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More fun with magnets!

50.0.252.202
Posted on April 25, 2021 at 07:15:17
Ric
Audiophile

Posts: 364
Joined: October 14, 2001
 I had been looking at a review of the Ground Control from CAD audio and was intrigued by it being a passive device--no power cord! Yet, from the review it (of course) removes veils, lowers the sound floor and works.
Since I use a few of the cheaper (if you can call it that) High Fidelity Cables products and have used DIY magnets on my PC's, speaker, and IC's to great affect (cable deniers can stop reading here) I wondered whether some DIY magnets would work, similar to the Ground Control device mentioned above, which means plugging the DIY into an unused input on my integrated (or other)amp.
So I assembled an rca male end and attached a 1/2"x 1.25" cylinder type N52 magnet, one to the hot (positive) and one to the neutral (negative)using some cheap speaker wire. The way I attached the wire to the magnets is by using some #6-32x3/8" machine screws with the wire pinned and clamped down with two nuts (attached to the screw) and then a third nut on the end of the screw that sticks to the magnet.
I also housed the magnet into a piece of 1/2" pvc to insulate it from anything metal, as it's best to keep the magnets away from a metal surface.
So, if you have a cheap rca cord lying around, you will need 4 magnets (but just two will work). Cut the ends off of one end, separate the positive and negative wires, then attach those wires to the 6-32 nuts and machine screw and attach THAT to the encased magnet.
It is important to orient the magnets so the polarities are going in the same direction.
I was kind of blown away by the results--for those that do not want to work with live AC or mess with any other signal path, try these and report back! (look at my past postings for more magnet info).
PS. I mentioned using speaker wire, but I think if you have a cheap rca cable lying around, it would work just as well.

 

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RE: More fun with magnets!, posted on September 4, 2021 at 17:41:42
Racebrewer@gmail.com
Audiophile

Posts: 40
Location: Far North NY
Joined: August 20, 2020
 Hi
Is there a relationship between Uncle Stu's Battery Ground Tweak. the Litz wire tweak, the magnet tweak, and the various ground boxes out there? Are they all doing the same thing in different ways?
Can we combine them for a super tweak?

John


Per Dr. Who: "Run!"

 

RE: More fun with magnets!, posted on August 17, 2021 at 13:01:02
Voncarlos
Audiophile

Posts: 29
Joined: January 5, 2010
 I just finished making up these Magnet/RCA input thingies. Just letting them burn in a little but can hear some improvement already.

















 

RE: More fun with magnets!, posted on September 7, 2021 at 06:49:02
Voncarlos
Audiophile

Posts: 29
Joined: January 5, 2010
 I can confirm that getting the polarity correct is important.
After listing for several weeks of burn-in, I reversed the polarity and got a greatly improved holographic imaging.
The nice rough-n-ready design I followed allows for easy access to make this change.
Thanks Ric, :-))

 

RE: More fun with magnets!, posted on August 3, 2021 at 09:33:18
Voncarlos
Audiophile

Posts: 29
Joined: January 5, 2010
 Hi Ric,
How about some pics of this tweak.
Thank you,
Carlos

 

RE: More fun with magnets!, posted on June 9, 2021 at 00:16:00
KanedaK
Audiophile

Posts: 2519
Location: Brussels
Joined: April 27, 2010
 I'm using ferrite clamps around the DC umbilical cable feeding the little iFi SPDIF iPurifier (spdif reclocker) and it seems I'm getting a more natural, flowing musicality - I suspect the magnets remove some high frequency noises and allow the reclocker to work more effectively? Or it may just be placebo effect. I don't know.

 

RE: More fun with magnets!, posted on May 20, 2021 at 08:12:02
boodles
Audiophile

Posts: 354
Joined: January 22, 2005
 Just to be sure I understand correctly, these are being plugged into unused RCA inputs, kind of like what one does with RCA "shorting plugs", or are they somehow in the signal path?
Thanks so much,
Chris

 

RE: More fun with magnets!, posted on April 26, 2021 at 09:06:28
Mike B.
Audiophile

Posts: 26352
Location: OR
Joined: September 27, 1999
Contributor
  Since: September 1, 1999
 I have done a lot of tweaking with magnets over the years. I need to give credit to Rick Schultz for the initial idea. I met him at the Show next to the high end show at CES. It was his first show there with his original company out of Canada.
I had a batch of custom made neodymium barrel shaped magnets with a hole running down the center big enough for a 12 gauge wire. I had them plated with silver rather than nickel.


 

RE: More fun with magnets!, posted on April 27, 2021 at 06:35:06
Ric
Audiophile

Posts: 364
Joined: October 14, 2001
 Regarding the hole in the center. My experience is that the magnets need to be IN the signal path to be most effective. If you are running them THROUGH the center without the wire connected to the magnet, I'm not sure you would get much affect. Also, the magnets need to be pointing the same direction (negatives same side) and if the sound is diffuse, turn them around. Anyway, that's my experience!

 

RE: More fun with magnets!, posted on April 29, 2021 at 12:11:20
Mike B.
Audiophile

Posts: 26352
Location: OR
Joined: September 27, 1999
Contributor
  Since: September 1, 1999
 I started that way. I found it best for AC cords, Not small signal applications. YMMV.


 

Photos?, posted on April 25, 2021 at 10:35:32
Jon L
Audiophile

Posts: 6062
Joined: April 6, 2000
 And what improvements do you hear?

 

Photos please.... n/t, posted on May 3, 2021 at 05:34:44
tweakmenow
Audiophile

Posts: 245
Location: East Coast USA
Joined: March 26, 2012
 .

 

RE: Photos?, posted on April 26, 2021 at 06:44:12
Ric
Audiophile

Posts: 364
Joined: October 14, 2001
 I can try and do some photos if you're interested.
As far as sound improvement, to my ears and my system, it's big. When I tried this tweak, I had sent off my Border Patrol dac to be upgraded and was listening to the stock dac in the Innuos Zen Mini. At first the (internal) dac sounded clean, but then I realized how flat it sounded, to the point of just wanting to listen to vinyl.
When I did the tweak, I noticed the dac sounded richer, fuller, and after the first evening I had wondered if it was just my imagination--wanting it to sound better--this is with two magnets(+&-) on only one rca input (not both). In the midst of listening the second night, it was clear that what I was hearing was a marked improvement, so I grabbed a few more magnets and added them to the other input (four magnets, two (+&-) for the left channel input, two for the right channel input.)
Wow! I hate to say it, but the dac is now sounding very close to the BP dac, not as good imaging, but from the magnet/unused input/tweak huge improvement. Fuller, richer, more dynamic, bass, soundstaging is bigger--just a huge improvement. With a good recording my jaw is dropping compared to how it was.
IMO this tweak is great because you use it on an unused input, there is very small risk, electrically, compared to using magnets on the power cord, which I do with success. Here's a link to the original post where he copied the High Fidelity MC-0.5's (which I own and use and recommend)

 

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