Hi All,
First post in quite a while. Just wanted to chime-in and say that I've purchased two of Tim's mats about 4-weeks ago and I love the effect on my system (sorry I don't have it posted - yet). I enjoy the improvements enough that I just purchased two more.
The effect is as previously stated by others - the music is much more relaxing to listen to, more enjoyable. It did not seem to impact or alter any particular frequency range over the other, but I find that listening at lower volumes is more enjoyable and I am able to play music at a higher volume setting on my pre (Parasound JC-2) and it is more clear and lifelike.
I struggled with placement. The first was my breaker panel (exterior) and then under my DAC (Parasound Z-DAC). After 3-4 days I was enjoying some sound improvement, but not like some had expressed. So, I removed the one from the DAC and heard minimal changes...interesting. I then removed the one from the breaker panel and the remainder of the effect went away fairly quickly... Next-up was Power Conditioner (S.R. PowerCell 10 uef se) and Preamp...after 3-days, not quite as good as the original setup. I decided to try two on the breaker panel...wow, sounded pretty good w/in 24-hrs. Next step was something I probably should have done moment-one. I had 3 MC-0.5 units in my dedicated outlet that feeds my stereo...I removed them and seemed to get a nice bump in sound...however, I'm not certain if it was the removal that helped or the "breaking-in" process...but I have begun to wonder if the HFC cables that I have connecting my components might not be playing "nicely" with the mat, when in close proximity...? I will run this down beginning about 3-weeks from now, once all 4-mats have settled-in.
I allowed the mats to settle-in for ~2-weeks and decided that I needed MORE of this. As others have stated, the music is much more emotionally involving and engaging. I purchased two more.
Presently, I have three mats on my breaker panel; 2-thick at the top where the dedicated breakers are for the stereo and surround/TV, and one on the lower section where the breaker for the computer resides. the fourth mat is now under my DAC.
I've purchased and kept some other tweaks in the past, but some did not do much for me:
1) Z-Sleeves - extra heavies, I like these a lot...still use them (I think I posted on them here, many moons ago), 2) Alan Maher's older Products: parallel filters, power factor correction, etc... (per his earlier descriptions): all removed from system...for the moment...they were used on non-audio circuits (microwave, dryer, PC, etc...) and helped 3) Shakti stone and onlines...never really did too much for me, 4) Highwire PowerWraps - same, not much of any impact for me. 5) Walker SST Extreme - nice initial impact but dulled the sound after a few months and a PITA to clean-off. 6) Total Contact - good stuff. breakers and ground ere first - good...then outlet, interconnects, plugs, soldered connections in speakers & DAC, same in subs, etc... quite happy with TC, also still in the system - application about 3-4 months ago.
I'm anxiously awaiting the mini-me version of the mats! I know I'm a bit all-over-the-place in this, but I wanted to share that I am quite happy with my purchases.
Happy Labor Day Weekend and happy listening!
Doug
