This was the wierdess deal I've ever heard. Those here that know me understand I'm not a fan of $25000 speaker wire and $5000 cable holders but this "tweak" was unreal.

Yes there was a distinct difference. Was it better? Maybe but it was different and I preferred the tweak (damn I can't believe I just put that in writing) in place...

At the Synergistic Research room they had small metal graphite carbon fiber something or another made balls placed about the room on the wall at varing heights. A larger sized set of balls :D was placed behind the room about 6' high and on the floor. When he took them down and placed them on the floor the highs, soundstage and imaging took a nose dive.

BTW the speakers were the Wilson Sophia's and electronics from Burmeister (??).

It was cool if nothing else!

thats interesting. that sounds like room treatment more so than the cable "lifters" that suposedly keep interference down from blocking the vibrations. are the balls a product for sale?

How large were the larger balls?

Yes the balls are for sale.

$3200 MSRP they had them for $2200 but by show end I think $2000 got you a set of balls.

It was all about the resonant frequency of the material and how they interacted the room and speakers. That was what I was told. So in theory you were listening to the "ringing" if you will of the balls.

Again it was way cool.

A larger sized set of balls :D was placed behind the room about 6' high and on the floor. When he took them down and placed them on the floor the highs, soundstage and imaging took a nose dive.

It was cool if nothing else!

I have heard the very same thing happen when balls hit the floor, although, I found nothing "cool" about it whatsoever!

I apologize but you had to know this was inevitable.

Please, do tell more of your recent experience with various sized balls and where they were placed. :o

Would love to see this comparison done blind --that would take real balls (Sorry. I couldn't control myself) . This reminded me of a demo at CES a number of years ago when some company had wooden "thingies" placed at various spots around the room and the "developer" (a term I use loosely) had everyone convinced there was a difference with and without the "thingies" (and of course you couldn't make your own wooden "thingies" because these were made of some exotic wood).

I still never cease to be amazed.

AG, I kinda sorta did that. I turned back to as they say so our balls would not touch...

He played the same track from the CD at the same volume level (I paid very close attention to the setting of the electronics and inspeceted the room after the demo).

No balls hit the floor since they were not that big but they varied in size say from 2" to 6" in diameter. The latter is quite a set.

No balls hit the floor since they were not that big but they varied in size say from 2" to 6" in diameter. The latter is quite a set.

It doesn't matter if the glass hit the stone or the stone hit the glass, it's going to be bad for the glass.
Those balls were on the floor, it doesn't matter what the circumstances were.

So, I take it you found these balls to be quite attractive? At the very least there use is unique.
Would you consider them a substitute or addition in correction.

I am so ashamed of myself.

All kidding aside miles, I for one realize that you are not a "tweak-freak". So, something about this product apparently grabbed your, shall we say, attention.

Are these things supposed to be "just" an additional tweak to an already well designed room? Or, do they actually consider their product a replacement for panels of various types and/or sizes?
Is a "set" meant to cover a specific sized room, like X amount of sets/ft?
If not, do you know how they would have you determine how many sets you might require and is it known where in the room they should be installed/located, like a 1st reflection point as example, to obtain the intended or desired result?

I may have found the wording and the visual kind of humorous but all things considered, $2,200-$3,200/set is not exactly a joking matter when trying to squeeze out our hi-end dollars these days.
Of course we'll all understand if you may not have spent enough time in there to have all of this sorted out and just made an interesting find and observation.

Strange phenomenon, this is being reported from several. Is it a resonant frequency deal that impacts our percievement of the sound field/stage?

I have a hard time figuring out why it wouldn't deter the piercive soundstage instead of "improving" it. Was there any drugs involved with the balls?

