"WVK" wrote in message
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I found the following review for the Hallograph Soundfield Optimizer. While
I am not an acoustics expert, it seems to me that this is one of those
products that are best appreciated while wearing a tinfoil hat. Any other
opinions?

http://www.shakti-innovations.com/hallograph.htm


I can say from experience that they seem to have a noticeable effect most of
the time. Whether that effect is positive or not is a different story.

I had a pair at my house for about a month, handed down by a person whose
Talon Khorus/Roc setup seemed to be unaffected by them in any discernible
way. They did affect my ML Prodigys by severely reducing the soundstage
width. On the positive side, they seemed to correct the slight channel
imbalance due to my living room setup that results in a missing front corner
on one side. In the end I decided I liked the preamp balance control better.
Next I tried the "scarecrows" in my professionally appointed music room with
Avantgarde horns. No effect whatsoever. Finally tried them in my home
"studio" with Mackie HR824's in a midfield configuration and there was a
substantial improvement in sound. Soundstage grew beyond belief and the
sound achieved a level of clarity and transparency that was hard to believe.
However, their optimum placement was so impractical that I finally passed
them on to a new home. They also had a very positive effect on the sound of
my Bösendorfer Grand according to everyone who played it but again, at the
expense of practicality (due to their required placement) and aesthetics
(they are ugly and cheap looking).

However, their new owner has really scored with them. His HUGE VMPS RMX (?)
ribbons really seem to find harmony with them. Like most VMPS owners, he
loves to play large orchestral works with realistic levels and in this
application, the "scarecrows" render clarity and instrumental definition to
music that is anything but subtle. The VMPS's reside in a huge old room with
17ft ceilings, mahogany floors with some thick rugs and mahogany walls lined
with books and records.

So it is a mixed bag IMO - like most things in life.

Cheers,

Margaret