McIntosh and Brystons: Fair comparison ?

Sorry to stray off topic but the Shakti Stones tweak on the breaker box is one of the best I've tried. Better yet was adding Alan Maher Designs CBF's inside the breaker panel.

Hi all,
I've owned two McIntosh amps, both with autoformers. They are fantastic, IMO. Powerful, smooth, and undistorted.
There's a lot of talk about how autoformers kill transparency or muddy the sound. Intuitively, one might think this is possible. However, in my experience, the amps are extremely clear and I achieve tons of transparency in my system. I think McIntosh amplifiers render detail well while not hardening the treble. This is a difficult balance that many transistor products do not achieve. Some may say that the autoformer adds an unnatural warming effect, but in my view, the sound of the autoformer design is probably more faithful to the recording. At very least, it can be more listenable. My two cents. Enjoy.

OK let's hear about these Shakti Stones. Cost, benefit etc.
New to me also.........and you get them where?

The Shakti Stones are around $200 a piece. You can order them direct here:

Shakti

They show up used here for about $125 or so. Usually get snatched up fast. Must be a lot of us nearly insane types around here.

The CBF's are $25 a piece. You can order them direct here:

Alan Maher Designs

Each product reduces the noise floor, but does so in different ways. The CBF is actually better IMO because it is more compact and can fit inside components or the breaker panel. In either case only way to find out if it works is by trying them out.