We listened to this demo quite closely, and with skepticism. The spheres I will call them were placed floor front center, front 2/3 up wall (a split full sphere), on the side walls 2/3 up at the reflecting point (half spheres open side up), and somewhere on the rear wall. First the music was played with the treatment, then they were removed. The difference was there, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then they put the spheres back up, and the effect was astounding. The sound stage opened up , and was much wider and deeper. The upper mid, lower treble was much smoother and more musical, the bass was tighter. The spheres were again withdrawn, and the soundstage collapsed, the music became more strident, less involving. Back up everything opened up again. The effect was not subtle.
I'm told the materials and shapes were trial and errored over a period of 2 years before they got it the way they wanted it. The spheres apparently create some sort of room boundary dissipation by removing reflections while the sphere on the floor is supposed to control bass resonance. Who knows?
The system was a good mid priced system using Synergistic Tesla cables, and Enigma active shielding with the Wilson Sophias. The spheres are said to be hit with 2 million volts from the company's Tesla coil before sale. Again, who knows? They are said to work in conjuction with other room treatments as well (absorbtion & diffusion.)
I will say the effect was unmistakable, and I believe easily discernible by any trained listener, probably untrained as well. They sold a lot of these (100's) at the show. I did not buy them, but I intend to investigate this phenomenon further. Regards, Norm

Pinch me, the balls sound promising.

http://www.dagogo.com/images/AcousticART-5.jpg



The inspiration for the Acoustic ART system came to our lead designer Ted Denney four years ago while sailing the South Pacific. During his sabbatical, Ted visited Buddhist Temples and observed how Tibetan Prayer bowls altered temple acoustics. These singing bowls affected a sudden shift in acoustics whenever they were activated, and when additional bowls of varying tone were also activated, the acoustics continued to change. Ted reasoned that a system of resonating bowls could be developed to discreetly treat room acoustics without the need for large unsightly tuning devices.

However, it wasn’t until after Ted returned to the mainland and developed his Tesla Series cables that he revisited the idea of treating room acoustics with resonating bowls. We began our research by studying Helmholtz resonators, which have been used for over a century to tune low frequencies in an acoustic environment. We worked to modify Helmholtz resonator principles to incorporate the full spectrum of sound - not just low frequencies. We found we could tune music with a system of resonators working together in harmony at key acoustic pressure points. Further research led to several patents-pending. The first deals with the use of magnets to contour activation and decay properties of the Vibratron and Magnetron Satellite resonators. The second includes a new resonator shape called the Vibratron that radiates in a 360 degree pattern over a scientifically-arrived-at frequency range. The third utilizes a unique dispersion baffle to precisely control how the Bass Station resonator affects a rooms’ low frequency acoustics. Later we discovered that using spikes to mechanically couple the Bass Station to a room further enhances control of low frequencies (the Bass Station's Stilettos). Next began a painstaking process to find resonator material with the correct mass that would operate at mathematically-arrived-at frequencies with target decay patterns. The acumination of these scientific principals sets the Acoustic ART (Analogue Room Treatment) System apart from all other room tuning methods.

Certainly looks like a total knock-off of the Acoustic System Resonators from Franck Tchang. Those have been around for years. Ted's story of South Pacific/Buddhist Temple really sounds pretty bogus!! :rolleyes:

6moons' review of the Acoustic System resonators from 2006 (http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/acousticsystem/resonators.html)

I guess if Franck hasn't got a patent on them, its his loss.

vibratron...are we sure they are audio treatments?

yep, we had a gtg to 'hear' the acoustic resonators at work, umm the results were less than stellar.

markedly affects the bass eh? same claim as made for the tiny resonators. these are slightly bigger, but still, any audible effects in the bass would easily be measured.

unless of course the same caveats apply as in the case of the resonators, 'we can't measure everything we can hear'.

same old suspects, including magnetism.

where are the good old quantum effects I wonder?

http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2009/the_art_of_tuning/

Interesting reader comments. Most of them sound like mmiles comment, they don't know why nor do they want to admit it but they heard a difference that sounded better.

Sounds like a bunch of BALLocks to me. :)

Seriously though they could be considered an acoustic treatment at least. I mean placing coke bottles around the room would make things sound differently, but better who knows. At that price once you buy them it will sound better.:D

Art

Pinch me, the balls sound promising.

The inspiration for the Acoustic ART system came to our lead designer Ted Denney four years ago while sailing the South Pacific. During his sabbatical, Ted visited Buddhist Temples and observed how Tibetan Prayer bowls altered temple acoustics. These singing bowls affected a sudden shift in acoustics whenever they were activated, and when additional bowls of varying tone were also activated, the acoustics continued to change. Ted reasoned that a system of resonating bowls could be developed to discreetly treat room acoustics without the need for large unsightly tuning devices.

