All valid points Daniel, with which I'm in general agreement. I also have a few counterpoints and a few observations.
If you need to recharge the wands before every listening session with an hour of sunlight, or sweet talk them everyday, the requirements will eclipse the enjoyment of the music for many
Most of the crazy crystal people say that once per month is sufficient to keep the crystals recharged. I think I could handle that, especially if it's just the wands. Pulling off the tape strips would be a chore. I think I'll just sing them a song instead.
Also pertinent is the question, how many improvements beyond mind-blowingly, insanely good fidelity do you need - as you appear to have reached that state a dozen improvements ago
I realise that it's a problem for readers when I keep going overboard like I do. "Mindblowingly better" just means an improvement gain equal to one that used to cost me $2500-$10,000 (per improvement), before STB. Getting that for free is kind of neat. Things like adding the VPI record cleaning machine and the Furutech Demag, or a new $5000 cable. These are nothing compared to some of the improvements I have got with STB. Also, the sound quality does keep rising and falling, as you know the time of day is a factor. Bad electricity can shoot the soundstage to pieces quite easily. When everything comes together, then ALL the improvenents can be heard, and that's when it's "mindblowing". And it really is, to the point where I just have to tell someone if I manage to go even further, because it's insane. But not all the time.
you need to conduct double-blind tests
I don't really believe in them. Many reasons, but the main one is this: Many, many times I have had visitors and I have presented them with various improvements, before and after. They all react differently. Some can hear it, some can't. Some can't hear it, then half an hour later they can. Some say they can hear it, then 5 minutes later they can't. Some think it's incredible, some think it's barely noticeable. Some change their mind after they go home, compared to what they thought when they were here. People are strange.
The other reason is, how much music do you need in order to make a judgement? Half a second? Ten seconds? One minute? Ten minutes? One hour? I would say ten minutes to one hour, and by that time previous comparisons would have faded from the memory. If you've ever done any audio editing, you would be aware that the brain needs a certain amount of time before it can discern differences. For example when doing click removal, you can't hear clicks (even loud ones) if the sample is not long enough. You need context. You could take a music sample and radically alter it, and you wouldn't hear any difference if the sample was not long enough. It's how the brain works. Double blind tests do not take that into account. Soundstage construction is a gradual and imprecise mental activity, dependant on many factors and not readily measurable. Music is a subjective, changing experience and mood is heavily involved. A blind test is a full-on pressure situation, doomed to fail.
If the wands were subjected to a humiliating interrogation in a cupboard, naturally they would refuse to co-operate. Wouldn't you?
Another question which arises, is the degree to which the crystals can effectively be exposed to sunlight, or running water, for example, once they are in the matrix, which appears to be quite opaque.
Obviously the main factor is not the sunlight. It seem to be the mere fact that you care enough for the crystal, to give it the attention it deserves. Try to help it, and it will try to help you. This seems to be the whole idea. This seems crazy, but I remember when I first mentioned that crystals may be able to improve the sound at all, some people thought THAT was crazy. Turns out it wasn't, and there's still no adequate scientific explanation. What if the Furutech pseudo-science blurb is just not true? What if it's the mere fact that you use crystals at all that makes the difference? What if they know what you want and are eager to help? What if graphene knows what you want and tries to help as well? What if all the other pseudo-science explanations are just BS? What if you can make great discoveries by following a mixture of science and intuition?
Find me a purely scientific explanation of how a bag of carbon can improve sound quality, just by being 3 feet away from a fusebox. Plus, science is in some ways an illusion. It's just the formal acknowlegement that certain things happen with regularity.
Notice I am not saying I'm convinced of any of this. I'm just saying my mind is open.
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