"Fella" wrote in message
...
The stones had come yesterday, when I went home there the package was. I
was in direct contact with the manufacturer and CEO of Shakti Innovations,
and told him what I intended to do with them, ultimately, and he
immediately agreed to send me an evaluation package.
The inventor of the shakti says that the "stone" is actually a nickname,
that it is moulden limestone powder and inside it there are three patented
"trap circuits" absorbing the EMI within components. Hmmm..
I applied a "stone" to each the CD player and the amp (put 'em on top,
smack in the middle). I applied a pair of on-lines on the speaker
terminals of the amp, one for each channel (they had this blue guey on
them that make them stick). I also applied a pair of on-lines on the rca
interconnects.
I sat down for a listen, my "reference" CD the BVSC with Ry Cooder.. 
Just then the wife comes along to the room asking me what those silly
looking stones are doing on top of the "stereo", as she tends to call my
system. As I am trying to explain and she is trying to keep her laughter I
notice something happening in the general direction of the "stereo"...
Here goes, this is what I heard: With the shakti there is more body,
definition, intensity, sincerity, clarity, more of everything that's good
_*across the board*_ !!!
It seems though, the shakti make the REAL difference with complex,
multi-sounds kind of instrumental music. _Everything_ is enhanced. The
soundstage is almost frighteningly darker in the huge, empty background;
sounds seem to come out of the big wide empty darkness situated in the
general direction of the speakers.
The bass gets more definition, exact borders as to where it starts and
ends. And the shakti also teach how to hear the essentials, in a way, the
complete music, they don't bring forth more detail, but teach you to
"notice" some *more* of the detail you actually heard but never noticed
before.
Well, I have decided that whatever I will do concerning the shakti in the
future, one thing is for sure; I will keep these evaluation units.
For whatever it is worth, IMHO, in an ideal world the shakti circuitry
would not be considered a "tweak" but an essential part of any system.
*I know* what the borg'll think, and write. Their prejudice is not open
for argument. But I am determined to not answer even the personal insults
coming my way after this. I felt that it is my *duty* to the hobby and
myself that I report something as significant as this, honestly.
My suggestion to all the "normals" out there would be that before
condemning me and starting to make jokes about kidney stones, tv dinners
of the ****borg, etc, that they actually give these things a try. I am
sure that no one in his right mind can't help but notice the very
significant difference this piece of equipment brings.
Interesting. I'm happy it worked for you. Two points on the Shakti stuff
based on first hand experience:
1. I tried the evaluation package myself with two systems. Avantgarde
horns/Nagra tubes/Sony SACD and Martin-
logan stats/Parasound Halo/Blowtorch/Denon "all-format" player. No
difference. None whatsoever. Nada. Perhaps it was the MIT cabling in the SS
system that had already rectified the inherent flaws in the John Curl
designed electronics and compensated for the construction shortcuts taken in
the $18K Blowtorch preamp. But what explains the lack of results with the
tubed system? The perfection of swiss design? The superiority of tubed
amplification? I dunno....
2. A handy audiophile friend of mine made visually accurate copies of the
Shakti stones from solid soapstone a couple of years back. Against all odds,
they worked seemingly just as well as the real deal. He made enough money
from them to start a business not related to audio and he is doing well
today. And he never received a single complaint from a customer related to
the performance of the product. But they did not work in my system either. I
guess I'm just SOL.
Cheers,
Margaret
-thawing and typing-