However, it wasn’t until after Ted returned to the mainland and developed his Tesla Series cables that he revisited the idea of treating room acoustics with resonating bowls. We began our research by studying Helmholtz resonators, which have been used for over a century to tune low frequencies in an acoustic environment. We worked to modify Helmholtz resonator principles to incorporate the full spectrum of sound - not just low frequencies. We found we could tune music with a system of resonators working together in harmony at key acoustic pressure points. Further research led to several patents-pending. The first deals with the use of magnets to contour activation and decay properties of the Vibratron and Magnetron Satellite resonators. The second includes a new resonator shape called the Vibratron that radiates in a 360 degree pattern over a scientifically-arrived-at frequency range. The third utilizes a unique dispersion baffle to precisely control how the Bass Station resonator affects a rooms’ low frequency acoustics. Later we discovered that using spikes to mechanically couple the Bass Station to a room further enhances control of low frequencies (the Bass Station's Stilettos). Next began a painstaking process to find resonator material with the correct mass that would operate at mathematically-arrived-at frequencies with target decay patterns. The acumination of these scientific principals sets the Acoustic ART (Analogue Room Treatment) System apart from all other room tuning methods.

The real story of the "discovery": The designer thought to himself: "Hey, fools are already paying thousands of dollars per foot of copper wire, let me get in on the action."

From the article

"One can learn a lot from the French patent bureau. By means of a silver tripod, the resonant cup is secured atop its wooden block and placed within the vicinity of a sound source (read, loudspeaker). Sound waves from the loudspeaker excite the cup and it starts to oscillate/vibrate. Depending on size and material density of the cup, it will respond to a specific range of frequency similar to a tuning fork. The listener responds to this action as sensing a widened soundscape and enhanced sound density."

It does seem Frank has a patent for this design






Certainly looks like a total knock-off of the Acoustic System Resonators from Franck Tchang. Those have been around for years. Ted's story of South Pacific/Buddhist Temple really sounds pretty bogus!! :rolleyes:

6moons' review of the Acoustic System resonators from 2006 (http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/acousticsystem/resonators.html)

I guess if Franck hasn't got a patent on them, its his loss.

I love the thread title. I thought maybe ACDC played at CES when I first saw it.

I personally would be worried that the negative Feng Shui would cancel any acoustic gains.

Art

I'm told the materials and shapes were trial and errored over a period of 2 years before they got it the way they wanted it. The spheres apparently create some sort of room boundary dissipation by removing reflections while the sphere on the floor is supposed to control bass resonance. Who knows?
The system was a good mid priced system using Synergistic Tesla cables, and Enigma active shielding with the Wilson Sophias. The spheres are said to be hit with 2 million volts from the company's Tesla coil before sale.

Sounds like they've been watching too many old sci-fi movies.

I'm going to guess that they're just simple diffusers. Just go to the sporting goods store and buy some basketballs :)

Yeah what Tyree91 said...

Again it was "off the wall" (literally) and it made a difference. I had some manufactures go by (names with held of course) and they too were amazed with the black balls. Yes the balls were black.

I'm not here to write some kind of wordy mumbo jumbo like these tweek geeks that attend this show and play this terrible ass music the sounds like ice cubes dropping in a glass but look at me like I have three heads (not 3 balls) when I ask someone to play The Eagles for example. Sorry for the rant but these geek reviewer wanna be's really trip my rope (except you Kal).

Back on point. The did "change" the sound no matter what you folks say or think. I was there most of you were not.

BTW, the signal sheilding concept of SR's cables came from the military about 40 years ago in regards to EMF and RFI shielding in high level radar sites.

Nice catch C-Max on someone else's balls.

I'm with miles. How many of you guys have heard these things? So far it would appear two who have posted here, and while both being skeptical, clearly we heard an effect which was not subtle. Add to that my brother a 30+ year audiophile and trained listener who owns no Synergistic products and heard the same improvements as myself, and 100's of professionals in the CE business who purchased them on site. I'm continually amazed by the arogance of those who think 21st Century Man knows all from a scientific perspective. To quote our good friend Doug Winsor from the Blue Smoke Forum "we can measure and understand everything." I think not. Regards, Norm

well, what if these balls or bowls if you will function like resonators at specific frequencies as many such eastern bowls made from brass or glass do? So, before you go pooh poohing Winsor, realize that no measurements have been made.

