Another new sound system

Outside_Lookin_in said:
It appears to stick quite well to plastic and metal, but not to itself. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, however, where I have wrapped it around cables, I overlay it with duct tape, even if the SBT Black isn't overlaying itself. I should mention that I clean any surfaces to which I intend to adhere the STB Black with isopropyl alcohol.
Click to expand...

I noticed the self-adhesion issue. The THIN tape only has a very thin layer of PVA glue over the top. It acts as an insulator, and it also prevents any particles or clumps of particles from breaking off the sheet. But it's not thick enough to provide a smooth surface for self-adhesion. I was wondering if it would be better to make the top layer of PVA thicker, so that the tape wasn't so rough. It would be slightly harder to wrap, but would self-adhere.

I'm not sure how a duct tape overlay might affect the operation of the tape if at all. The only way it could affect the sound is if it reflects external incoming EMF instead of absorbing it. I don't even know if that's the way STB works or not. Anyway, it probably would not have much effect.

I noticed that 3M cloth duct tape sticks very well to the STB surface, but Bear plastic duct tape refuses to stick at all. So if anyone is going to use duct tape, get the 3M cloth tape.
 
And also, is the internal fuse for the speakers readily accessible? If so, remove the fuse, carefuly measure and cut a tiny slice of THIN STB (about 5mm wide), wrap a single layer around the glass of the fuse. Don't let it touch the ends of the fuse. Carefully glue it in place with a tiny amount of quick-setting glue.
When the glue dries, replace the fuse. This should give you an extra $250 worth of speaker value, for almost zero STB cost.
 
No, I haven't treated the power point, but I'll make that my next move. I'll need to disable the circuit first, so I need to wait for the right opportunity. The speakers have no visible screws or latches, and I don't wan't to disfigure them trying to prise something open which is fixed. Unless someone knows how to open Bowers & Wilkins compact active desktop speakers?
 
You can just stick a couple of slices of STB on the outside of the wall plate, near the sockets. Cover as much as you can with safety. For added safety, cover the slices with duct tape. Massive improvement guaranteed.

Furutech wallplates which do the same only not as good, cost US$150

https://www.furutech.com/2020/01/06/19135/

One thick strip of STB Black would be like 5 or 10 Furutech wallplates :hihi:
 
bosshoss said:
You can just stick a couple of slices of STB on the outside of the wall plate, near the sockets. Cover as much as you can with safety. For added safety, cover the slices with duct tape. Massive improvement guaranteed.
Click to expand...

You know me; I like to go the full hog. I'll be removing the plate from the wall and covering as much as I can on the inside of the plate and the wiring in the wall. No short cuts! But with my daughter working from home, I don't wan't her to lose her CAD drawings or whatever she's working on at the moment. No sonic improvement would be worth incurring her wroth should I accidentally hit the wrong breaker.
 
Outside_Lookin_in said:
I came across this, so I thought I'd just leave it here.

https://www.tiktok.com/@newmoonbeginnings/video/7014098307756739845?is_from_webapp=v1&q=@newmoonbeginnings&t=1634178085909
Click to expand...

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I left shungite out of one batch, thinking that graphene alone would be just as good or better. Next batch, I had to put the shungite back in. Much better with it in. That (batch containing shungite) was STB Black.
The very first strips I sent out years ago, - the black and white strips with no adhesive, were based largely on shungite. But it needs other stuff to make it work, which I didn't really know in those days.
 
I used up the very last small reserve I had of Component B today. I made just one sheet of STB Platinum, but the formula was varied from the last piece of Platinum I made. I mixed the "white" layer ingredients in with the Platinum mixture, and then added all the Component B I had. Then I painted 5 layers onto the strip of tape. Yes, 5 thick layers. And each layer is the same, there's no different formula for the different layers, they can all be mixed together. As far as I can tell, it works just as well or better.

When dry I put the tape on the laptop, where it increased the sound quality a fair bit. Then i took it under the stairs and propped it up behind the NBN connector box and the wi-fi modem. You can see where it is in the photo below. Even with the two boxes already well covered in STB, this made a MASSIVE increase in sound quality. There seems to be no limit to the improvement you can make to the sound quality, by using more and more STB. Obviously there must be a limit, but I haven't seen any sign of it.

You can see the new piece in the background, with the white ends not trimmed off yet. It's not even stuck on anything, it's just lying there. The bigger sheets are good but nowhere near the potency of the 5 layer strip. You can also see the original "standard" wand in the foreground.

It's all a bit of a mess, but that's what happens when you experiment. You can't be moving things and tidying things, because then you can't know exactly what difference the addition of a new piece is making.


5layer.jpg
 
The 5-layer Platinum has really pushed things over the top. Judging by my very limited tests, it seems to be 3-5 times more powerful than the Sample Pack STB Black. I will certainly make some pieces of 5-layer for anyone who wants them, once the B Component arrives.
 
With the treatment of the inside of the powerpoint, I have completed my fourth and final (for the time being) episode of Magic Tape application. The difference it made was subtle, adding what I would quantify as a 10% improvement, but as I played music into the evening I realised that that 10% made a significant difference. The most obvious change was an increase in depth with consequently improved spacing and form. It also further untangles the music so that you can appreciate the different parts of the music. It allowed for a much more immersive listening experience. Total value: $2,970. Over the course of the 4 applications of SBT Black, it has been a remarkable journey which has squeezed a lot more out of a modest pair of compact speakers than any rational person would have thought possible, and all thanks to the astonishing sound engineering and alchemical skills of Mark, who has produced a Magical Black Elastoplast which even the most lowly of fools can easily apply to his sound system.
 
