Anyone Using Crystals?

mahgister,

Thank you very much for all the details. Your thoroughness and patience have been the keys to your success.

You stated, "... you must experiment one pieces at a time, because all rooms and all systems are different ..." This has also been my experience.

You stated, "... for example using some metal bowls on the walls at ear level with some crystals in their center ..." I will be experimenting with this method soon.

You also talked about "controlling vibrations and negative subsequent resonance". I use sand boxes under and above components for this purpose with good results.

You stated, " ... Crystals damping the mechanical vibrations ? i dont buy that ..." Neither do I. My experiments -- like yours that have been ongoing over a period of years -- do not support this conclusion.

As you rightly point out, patience and trial and error are the keys to success here. You have clearly shown that even modest systems can be transformed if you have the necessary patience to persist with the lengthy trial and error process.

You stated, "The final results kills my urge to change and buy, so-call upgraditis ..." This has also been my experience. Using devices to dampen mechanical vibrations and using various resonators and crystals to create resonance have enabled my system to produce a quality of sound I had no idea was possible to attain when I began this project.

Finally! The suspense was killing me. The OP steps up to the plate, taps the plate a few times with his bat, gets set, swings ...and ...misses! Whoosh! The breeze feels good.

I hate to judge before all the facts are in but it looks like this thread is destined to become a repeat of the tiny little bowl thread. Note to self: Sometimes it’s better to remain an observer and refrain from getting involved in one’s own trollie mollie OP.

I dont know the little bowl thread...

But my experiment with crystals comme from some boys, Geoff Kait, another one Walker, and finally after acoustic revive products, Jack Bybee, who claims that some crystals suspended on a wall can transform the soundstage of the speakers... I dont have this kind of money and cannot afford his product, then i decide to experiment with my own possibilities, the conclusion is , yes , some crystals can transform the acoustic of a room... In my case with my own very rough experimentation,there is some subtle but clearly there is an EFFECT, i use only some copper bowl plate (like Walker product) with fluorite crystals and shungite, the effect was there... I dont say that this experiment of mine equal Bybee more sophisticate product, or Walker products, i dont know and probably not, but at the end perhaps there is something there...I think so now...in conclusion crystals dont act only by damping effect...This is more complex phenomenon...

Another piece of the evidence that crystals are primarily anti resonance devices is that ideal locations for crystals around the room can be found using a SPL meter and an appropriate test tone such as the one found on the XLO Test CD. What you’ll find is that there are many peaks in the room including out in the 3D space of the room where the sound pressure is much higher than the average sound pressure in the room. It’s these sound pressure peaks where the crystals - mine work best for this application since they’re designed with the audiophile in mind and have very wide bandwidth - improve the sound.

So, you have to ask yourself, what’s going on here? Well, it’s not such a big mystery. It’s like the tiny little bowl resonators I alluded to, the threads here a few months back get into all the gory details of how the tiny bowls work including vibration control and RFI/EMI absorption. In any case, I think it’s clear that crystals usually operate in the room by absorbing mechanical (acoustic) vibration and reducing comb filter effects. Placing crystals or groups of crystals at first reflection points, room corners especially on the floor, at points on the wall where there are high sound pressures like on the back wall between the speakers, and on glass windows and sliding doors, among other things, is a very effective way to treat room anomalies. Even hanging them out in the space of the room from the ceiling to address the peaks out in the room. And as I mentioned before even when crystals are placed on or inside wall outlets, in proximity to electron tubes, inside breaker boxes, on top of electronic components, on stereo cartridges, on top of CD players, where effects might appear related to RFI/EMI, it’s actually vibration that is the issue.

And if you have any tube traps or Helmholtz resonators around, or tiny little bowls, crystals will improve their performance.

Now, there may be some other, more mysterious things going on - I never say never, but crystals in audio applications, even on audio components and speakers and cable connectors, appear to be resonance and vibration control related. And if anyone has any ideas about any other mechanism other than vibration absorption and RFI/EMI absorption by all means lay it on me, I’m all ears.

There is likely just one useful crystal in your system and that is the clock for the DAC...... The rest is all mumbo jumbo. Spend your money on room treatments and decent gear.