I'm with miles. How many of you guys have heard these things? So far it would appear two who have posted here, and while both being skeptical, clearly we heard an effect which was not subtle. Add to that my brother a 30+ year audiophile and trained listener who owns no Synergistic products and heard the same improvements as myself, and 100's of professionals in the CE business who purchased them on site. I'm continually amazed by the arogance of those who think 21st Century Man knows all from a scientific perspective. To quote our good friend Doug Winsor from the Blue Smoke Forum "we can measure and understand everything." I think not. Regards, Norm

See this is a problem. The problem isn't that there is a difference but is it a predictable technique to improve the room audio performance. Science has been the best way man has found to explain his environment. It isn't arogance to discuss things that are bordering on mysticism with skepticism until it is proven. Trained listeners have been sure that expensive cables made a major difference but in blind testing couldn't tell them from what amounts to lamp cord.

I don't doubt that these are tantamount to an acoustic treatment and perhaps they do alter the sound field in a positive manner but at the same time ,after so much of the audiophile stuff that simply defies physics in its claims, I think we are smart to be skeptical.

I think your comment about the blue smoke forum being your source helps explain your position however.

Art

I dont doubt this really works.

When I watch a movie I wrap the HDMI cable around my scrotum and sit astride a diesel powered butt-plug. The wobulation I experience turns my humble 1080p machine into a 4k behemoth.

For some reason I cant sit down for 2 weeks after viewing a movie, but that's a small small price to pay for this level of performance.

I dont doubt this really works.

diesel powered butt-plug. .

Is this a D-box?

I am ready to test this "big balls" theory in my home theater. I need a few volunteers. I thought I'd let the volunteers lend me their "balls" for the test. Chu will lay down in the front center, in front of my subwoofers, on his back. Curt will stand up straight in the center very rear of the room. And Big Brother will stand on a ladder on the right side of the room (twelve foot ceiling) with his balls at my ear level.

We will use Chu's "double blind" technique, in that I will be blind folded doubly while Chu and his cohorts move from these positions, even exit the room, to listen to changes in the sonics.

I am ready to test this "big balls" theory in my home theater. I need a few volunteers. I thought I'd let the volunteers lend me their "balls" for the test. Chu will lay down in the front center, in front of my subwoofers, on his back. Curt will stand up straight in the center very rear of the room. And Big Brother will stand on a ladder on the right side of the room (twelve foot ceiling) with his balls at my ear level.

We will use Chu's "double blind" technique, in that I will be blind folded doubly while Chu and his cohorts move from these positions, even exit the room, to listen to changes in the sonics.
Steve, this will prove nothing. You don't have anyone's balls on the left side of the room. Regards, Norm

Steve, this will prove nothing. You don't have anyone's balls on the left side of the room. Regards, Norm

Unfortunately DougWinsor refuses to be the "balls" on the left side of the room.:D

No need to post any pictures of this auspicious experiment.

No need to post any pictures of this auspicious experiment.

If anybody tries Coldmachines version of D-box, I'd like to see that picture!

The power of suggestion is, well, powerful.

I become a skeptic the minute the manufacturer either (1) refuses to submit his revolutionary acoustic item to independent certified third party testing and/or (2) refuses to provide me the items for testing (and publication of the results). Particularily I'm skeptical when they won't let me do the testing ... I'm not a certified lab and that gives them an automatic way out. ;)

BTW, I hear CM has the biggest ones of the bunch.

All Voodoo aside at best it looks like standard diffusion?

Could be. Don't know that. How big are these things? and how many were placed (exactly) where?

I dont doubt this really works.

When I watch a movie I wrap the HDMI cable around my scrotum and sit astride a diesel powered butt-plug. The wobulation I experience turns my humble 1080p machine into a 4k behemoth.

For some reason I cant sit down for 2 weeks after viewing a movie, but that's a small small price to pay for this level of performance.

Holy crap, haven't laughed this hard in a long time....

Nice stuff and idea, but kinda expensive, I'm pretty sure those are cheap to manufacture.

Coconuts are $2.50 around these parts...umh?