Digital resolution (above Spotify standard) has very little to do with any of the qualities we care about in recorded music. Just believe me.
I have just witnessed ? & The Mysterians live at realistic volume in my room. Or actually I was sitting in a chair at the doorway of the studio as they recorded.
Also the Rolling Stones - several of their early and mid period tracks have a realism that is beyond awesome.
Good Times Bad Times / Something Happened To Me Yesterday / Empty Heart and just about everything they recorded at Chess.
 
I'm beginning to come around to your theory that STB does at some level involve something other than pure rational audio science as it's normally understood. Because to hear realistic STB, you do need to mentally "lock in" the soundstage. It takes some mental processing that you have to provide. It's only after you "lock in" that the soundstage really draws you in. Otherwise the music can seem similar to an ordinary set-up. Usually not for long though.

Also, it's likely that what I'm hearing is no more detailed than what you hear with a very good pair of headphones, in terms of resolution. What is amazing however, is to hear that level of detail projected into a room at realistic volume. Without a full STB installation, it's almost impossible to achieve realistic volumes without amps running out of power and choking everything. But the STB appears to allow current to flow freely enough to keep the dynamics intact even at realistic volume levels.
 
Yes, theoretically it's possible, but never experimentally proven... until now. Does the mind not create reality? When you say your name to yourself, you hear a voice in your head. It sounds real. Who can deny its reality? What is conscious thought? What is consciousness itself? If we are purely biochemical machines wrought by the chance chaos of a swirling gas cloud, and a subsequent myriad other chance chemical reactions governed by nothing more than the properties of matter, why would we even gain thought? Why would we even need to think? Life would be nothing more than action and reaction governed at the molecular level: no thought, no awareness, no introspection; only base survival, being no more capable of gaining self awareness than is a computer by the mere addition of yet another transistor. But no; thought happens both on a biochemical level and an immaterial level: a level which interacts with an immaterial field; a field which stores the energies of the past, present and future. How else can you explain the infinite capacity of memory; things forgotten for decades, only to be resurrected by a familiar sight, sound or smell. How else can you explain intuition? How else can you explain prescience? How else can you explain a million supernatural occurrences? Quantum entanglement, here Mark comes!
 
A charter member of ISTBTP (the International STB Testing Panel) contacted me today with a question about the stability of STB Black when it is used in situations which may generate heat and cause the tape to get quite hot. Below is the answer I gave, which may prove useful for other members of the panel who may be wondering about the same thing:

I don't think heat is a particular problem, because I use a hair dryer to dry the sheets, and I hold it within 50mm for about 5 minutes per sheet. The sheet gets very hot and nothing bad happens. None of the ingredients I use are reactive to heat. In fact a lot of them are natural minerals. Graphene is completely stable even at high temperatures. So is Barium Titanate, but it loses is magical piezoelectric properties at 130 degrees Celsius (266 degrees Farenheit, way above the boiling point of water). Even if that were to occur, there are plenty of other piezoelectric components in STB, such as the 10 crystal mix, aluminium oxide and silicon carbide. So the mixture would still be very active even if the Barium Titanate died. The main negative possibility is if the glue dried up so much that the sheet cracked. I don't know how long STB lasts in that respect. TFT seems to be ok after 2 years even when continuously heated, but it's protected by the nanotape.
 
It's beyond all doubt now that STB Platinum improves by itself, overnight. Today it's off the charts, compared to yesterday. All seemingly due to that single extra slice of 5-layer Platinum tape I stuck onto the NBN connector box yesterday. The only thing I don't know is, will it go back to "normal" later this afternoon or this evening? I have a feeling that the large amount of Component B could be responsible for this phenomenon. Component B looks like it could be the greatest audio discovery of all time.
 
I wonder if the NBN box itself is VERY effectively projecting the SBT coating throughout the entire house? Rather than blocking anything? The effect is FAR too MASSIVE to be just blocking.

As of today, I am no longer listening to hi-fi. It's someting new. A completely new medium. Related to hi-fi but unrecognisable now.
OK, it's just incredibly good sound really, but going beyond anything remotely imaginable before today.

I have to admit it's turning me into a huge stereo fan. Still love mono, but...
(Only if the stereo is done right though. Two mics on the whole band, maybe a couple extra for guitars and one for the vocals.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

captainsalty
Bob Bennett has passed away
Replies
5
Views
256
Rythmn Boy
Rythmn Boy
Al.Burnett1966
Associated Recording Studios Acetates to identify (UK?)
Replies
6
Views
201
Al.Burnett1966
Al.Burnett1966
Rythmn Boy
The Thunderbirds (Singapore)
Replies
6
Views
230
The Raven
The Raven
Al.Burnett1966
The Great Wall 4-song acetate
Replies
10
Views
405
The Raven
The Raven
Al.Burnett1966
The Henchmen - Stone, Stone (wild acetate!)
Replies
3
Views
261
chuckd
chuckd