bass clarity. Again, the goal is to push the room's enormously distorting effects further into the background with a far more neutral ambient soundfield. The reflector material in the Hallograph consists of several types of wood that all have different resonant signatures. All the wood lengths are staggered on the three reflectors. Each reflector has a flat surface that gently curves into a round-over section. These interlaced but geometrically different surfaces have a striking effect. The Hallograph's own direct return energy (from the flat portion of the reflector) and its ambient signals (from the curved reflector area) impact the sonic envelope one hears. This ratio of direct to ambient surface tuning, just as is the case in a concert hall, restores a more natural hall acoustic. So, the inherent differences from recording to recording are no longer stamped with the listener's room signature. Instead, the various original venues are heard far more realistically. Behind each reflector is a chamber that modifies the frequency response, amplitude and most importantly, the time signature of the reflector. This creates a complimentary interface between the speaker and the room."
What do you mean when you talk about the time coefficient? "This is also known as the time signature; how long a given material goes on ringing once it is activated by sound waves striking it. In the chambers behind each reflector, we 'treat' the time signature so it has a much shorter ring than the material a room's walls are made of. This treatment also affects the frequency response, which has a direct correlation with the time signature character. Amplitude is manipulated by the choice of wood, diffusion geometry of the design and additional treatment that will be explained in the patent."
Additional treatment? Hmmmmmm......
See the entire 6 moons review of the Hallographs at:
"Bybee How did they think a small gizmo with parts cost of $35 was worth $4,200 except to born a minute RICH suckers. No poor fool would waste his/her money on it."
I guess that makes the U.S. Navy a bunch of suckers and poor fools for getting Jack Bybee to make our nuclear subs the quietest on the planet! Ever hear of 1/F noise Liz? (thats pronounced one over eff)
BTW..Im a very happy poor fool/sucker audiophile thanks to Jack Bybee.
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