The real question is do you have enough time in the rest of your life to try all the permutations of, among other things, the number of balls, the sizes of balls, the materials out of which the balls are fabricated, the size and materials out of which the blocks holding the balls are fabricated, the design and materials out of which the stands holding the blocks holding the balls are fabricated, the horizontal locations of the balls, the vertical locations of the balls, the distance the balls are away from the walls, your location in relation to the balls, and the location of the speakers in relation to you and the balls, to determine their optimal number, size, composition and location. And that is before you make any changes to any part of your equipment or room decor. Oh, and then make sure you don't move your head. Then imagine comparing all of those permutations in a controlled double-blind listening test using trained listeners. Or you could just put a random number and size of balls made out of random materials in random locations in a random size room, charge an arbitrary amount and pronounce audio nirvana. Seriously folks, is their any hard science to support any of this? I mean surely the inventor of these things had to have something in mind when he developed these balls that he can share with you other than the balls resonate thereby improving the soundstage. For example, he might answer the question of at what frequency do the balls resonate and how does that improve the sound. Wouldn't it just be cheaper to rearrange the books, photos and knick-knacks on your shelves? I mean those things resonate too you know. I think the only I Ching going on here is the sound of a cash register.

Did you know that the way you make Tibetian singing bowls sing is to whack them with a wooden mallet? The mallet is sometimes covered with leather. With the small bowls you can also rub the circumference of the top of them with a leather covered mallet much as you do with your finger and a wine glass. One wonders at what loudspeaker SPL the Acoustic Art System balls begin to resonant at any level which is audible. Unless you have extraordinarily long arms and are exceptionally fast you are not going to be whacking all the balls with a mallet simultaneously from the listening position.

Pinch me, the balls sound promising.

http://www.dagogo.com/images/AcousticART-5.jpg



The inspiration for the Acoustic ART system came to our lead designer Ted Denney four years ago while sailing the South Pacific. During his sabbatical, Ted visited Buddhist Temples and observed how Tibetan Prayer bowls altered temple acoustics. These singing bowls affected a sudden shift in acoustics whenever they were activated, and when additional bowls of varying tone were also activated, the acoustics continued to change. Ted reasoned that a system of resonating bowls could be developed to discreetly treat room acoustics without the need for large unsightly tuning devices.

However, it wasn’t until after Ted returned to the mainland and developed his Tesla Series cables that he revisited the idea of treating room acoustics with resonating bowls. We began our research by studying Helmholtz resonators, which have been used for over a century to tune low frequencies in an acoustic environment. We worked to modify Helmholtz resonator principles to incorporate the full spectrum of sound - not just low frequencies. We found we could tune music with a system of resonators working together in harmony at key acoustic pressure points. Further research led to several patents-pending. The first deals with the use of magnets to contour activation and decay properties of the Vibratron and Magnetron Satellite resonators. The second includes a new resonator shape called the Vibratron that radiates in a 360 degree pattern over a scientifically-arrived-at frequency range. The third utilizes a unique dispersion baffle to precisely control how the Bass Station resonator affects a rooms’ low frequency acoustics. Later we discovered that using spikes to mechanically couple the Bass Station to a room further enhances control of low frequencies (the Bass Station's Stilettos). Next began a painstaking process to find resonator material with the correct mass that would operate at mathematically-arrived-at frequencies with target decay patterns. The acumination of these scientific principals sets the Acoustic ART (Analogue Room Treatment) System apart from all other room tuning methods.

Interesting. This reminds me of something I was working on a few years ago...

Through the years of collecting audio equipment, buying new speakers, amps, preamps, putting my faith in half-baked irrational and subjective belief systems, as well as partaking in ridiculous band-aid attempts at fixing room acoustics with over the counter room treatments, acoustical engineering design, and bass traps, I finally discovered the one tweak that fixes everything permanently and for good.

It happened to me one day while I was traveling on the byways of Scotland in a little village South of Edinburgh. I wandered upon a farmer and we started up an innocent conversation. The innocent conversation quickly expanded onto the topic of high end audio, and yes, finally of all places, onto the topic of farm animals.

He took me to his little scottish farm house where he showed me his converted barn, now a Shangri-La of HiFi audio. I couldn't believe my eyes! There they were, in the midst of all the extremely expensive HiFi equipment... Farm animals.

I exclaimed, "Why?!?"

That is when the realization dawned on me, and he subsequently explained the genius of it all. The mammalian body is one of the best acoustical treatments on this planet, and best of all, it is completely and 100% natural.

