XXHighEnd

As mentioned by Mani elsewhere we tested 3 MYSTERY FEET yesterday. The feet were recently sent to me by Peter after doing some work on my NOS1. Shame on me I did not take them seriously to begin with after all how can 3 pieces of wood make a difference to SQ? And for those of you (like me) thinking it must be something to with vibration control it is nothing to do with that. So they could not make a difference to SQ could they?

But as Mani has said elsewhere they do make a significant difference. At the end of our listening session yesterday when I had gained familiarity with Mani's system we placed the feet under Mani's NOS1 and to my ears I immediately heard the same improvement as I hear in my system. But I said nothing and Mani took the listening hot spot. He then described what he heard and his impressions matched my impressions exactly. With the feet in place the sound is more coherent, more dynamic, clearer and tonally better - it just sounds more coherent. Remove the feet (and totally remove them from the room as per Peters instructions) and the sound is "flatter" less coherent.

I really wanted to hear them in another system and I am pleased to say I heard exactly the same change to SQ as I heard in my system at Mani's.

So how do the feet work? I suspect there are no other feet out there that work in the same way that Peter's do check out the picture below the holes are critical to performance and their alignment affects SQ. The feet have to be placed at specific places under NOS1 - on the right hand leg one under the traffo's and one under the PS board and under the left hand leg just one under the USB board. The material of the feet and what they are coated with and the hole positions are all important. I am sure there are no other feet out there that do what Peter's do.

Peter reckons that with a decent SPL meter I would be able to measure a difference with the feet in place in that they reduce standing waves in the room - I will try to get hold of one.

Oh and by the way Mani already had three wooden feet under his NOS1 just cylindrical black wooden blocks from another supplier. They had no effect on SQ that I could hear.

All the best to everyone for the New Year

Paul

PS - I can only think that the feet control EM flux from the electrical sections of the DAC - but wood? but what is that coating?

Because Mani wanted to say something about it as well, I will refrain from any comments until he did. But a nice read Paul !

Peter

Mystery feet, sounds very interesting. Are there plans for making them available to "The Community?" Sure hope so!

Not a lot to add from my side - Paul's covered most of it. I agree 100% with Paul's description of the difference the feet made. And this difference was totally repeatable.

After Paul left (and had taken the feet with him :() I tried a few different feet that I had lying around. I got a similar effect to the 'mystery feet' by using aluminium cones under exactly the same position that Paul placed the mystery feet, but the effect was nowhere near as pronounced - 25% if that.

Very interested in hearing directly from the horses mouth.

Mani.

Okay, this is from a year ago : Re: Quantum Heaven (http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=1886.msg19311#msg19311).
So, for Paul anyway, this is the post where our "bet" started and which causes you to sip that whisky by (finally) now.
You can read that first post I linked to in order to understand my situation of back then. Same as you are in today. Don't know where to go with it and such. But anyway, you can read further through that topic to observe my own judgement. Nothing much more to add here. It has all been said - including the end result : I got mad of it.


December 20 that was, last year. 16 days I could last with it.

And the very last post in the topic, immediately following the text from me avove :


Fun eh ?

While back then all was in secrecy BUT it was actually unvealed by means of another topic (but nobody noticed *that*) today I really have to tell that it was out user Bigear AKA Quint. He, at some stage, obtained them from a respected company overhere in The Netherlands which sort of experimented with these "feet" which are by no means made for a DAC. Quint came from there, passed along here and tried them under my NOS1 while his own NOS1 was waiting for him at his house for those "feet" he bought for himself as a trial. As far as I know he still uses them, while my own later bought ones were given up upon and are now in Paul's pocession.

For again some further fun I still won't tell what it is exactly (I might later though) but they are based upon Chinese wisdom. It is creazy what you can do with them, and it IS true that they are not even allowed to be in the room (or close to it) and are not designed as feet or something.

It is "noteworthy" that this year ago I ordered a boatload of them for all who wanted them and with the idea that from then on they would ship with the NOS1 (against an additional fee), the latter since (still) no official good feet come with the NOS1, just because I can't find the ones who do all jobs. This by itself is a phenomenon which is only here and there talked about, but for the NOS1 feet of any kind will create any kind of DAC. Possibly this is so with all DACs to some extend, but because the NOS1 is so accurate you will perceive anything (for materials and (de)coupling) which goes under it.

