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Miracles in Audio, by luck, by good choices,by design or by tweaking...

I owned a low cost headphone for many years, the Fostex TH7B, first version( a new one close version exist Fostex TH7BK), semi-open headphone...I was never completely satisfied by any headphones I ever owned: Hifiman 400, Stax basic lamda, Stax 5 gold,Akg 340,Akg 701, beyerdynamic 990, and T150... Because in each of them with all their qualities I never listen to at the same times, a confortable headphone with natural timbre and voicing, with a good imaging and a realistic soundstage(not too close to my ears)...


For the last days I tweaked this Fostex, to damp his internal resonance I used sorbothane, I put some shungite stones at the exterior part of the cups and I use some Herkimer diamond in the interior pads( 3 at 120 degree) … Now this low cost headphones crush all my others if I sum all his qualities... For example his mids and voicing cannot beat the AKG 340 but among all my other headphones it is the best that is near that mids and it is more confortable, and with longer cable than the 340...His imaging is better and more realistic than the 340 etc etc...It is the same if I compare with the others...


His most important qualities is natural timbre and clear imaging,very precise pinned point accuracy and natural, so clear it crush for that ALL the others to dust...In the French audio circle the reviews were more than very positive few years ago...Diapason d’or and choc Classica...I am not the only one impressed buy the ratio quality/price... But remember that thesae reviewers dont tweak their headphone...The difference between before and after the tweaks are staggering...


Yes Miracles happens in Audio: cost is under 100 American dollars... Few years ago they cost me 50 bucks new... I never dreamed that I will go back to headphones...


I will enjoy your miracles stories of any kind ….My best to all...
128x128mahgister
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
12,987 posts
 
By the way the S.G. without these "golden" plate +H.D. dont work so powerfully...

My experience with the S.G. is positive but particularly if the S.G. are modified with stones near them...And even the cheap one work audibly in the good direction... I tested that by disconnecting some...
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
12,987 posts
 
I only bought 2 audiophile products: Alan Maher plug and Bybee plate...

The 2 work but the impact was not so great compared with my plates... The impact was positive but not at the same level of my homemade solutions....And the used price for these 2 products exeed the price of almost all my plates... 


I wish I can buy other products to test but  I dont have this possibility....I am very happy with my simple medicine...
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
You said earlier today that two shungite plates on the USB SR were too many. So that is a case where golden shungite hurt the sound. So, maybe there are other cases where shungite hurts the sound. I want to believe. By the way I spoke to a customer in Italy yesterday, a recording engineer who told me he heard a lot of buzz about shungite, maybe it was right here on Audiogon, what are the chances?, and that he tried it but it didn’t ring his bell 🔔

I am determined to get to the bottom of it of course. Also I took some of the copper foiled shungite plates to my customer no. 1 two days ago who promptly observed the sound didn’t breathe with the shungite in the room. The breath of the sound returned when I removed the Golden shungite.

Nevertheless I’m keeping an open mind. But not so open my brains fall out because that’s messy and hard to clean up. I’m sitting right on the fence for now. I’m baking some Cards and a Mat in the breaker box for several days and I will hop right back on the shungite project afterward.
mahgister's avatar
mahgister OP
12,987 posts
 
The sound will not breath if shungite is in the room says your customer and I am perfectly ok with this experience...Add also the Herkimer Diamond and you will see...Dont put the plate directly on the gear, NEVER....On the power supply  perhaps but not on the gear...The Herkimer diamond is very important, not only copper to clean all the negative...

But add copper+Herkimer diamond, put that on the central router and listen ...

Add the plate on the central breaker panel and listen to it....

If you put only shungite near some gear that will compress the sound...

I use it on connector, breaker, coupled with the S.G. near the computer router, on unused wall plug...In all this place this is positive listening at the condition to add copper +H.D.

Put the shungite directly to some gear and generally that will powerfully kill the atmosphere and the air between the instrument etc...


geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Yes, that’s why I’m suggesting you’re hearing the foils, not the shungite. Customer no. had crystals and foils already. We did not place the shungite near electronics. Also, remember the foils are directional, so that’s adds another variable, sadly. 😢 
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