The first tier of fur and skin easily handles the higher frequency absorption. The second tier of flesh and bone easily accommodates the mid-bass to mid-range frequencies. The third tier, the sheer girth and heft of the different sized farm animal body shapes easily dismantles the largest sound wave sizes resonating in even the largest home listening room environments. Best of all, they are 100% mobile, so you can always move a feed trough and manipulate the acoustical treatment environment to sound good for different genres of music or different speakers with anomalous Frequency Response issues.

"Why had no one thought of this idea before?!?" I cried

In truth, they had. For many thousands of years farmers and shepherds brought their cattle to market. I used to believe it was to sell their livestock, but it suddenly occurred to me, and later on it would be taught to me by my mentor, "They weren't selling cattle, they were acoustically treating the public forums for oration and musical events." Those Greeks and Egyptians were musicians first and farmers second, ABOVE ALL ELSE. Why else would they have created the many scales and modes that the Western cultures use as an intrinsic part of their musical vocabulary? Ancient cultures were the original architects of music, and consequently this brilliant idea, but only my Scottish friend still seemed to know and understand the key wisdom and secret learnings required for selecting the absolute best livestock needed to treat audio listening environments. The once common knowledge that was practiced in the open daylight, slowly became secret wisdom passed from master to acolyte in the mystery schools of these ancient cultures, to eventually all but pass from this world, and like the once mighty acropolis, fall by the wayside into decrepit waste.

He explained to me that it had been passed on through his family for generation after generation. When the English occupied Scotland, a very great grandmother in his genealogical line was about to get married when the local Lord came to the proceedings and claimed Prima Nocte. This Lord, who happened to be descendent from an antique line of druid warlocks, seeded her and she had a son by him. The Lord took a liking to the little lad and taught him all the secrets handed down from the Egyptians to the Greeks, through the centuries to the Druids, and finally passed down through his own fortunate blood line. This man, I had stumbled upon on that mystical country road that fateful day, was the direct descendent of that lad.

The Scotsman declared to me that he had no heir apparent to pass on his knowledge and if he did not pass it on to someone else, it would be lost forever in the annals of time. He asked me if I would be willing to learn his secret knowledge and use it to benefit all of mankind. How could I refuse such an honorable opportunity to be a spiritual channel for the perfection of music to all of mankind?

I couldn't.

That is why I am here today. Not only to sell you farm animals, but to personally pick them using my vast reservoir of secret and cryptic knowledge. These animals are hand picked at birth and personally weaned to be the best treatments you can buy on this planet.

We have several different treatment types made to accommodate all different kinds of listening environment needs, as well as treatment types to satisfy the deeply personal and/or private needs of the individual audiophile (we carry a "don't ask don't tell" anonymity policy as well as confidentiality agreement concerning special needs consultations - not available in all states and/or countries due to potential legality issues):

1) The Rabbit Refractor
2) The Rooster Resonator
3) The Helmholtz Hare
4) The Horse Trap
5) The Duck-fuser
6) The Schroeder Swine
7) The Bovine Barrier (for creating artifical acoustical barriers between temporary listening areas)
8) The De-sibilance Sheep
9) More to come as supply permits or special consultation provides...

The greatest part about these products is they are 100% recyclable. When the treatments get old and worn, they are edible and taste great too (Disclaimer: depending on what you feed them, they may not always taste great. Usually they will still taste good even at their worst). They are also easily replaceable, so if you drop a speaker on one, replacement is as simple as a phone call, a credit card, and shipping time DIRECTLY to your doorstep

I think the exotic audio manufacturer community has long since given up any benefit of the doubt---that is, I think the burden of proof is on them; and no, a trade show demo is not proof. I look forward to seeing more about these things. I mean, bass traps look goofy too, eh?

The fact is I'm a signal processing guy not an acoustics guy. I don't know enough about what goes on between the speaker end of the speaker cable and the, uh, ear hole. :)

So I'm not touching these balls :)

i will sort of aggee with d winsor in that i feel that when it comes to audio... we have the capability to measure with far more accuracy and far greater range than human hearing can hope to reach.

We cannot however interpret is all. looking at a waveform will not tell me if it sounds good or not.

So with these big balls... IF the sound changes, then we can measure that. and compare two recordings. if they are different, then the balls are doing something. if not... they are not.