But this was the same reason I cancelled that order : the accuracy goes away with it. Interesting as it is, it can't be right.

A few weeks back, and really after this almost a year of trying them before, I tried them again. Again I was as enthusiast as can be, and within 10 minutes I replaced the order. But 45 minutes after that I cancelled it again. Yep, this really happened. This is how I sent them to Paul, him being the other main subject in that topic of the link.

Coherent, fine. Full sound, great. Super wide stage, OK. Being in a real chrurge suddenly (really unheard this is), super. All over the room the exact same SPL, strange. But it can't be. I like Chinese food better. I'm into accuracy.
And I don't like be stoned just from a couple of strange "feet" with holes in them. Yes, that too happened. Completely upside down from one small beer.
But the major reason I took them out is because of the infinite number of combined positions which can be applied - all producing a different sound.

Once you know what this is, you will also know about a full day of reading into it, and you will "know" that this is nothing for you. You *have* to understand first, and I could not. The day of reading only makes you believe, but understand nothing.

I still can order that boatload. I forgot about the price, but think in the direction of 30 euros for the three of them (but four can also be obtained of course). I need to order a couple of 100 though. Btw, the coating does nothing. The wood does though. I am sure the amound will kill nobody, and I only didn't go ahead with it because I myself think it is a wrong application. Nevertheless you will get something which amazes you, gives you an infinite tweak, *does* give the better sound at least in the beginning (if not forever) and indeed it gives the impression of all over better. But I won't be cheating you because I am not like that.

If someone knows what this is about, apart from those knowing it form me, please go ahead and link to that dozens of pages telling about it. Otherwise it remains a bit in secrecy as long as it lasts.

Peter (not checked for typos)

Djzzzz was it about this... I remember. Was a funny story to read. Nice that it come's up again.

 :)

OK so now I have listened to the crazy chinese feet and they really do make a significant difference. And they make the same difference at Mani's so I know that I am not "mad".

BUT (and I do appreciate that it is over a year since I installed the Bybees and important changes have happened since then to XX and NOS1) I have to say that the Bybees did something different and very fundamental. I could never again consider owning a serious hifi system without them. The mystery feet do something different altogether to my ears anyway.

But there is only one way to properly find out and that is to use fly leads to short out the bybees and compare the SQ (with and without bybees) in my current setup. Mmmm that is a serious amount of work maybe one day though. Perhaps we could arrange a listening session? Nick and Mani could come down for a session - interested chaps?

Paul hi,

Count me in  :)

This sounds like a great excuse to come down, say hello and enjoy a listen to your system again. Just let me know when works for you.

I could bring my NOS if that is ok and we can trial some other changes, haha.

Nick.

Well the secret is out and I suppose others have found the website by now but if not here it is: -

http://www.francktchang.com/sugarcubes.html

and 6 Moons review

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/acousticsystem4/sugar_2.html

If I did not know better having actually heard 3 of  these things in mine and Mani's sytems I would have dismissed it  all as JiggeryPokery

Paul

My thought about one way the feet could work is by altering self-vibration of the DAC.  The internal cabling and circuitry throws EM fields; vibration causes those fields to vibrate through each other, the cabling, and the circuitry.  Changing the vibration could change the character of noise produced by these interactions.  Effective draining of this self-vibration might help reduce such noise.

This may be known to you, but it provides "some" background : http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/francktchang/resonators.html

Hi,

I have some of those blocks lingering around that are of dutch manufacture and look excactly the same. I suppose they are from the same source. Bought them to support a never finsihed tt phono amp.
 
Fwiw I have to concur with Peter here on the NOS1, something not being right in the details and freshness. Thats why they are lingering around. Should I remve the from the room to have my kids play with them ;)?

Regards, Coen

What is the size of them Coen ?

But indeed, they shouldn't be in the room. Not in the fridge either, haha. I guess you now know why ...

Peter

http://www.monoandstereo.com/2011/04/micro-vibrations.html

I want to try the Sugar Cubes under my NOS1 but it is only posible to buy a set with 17 pcs.
The price is 170 euro : http://www.francktchang.com/sugarcubes.html

Can someone sell me 3 pcs?


Tore