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Installed a set of Silent Plugs in my system and I'm impressed with their performance. No break-in, no head scratching, no questioning the effect. With the plugs installed (one in sacd player, two in preamp,one in buffer) the music was more dimensional and had more presence. I'm quite pleased w/the plugs and will probably order another set.
Follow Ups:
Nice to see others have purchased these 'must have' tweaks. I alerted AA to it back in December I think, but the inmates who responded were focused on calling me a shill.
My system continues to knock me out due in no small part to the SPs. I wound up buying 3 sets. You can overdue them on a single component: I have 3 on my Oppo, 4 was too much damping.
...all the others are shills too!
P.A.
For those not wanting to spend $199 for four plugs, try placing small dab of paper tape over each unused RCA plug (or other outlet) that you want to treat. Buy a string of tourmaline beads for about $3. Unstring the beads and use a dab of silicone to afix a bead onto the tape over each hole. It costs almost nothing and is easy to remove if you don't like it. In my mid-fi solid state system, it had all the benefits one receives from removing a couple layers of "hash", greater transparency, increased sound stage, better attacks and decay.....you get it.
kendo
As per the Six Moons review. Thanks.
In my system, I don't think they make the sound more forward---at least to my ears. I find the performers/artists take on more body and have more presence and the images are more 3-dimensional, but I don't think of these characteristics as being more forward, ie, the soundstage didn't move more toward my listening position.
Tobias' post below observes his soundstage moved back and spreads out. My soundstage became more defined.
The overall effect of the plugs has been a more enjoyable, more engaging listening experience.
YMMV
I have never tried any of these silent plugs before.
Edits: 03/04/12
Have you tried these?
Any plugs even non-shorting plugs like Cardas Caps etc. that are inserted into unused inputs or outputs will improve the sound and make it more 3 dimensional.
The effect of the Silent Plugs is far beyond that of other vibration and rfi plugs and devices. Far beyond.
You said far beyond twice. Would you say the plugs doubled the performance? What other vibration and RFI plugs are you referring to? Not all others, one assumes.
Edits: 02/20/12 02/20/12
Acoustic Revive, Cardas cap, and although not promoted as RFI/Vibration device, the digit (?) plug made by the Belts
Yup, DigiPlus from PWB. Got em. Yer darn tooting' they aren't promoted as RFI / vibration device. :-;
Had you tried another RCA plug device that was to be put in unused RCA jacks that has/had both RFI/EMI and vibration damping? I wasn't aware of another on the market. I have Cardas caps that do not help much if any. I'd like to try a set or DIY clone them.
ET
Acoustic Revive (don't know the model)---a friend had several pair. While I could hear an improvement, I would not break out the credit card for these. My experience w/the Cardas caps mirrors yours. They became a set of cat toys for a brief spell before the cats batted them into cat toy heaven. Good luck on DIY. I have no idea what the damping material is. They rx'ed a positive review in 6moons which gave a fairly good description of the construction and also had an interview with the designer who may have mentioned the damping material. I'm no techie, so I don't recall. Also I don't know if the silent plugs shield from RFI. They're not metal, so... Keep us posted on your DIY experiments. It would be great to have another method of reducing vibrations.
I find Herbie's Audio Lab HAL-O JR. Interconnect Damping Instruments to be potentially effective devices to reduce interconnect cable borne vibrations. However, I also find the curious affectation to be quite cable/application dependent, so YMMV. See link:
I have tried the Herbie's IC dampers....but I got the Titanium ring models and not the ones Duster showed (nylon ring) in his picture.
I did not like them. They made a change just like the pads on them...soft, squishy, took some of the life out of the music.
But good thing is Steve (Herbie's) does offer a refund if you do not like his products.
It's a cable/connector sensitive device, so I'm not surprised -- it hasn't been a good thing for a number of my cables, too...
I made my DIY HALO's from some screw-in teacup holders and silicone round discs I found at Target. I used some side-cutters to cut the half-round teacup rings to a sharp point, then just pushed the circular discs through in the middle. The silicone discs come in various sizes, so you can custom them to your needs. You can trim the portion that fits against the RCA connection to make a perfect fit. The silicone discs are not too squishy and definitely made a small, but clearly audible improvement in my system. In places where too many cables did not allow for the DIY HALO's, I cut some square silicone pads I found in the same section, in a diagonal, forming two wedges and simply fit them between the closely placed connectors with the same effect. Every little bit helps, especially when it's cheap.
kendo
Thanks, Duster. I'll give these a try. I have several types of Herbie's feet and pads in my system; I find them very effective. I overlooked these.
I just scanned the 6moons review again and the plugs are made of aluminum, so they may have some RFI shielding effect. And no mention is made of the type of damping material (other than "special damping material).
Also the Acoustic revive plugs came with a sheet of damping material that one could apply to the back of the plugs if one wished for more damping.
...they're magic
I searched several websites and don't see any prices anywhere. I hate products that don't list a price anywhere, having to contact a dealer to ask how much they cost stinks. Usually that means the thing is way overpriced. How much do the darn things cost?
Meanwhile, I ran across a similar product that actually seems reasonably priced , on sale here at $14.30 http://www.fullcompass.com/product/309741.html
Hopefully you have figured out that the two products just happen to have the same name and are not remotely the same. The Switchcraft one is actually specified. But unless you find that the pop and buzz that occurs when you rip the cable from your guitar before flinging yourself into the loving arms of your fans is a distraction, then it's probably not the right product for you...
Rick
nt
I ordered a set of 4 from Mr-Cable.com for $195.
I had not seen that site before, I will check it out. After further reading I see these involve much more than the Switchcraft.
No they're not the same. That's a 1/4" plug made to accept wire with which you can make a cable. The 6 Moons article says the Silent Plugs (RCA) are $199 for four. They're made by a German company which is a big part of why they're not easily found on the web. I did find a link to the makers site in German which seems to have them for 99 Euros for four. See link.
ET
My observation: Image better defined, instruments more 3-D, improved clarity and transparency. Soundstage moves back and spreads out. Same effect on different gear, sometimes quite surprising. Very nice improvement for cheaper gear. Only one piece showed minimal difference: a SimAudio P-8 preamp. I speculate that this design's built-in vibration control is already very effective.
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