In this case, a simple test can prove that they are doing something. the old preference testing would be harder to setup.

Can you image trying to explain these things to guests?

Forget balls....people would think you were nuts.

Can you image trying to explain these things to guests?

Forget balls....people would think you were nuts.

Well hi there, visit the forum in these here parts much?

Nutz of every variety are a forgone conclusion here my friend.

I'd venture to say that a fair amount of the regulars would wonder what they missed or did wrong if folks were inclined to consider them normal!

Once we get to completely insane, very eccentric or deranged and possibly dangerous, we're approaching audio nirvana.
Those words are a description of what we become to chase our American Dream. These so call nuts demonstrate capitalism as it's finest.
In this day and age, it's our patriotic duty.

What are you doing for your country, Mr. normal?:rolleyes:

Back on point. The did "change" the sound no matter what you folks say or think. I was there most of you were not.

and


I'm with miles. How many of you guys have heard these things? So far it would appear two who have posted here, and while both being skeptical, clearly we heard an effect which was not subtle. Add to that my brother a 30+ year audiophile and trained listener who owns no Synergistic products and heard the same improvements as myself, and 100's of professionals in the CE business who purchased them on site. I'm continually amazed by the arogance of those who think 21st Century Man knows all from a scientific perspective. To quote our good friend Doug Winsor from the Blue Smoke Forum "we can measure and understand everything." I think not. Regards, Norm

I don't doubt for a second that you 'heard what you heard', else why would you have said so?

equally tho, there have been many who have heard changes (and not trivial) when in fact, NO change has been made. It was merely suggested to them.

the one that comes to mind is the one reported by John Dunlavy, he merely had his assistants hold up a set of beefy speaker cables behind the speakers and most (?) then reported a significant improvement.

the kicker of course is that his assistants did not change a thing at all.

Had a quick look, could not find the reference, sorry.

I also note the use of descriptors like 'substantial', 'could not be missed' etc. Just like many reported audiophile improvements that never seem to be also discernable in anything approaching a rational test.

As mentioned, it is an extremely trivial matter to do a measurement before and after placement, and if anything audible is occurring in the bass region (particularly) it will easily show up in a measurement.

colour me highly skeptical atm

I am ready to test this "big balls" theory in my home theater. I need a few volunteers. I thought I'd let the volunteers lend me their "balls" for the test. Chu will lay down in the front center, in front of my subwoofers, on his back. Curt will stand up straight in the center very rear of the room. And Big Brother will stand on a ladder on the right side of the room (twelve foot ceiling) with his balls at my ear level.

We will use Chu's "double blind" technique, in that I will be blind folded doubly while Chu and his cohorts move from these positions, even exit the room, to listen to changes in the sonics.
Is this a veiled admission that you 'no tienes huevos'?

QueueCumber, you forgot to mention that the farm animals were wearing various sized bells around their necks that resonate to improve the soundstage in the listening room barn. That's where the Tibetans originally got the idea for singing bowls - from their domesticated animals. Now you see the direct link between farms animals and the Acoustic Arts System balls.

QueueCumber, you forgot to mention that the farm animals were wearing various sized bells around their necks that resonate to improve the soundstage in the listening room barn. That's where the Tibetans originally got the idea for singing bowls - from their domesticated animals. Now you see the direct link between farms animals and the Acoustic Arts System balls.

We had that planned as a future upgrade, for a nominal fee of course. A few thousand dollars should cover the material, research, and advertisement costs... ;)

Just think of the Wife appreciation factor, "Honey, can I hang my balls on your walls?"
Oh Yeah! She may even do it for you!

CM states... "When I watch a movie I wrap the HDMI cable around my scrotum and sit astride a diesel powered butt-plug"

I did not know that Monster Cable made a 1 inch long HDMI cable...

DE, you say you would like to test the balls or you were refused balls to test?

If I sign up with SR I might send you my balls.

Um, Since Acoustic Art System is so lengthy to type, we should go ahead and shorten it and refer to it as AAS.

And no, neither I, nor any one I know, to the best of my knowledge, has ever experienced AAS balls! :)

DE, you say you would like to test the balls or you were refused balls to test?

Perhaps they were afraid I'd bust their balls?

