Shakti Stones Do they actuall work guys.

Yes they work. I would start with one directly on top of your amps transformer. I have not had any luck (good or bad) with them when used with digital equipment. I have one on the transfrormer cover inside my Classe CA400 amp. (major improvement) I had two on my ARC Ref 1 directly over the power supply transformers. (not as dramatic as with my amp) I moved the stones to the tops of the first network boxes on my MIT 850 Ref speaker cables. (substantial improvement) I have started to experiment with the On Lines, so I'm still working through the learning curve with these. The stones lifted a layer of grunge that I didn't know existed. More "air" and detail in the music. There is one area were they made things worse. I tried a stone inside my Martin CLS electronic boxes and an On Line on the ESL panel leads. The sound just became congested and lifeless. I hope this info helps.

They definitely work if you believe they work.

Ditto Mrderrick's comments, especially amps. The lesson here is to experiment and listen. They are system and component dependent.

If you believe they work then I believe they work

Just think of all the things that won't work if you don't believe.

Yes, they make excellent paper weights.

While I figure that they may indeed work for some applications, on the output and input transformers of my old Jadis JA80 amps they degraded the sound very slightly, and they did not make a difference of any sort on top of my Forsell transport (which surprised me, because that's the one piece in my system that seems to show changes most dramatically), so I gave them back to the guy who lent them to me. So I think Rlxl is right; I would not buy unless I could get a refund.

I have 13 stones and 23 on-line pair. Yes, they do work. I use two at the subpanel where my dedicated lines emerge. This is a huge help. I experimented with 1-3 stones on my APL 3910, my Theta Citadel monoblocs, my Vandersteen 5a speaker on the top front tweeter(one on-line each), and my AudioexcellenceAz Power Wing(2 stones). I actually find that three stones on each works even better than one or two.
The on-lines work tremendously on all wire terminations. I have 1-2 at each termination. Some are presently on loan to my video system where they greatly improve the audio/video of my Tivo DirecTv HR 10 HD receiver.
I have yet to experience any negatives, but a local friend feels there is a small dryness along with the greatly reduced noise floor. He is currently using only on-lines in his system.
I hope this helps.

I believe if you believe in the belief that there is a possibility of believing something will work in the real world, and that your belief is what makes that thing work....wait a minute, I lost track of my beliefs...the whole thing's just unbelievable anyway.

Snatch the Shakti stones from my hand, young Grasshopper, and it will be time for you to leave.

Marco

They work well for breaking windows in old abandoned buildings!

Nothing funny about it, Grant. Now, a few other words come to mind...

Anybody experiment with Shakti stone on his head while listening?Any difference?

They work as well as the audio clocks and audio duplex covers. Maybe better.

I have finally found a use for "Stereophile" magazines. I place two stacks of four mags each on top of my modded Elite player. Definitely improves bass impact and definition and foucs/definition of vocals. Drums are more solid and an upright bass is more defined.

I am not sure if the improvement is from dampening or(and?) stray noise protection but there definitely is an improvement. I receive similar improvement from Nordost Pulsar Points so I think it may be resonance related.

I do not have any "Absolute Sound" or "Hi-Fi" mags around to compare to but I am sure they would make even more improvement.

I do not have any "Absolute Sound" or "Hi-Fi" mags around to compare to but I am sure they would make even more improvement.

I have some rare NOS Sears Roebuck catalogues from the 1960's that I was just about to list here on A'gon. Ping me off the list and we can strike up a deal!

Marco

I just sold all of mine and went for a short vacation.
That was the best thing ever!

Yioryos, it doesn't work that way, but I find that if you stand erect about 6 feet from the speakers and hold one stone in each hand, it improves your blood circualtion.

I have had three stones installed for a year - one on each amp and one on my Hydra. Couldn't really say they made a difference until I took a stone off the Hydra and placd it on my cd player. I had forgotten I had made this change and when I listened a few days later, the highs sounded unnatural, almost edgy. It was pretty bad - not at all how I remembered my system sounding. It was the same on vinyl, squeezebox and FM. I checked the whole system and couldn't find anything wrong, until I remembered I had moved the stone. When I placed it back on the hydra, all went back to normal. Great sound had returned. Now I know they work.

How long did it take to get back to normal Cerrot?

Once I put the stone back on the hydra, it snapped right into place. The system was running for a few hours so it took no time at all.

They work great, IF you use them right. But first, they need to be harmonically balanced. You do this by putting the 'family stones' in a vise and tighten down real snug. Then you release the tension. At first, you you will notice some slight discomfort, but upon release you will immediatly noticed a vast improvement! Thus, you have been harmonically balanced! :) the only thing left to do after that is check your warp drive coils, I think they need a little tweaking too.

Cerrot, Could it be better because you took the stone out of you CD player? Can you try take them out one by one and see the differences?

I can take them out one by one. You may have a point that the stone hurt the player. I could take one off my amp and see what happens. I'm off line right now due to a broken cable and waiting for a replacement. I may give it a try and let you know.

Yes,

I think the Quantum Physics Noise Disrupter works a little better! I found that the Stone made the sound of my equipment lifeless. It cut into the soundstage to much for me. The Quantum did less to change the sound. My system had a deep black backgound to start with. It works well with my DAC! Great on the highend, but I lost some low level detail. I'm still working with it!

Sure they work. They make money for the manufacturer, so its working for them.

Take a look at the other product they make, and try to grow a brain.

John C.

I have bought two and after many many experiments and opinion gatherings, I have found that they have no effect, no matter what you put them on. I am very open minded and admit readily and often to the efficacy of tweaks but shakti stones are a scam in the classic sense. At least my findings have lead me to believe that.

