Strange Pattern In System Performance
So here I was, writing a lengthy post on the placement of Bybee V2's & the new DMT Wormhole Dots in the listening room. I was noticing a pattern in my system, and this pattern had been running since I had a system set up in the new Studio. I would get whatever I was working on, be it speakers, tweaks, cabling, I would get it set up and sounding great. It would sound great for a period which would vary. Sometimes a few days, sometimes over night. I would listen again and something wasn't right. Naturally I would blame it on my last change finally settling in. I would make adjustments, or just quit for the day in frustration. Eventually the great sound would return. Sometimes on it's own, or with my efforts. I would enjoy it for awhile, then ultimately something would be off again.DMT Wormhole Dots |
Adressing The Wrong Issue
I suspect this is the case with many of us who try tweaks. You make a change, it sounds great for awhile, then you have a bad listening session and you remove the change or you make a new change. It's an endless cycle, which tells me in many situations we aren't really addressing the right problem.Back to the story. I was finishing up a post on the placement of the above tweaks in the listening room as room treatments. That day seemed to be one of the days where the system was sounding off. I sat there, frustrated and uninspired to finish. It dawned on me that we were literally in the heat of summer, and there was probably a large demand for power, and a lot of noise, on the AC grid due to many air conditioners operating.
I had an idea.
It started with placing a single Dot MK2 on the ethernet cable connected to the wall jack. I had very low expectations as I have tried what seems like hundreds of tweaks and cables on ethernet cables, routers and switches with little to no effect. Bybee V2's, Stillpoints ERS, various ethernet cable filters, you name it, I've probably tried it.
DMT Wormhole Dot on the ethernet connection coming in to the listening room.
Interestingly enough, In about 20 minutes, the sound took on a more natural character, with a greater sense of low level detail and 3D-ness. With that in mind I went to work on the whole path. I started with the router, placing a Dot on the ethernet cable connection there, as well as a Dot on the power cord connector attaching to the router. Again, more improvement. Last, for the ethernet connection I treated my Cisco router by placing a Dot on the incoming connection as well as all outgoing ethernet connections and the incoming power connection. After about an hour the sound was considerably more natural and 3D. I was hearing some very fine detail in the high frequencies that were at one time sort of a homogenous blend of highs. This was a surprise because as I mentioned above, nothing else had any sort of effect on this type of signal before.
Wormhole Dots on incoming and outgoing ethernet connections. Not pictured is the Dot on the power cord for the switch. |
Well it being summer and us having a parade of family and friends visiting Colorado, I was pulled away from the system for a few days to spend time catching up and socializing. When I returned to the system, it was sounding incredible. Imaging was holographic, the resolution in the highs was still there, and there was a natural character to the sound.
Moving on to the AC
I decided to perform the same treatment to parts of the AC path that I hadn't treated with the Dots yet. My studio has it's own sub panel connected to the main houses breaker panel. Taking my experience with treating AC with products like Stillpoints ERS, I decided to start at the main breaker box.
Placing a Wormhole Dot on the Breaker feeding the sub panel where my audio circuit was. This had a profound effect. |
I learned early on that placing Stillpoints ERS can be counterintuitive. It works better treating AC sources as far upstream as you can. Which in most homeowners cases is the main breaker box where the AC makes it's entry to the house. With this logic in mind, I placed a Dot directly on the breaker feeding the Studio sub panel. The great thing about the Dots is they are small, light and thin. You can place them directly on the breaker, and still close the door on the breaker panel.
This had an immediate and very profound effect. More, much more of everything. The 3D soundstage, resolution, naturalness. It was another surprise, perhaps even greater than the ethernet circuit placement. At the very least equal to it.
I then moved to the sub panel, placing another Dot on the 30 amp breaker feeding the circuit for my audio system. Again an improvement, but not as large.
All of my power cords already have the "Wormhole" material applied internally, and so did my Dark Matter Stealth power conditioner, so I was done with treating the AC.
Dark Energy Power Cables have Wormhole Technology Built in. |
It's been a week now, and the system has continued to engage me, daily. No moments of feeling that something wasn't sounding right. It's rock solid, grin inducing, goosebump creating sound every time I listen.
What have I learned?
This was an interesting problem. My first encounter I've had where the AC quality fluctuated so much from day to day, even intra-day. I have heard of the power changing from city to city for those manufacturers and dealers that do many audio shows. A few actually bring different power conditioners, and exhibit with the one that sounds best at that particular venue. So yes noise and distortion on power lines is real, it can change from location to location, and can even change throughout a period of time at the same location. No power conditioner is great in every situation it seems.
So far, the Dots are taking care of what was causing my system to fluctuate in performance at this location. I find it interesting that these tiny tweaks do so much to noise on such high voltage/amperages. But there was no doubt that placing one on the 100 amp breaker feeding my sub panel was a very large gain in resolution, naturalness and the 3D nature of my system.
If I were to start out with some Wormhole Dots today. I would go in this order:
- Breaker box on the breaker feeding the audio circuit, continuing to each power cord on each component
- The ethernet "circuit" feeding your streamer
- The Room in conjunction with Bybee V2's
If you are curious about the Dots, they are backed by our 30-day money back guarantee. You can try them and return them for a full refund if they don't meet your expectations.
They start at $99 each. With discounts for volume purchases.
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