BTW...wouldn't be a resonance thing ... they're too small to have any significant imparted energy.

VansEvers use to post here long time ago. I enjoyed reading his post. Cheap & good tweaks to try no doubt.

http://www.vansevers.com/pdffiles/tweaking.pdf

Are we sure there's not a little guy off to the side who throws a toggle switch engaging the mid range drivers in the speaker once the balls are raised to claimed optimal height:)

Come on Alan.... pay no attention to the little man behind the curtain :D

Nice stuff and idea, but kinda expensive, I'm pretty sure those are cheap to manufacture.
It was the R&D that drove the price up. Somebody had to pay for the designer to sail the South Pacific to discover this miracle and meditate upon it. Marketing costs are negligible.

at the end of the day, if these things really do something, the CHANGE in the sound can be measured. and a blind test (in this case blind really does mean a blindfold.) will be able to tell the difference.

Remember... all i used as words here were CHANGE or DIFFERENCE. no judgement on better or worse.

Thanks for all the PMs and the shots taken at my balls.

Your right and I'm wrong, I must have been drunk or in a hurry to get back to the tables.

I could not have heard what I thought I did.

Those of you who did not hear it must be right...

:p

Thanks for all the PMs and the shots taken at my balls.

Your right and I'm wrong, I must have been drunk or in a hurry to get back to the tables.

I could not have heard what I thought I did.

Those of you who did not hear it must be right...

:p

If you thought your balls sounded good, you should hear my magic spoons. I'll sell a pair to you for $1000 USD. What a bargain! I'll even throw in some audiophile clothes hangers for free. Simply hang the hangers around your listening room on pegs; you won't believe how good your system will sound!

Cucumber don't be surprised if you wake with a horse head in your bed.

not really much of a review, but evidently he was impressed by the demo at RMAF.

http://www.dagogo.com/SynergisticART.html

How impressed was he??

Sufficiently so that he was able to remove some equally well regarded (and understood!) room treatments

I did not find that to be the case, and I have removed my Shakti Holographs, most of my Shun Mooks Mpingo disks, Brilliant Pebbles and one of my Acoustic Revive QR-8 dots. Others have told me the Holographs continue to have a benefit in their rooms, but that was not my experience.

hmm, seems that these new products are equally backed by physics.

Seems their effects are not subtle

my sound stage collapses, the leading edge on transients dulls, the bass bloats, the treble loses its sheen, and your walls close in. Other than that nothing changes. (if you remove them once set up)

Seems eminently testable in a blind test

I did not find that to be the case, and I have removed my Shakti Holographs, most of my Shun Mooks Mpingo disks, Brilliant Pebbles and one of my Acoustic Revive QR-8 dots. Others have told me the Holographs continue to have a benefit in their rooms, but that was not my experience.
Just think of all the money he could have saved toward a better pair of speakers.

my sound stage collapses, the leading edge on transients dulls, the bass bloats, the treble loses its sheen, and your walls close in. Other than that nothing changes.

I am no expert, but would the above suggest that his system did not sound very good in the first place?

it's a bit like the 'burn in ' question...if there is an effect (and ALL things vibrate and resonate, so to have a resonance set off by the music is not outlandish) I wonder why it is that it is 'always pleasant and beneficial', never a worse sound at any time.

Additionally, it must by definition be a colouration, so I can accept that it could be preferable at some times, but why every time?

I guess it may not be a colouration if it simply gets rid of the pesky audio quantums by tunneling them to another dimension, some sort of acoustic vacuum cleaner.

Horse head?! I didn't realize your significant other would be spending the night at my place!!

J/K, of course!

A horse is a horse, of course, of course...

That right I did marry your sister!

Hey if people buy cable elevators, cd disk treatment, isolation stands, $25K speaker cable and $10K power cords I ask... What's the big deal about buying someone's balls?

That right I did marry your sister!

WILLLLLLLBURRRR!!! :D

Hey if people buy cable elevators, cd disk treatment, isolation stands, $25K speaker cable and $10K power cords I ask... What's the big deal about buying someone's balls?

Does this mean the next time my sister wants to sell me the balls she keeps in a jar on your bedroom dresser that I should buy them?! ;)

....but by show end I think $2000 got you a set of balls.There's a place in Sweden that'll do it for $1500. And they'll throw in the baton for free.