I also have bought two and tried them on all my equipment. I couldn't find any differences either. Then I put them outside of the main circuit breaker panel. They actually work for me there!

I tried one and returned it after a week. Did nothing for me either...

I returned mine through the window... It worked great in that capacity. I have some ocean front property in Iowa if anyone is interested.

09-10-06: Timrhu
They definitely work if you believe they work.

09-11-06: Jax2
I believe if you believe in the belief that there is a possibility of believing something will work in the real world, and that your belief is what makes that thing work....wait a minute, I lost track of my beliefs...the whole thing's just unbelievable anyway.

Snatch the Shakti stones from my hand, young Grasshopper, and it will be time for you to leave.

Marco

2 best answers! :-) I don't know which one is better - Timrhu's answer is spot-on w.r.t. many things in audio. Marco, who I consider the court jester of Audiogon, has us tangled up in our beliefs as audiophiles - so true!

Rapogee, while you are at the Shakti stones, look into the Synergistic Research Acoustic ART voodoo stuff :-)
http://www.synergisticresearch.com/images/acousticart/AcousticARTScale

I tried a Shakti stone on my Simaudio W-5 amp. It didn't relly do much in that application.I don't doubt that they would work with other equipment, etc , but just didn't do it for me. At least I tried it.

I would say it would be system dependent. My local dealer did an in-store demonstration with his Musical Fidelity equipment and there was an audible difference. But when he brought the Shaktis to my home and tried it on my Parasound system, we both agreed, we couldn't hear any difference. And you can imagine he tried many stones in different locations in my Parasound system to no avail.

I would say it would be system dependent. My local dealer did an in-store demonstration with his Musical Fidelity equipment and there was an audible difference.

Looks like Musical Fidelity have some work to do in improving the EMI immunity of that particular equipment or its packaging.

Rapogee, there are sound scientific reason why items such as powercord and isolation devices can influence and alter the sound of a system. And you correct that some will influence some devices more than others.

Unfortunately, there is no scientific explanation as to why shakti stones can influence sound; it’s all down to placebo effect.

Regards
Paul

try kidney stones, everything sounds better after passing one.

I was browsing through(my father's!) MSEE tube textbooks from the early 1950s and came across a statement that a block of ferrous material placed on top of a transformer improves electromagnetic coupling between the windings. This explains the old transformer laminations found inside VPI bricks and perhaps the ferrites in Shakti stones. Expensive, mystical repackagings of simple ideas...

Google shows this as the patent:

http://www.google.com/patents/download/Passive_EMI_dissipation_apparatus_and_me.pdf?id=fcUBAAAAEBAJ&output=pdf&sig=ACfU3U1ER0cCB3--ypqIinrnvrGSZTKsew

John C.

If you can notice the blind spot created by putting a pea in front of your speakers your auditory acuteness is sufficient to detect a difference from the Shakti Stones. It amazes me what some will pay for an tiny difference in sound (better?)

The humor here is unbelievably stupid. The people making fun of these thing are closed minded DOLTS.

I have an old high end system. (Mirage, ARC) I am lazy so I don't bother with any tweaks at all. It's because I am lazy, not because they don't work.

I have heard improvements that the Shakti stones make on a friends system. Definite, significant improvements. One or two persons have noted that they obtained improvements by putting the stones around electrical service boxes, etc. That makes sense! Look at the patent on the Shakti stones. Look it up on Google. Study the drawings closely. Read the text. Then THINK! What effect would that assembly (the actual contents of a Shakti stone) have when placed near an intense E and M field? Simply put, the stones' contents absorb some of the E and M energy thus reducing the amount that freely radiates through an area.

Theoretically the stones would be most effective containing E and M fields around areas where the E and M fields are the most intense. And protecting low level signals from spurious E and M fields.

If you would take the trouble to read the patent you would see that shakti stones are on the level. They are legit. All the people that have made dismissive comments here belong in the "Flat Earth Society." So dumb.

Tvad, how do you come up with this stuff? That's hilarious!

Since I know full-well that some enjoy mockery rather than trying anything remotely being characterized as a tweak which I think is ridiculous, I will enter this fray. I once had ten Shakti Stones. Now I have none. I found that I could not predict the circumstances were they had a positive effect, a negative effect, or no effect. All three happened to me.

Some times they would steal all dynamics out of the sound, sometimes they would reduce the noise level in the music, and sometimes they did absolutely nothing. At one point I concluded that they could be nowhere near the signal. Often this proved impossible. I gave up.

I should say that I have had a similar experience with quartz disks, such as the Acoustic Revive QR-8s and RIQ-5010s. There no question that under some circumstances they are very effective, in others totally terrible, and in yet others have no effect.

So, yes they can work. Where you may get great differences is unknown. All that I can really say is that, like me, you may get frustrated with the trial and error.

probably needed more burn-in time.

Hi all ! Of course they work , they are system dependant . Usually anything on top of components that has some weight to them will tighten bass and "lower" the sound overall . Anything under , like feet or blocks of wood will generally "raise" the pitch a little and add more highs .The best approach is to use a little of everything....wood ,brass , etc .

"Otherwise, Google "Shakti Stone patent" for the details"

I did. Look what I found:

Some users report receiving threatening transmissions from the star system Alpha Proxima when Shakti's "The Stone" is used in conjunction with the Shakti "On-lines". Anecdotal evidence also exists suggesting that "The Stone", when ingested, produces acute schizoid behavior. Symptoms include, but are not limited to, incoherent babbling about "airy highs, a sweeter mid-range and punchier bass" as well as rushing out and spending what amounts to a modest starter home on custom power cables and Rhodium plated interconnects. When confronted by an audiophile in this dangerous and agitated state use extreme caution and avoid, when possible, the use of the word paperweight.