Hmmm....my wife has one of those. I wonder if I could use it to reduce static on my lp's after I clean them...:)
46 responses Add your response
Assuming you mean this. The ad is so long I wouldn't bother reading it to see what they claim it does. But to answer your question, yes, this is a perfect example of how far we've come. |
I think that "we who post frequently or read the forums" should modify our words to reflect that there are few if any absolutes about all of the members on the Gon. We included me and I don't take any major or even minor offense, but realized that I haven't bought brilliant pebbles, trampoline isolation ledge, grass trimmer or snowthrower. The last two I do own, but, absolutely prohibit using it, anywhere near my audio gear especially the snow blower its the Krell of the genre. It was simply a semantical error but actually would prefer not a person into this part of the hobby. So in order to keep the peace let's temper our thoughts. I bet only a small fraction of potential buyers use such tweaks. I do use a vacuum record cleaner by VPI wouldn't that do it? |
i have evidence of the efficacy of such a device. i tried one. however, i don't believe in influencing anyone's purchasing decisions. if you can obtain such a device, with return privileges, it is worth a listen. our hobby challenges the credulity of non-audiophiles. this is just one of many examples. |
If you check out Mike's system you will see that de-ionizing is being taken quite seriously by ultra high-enders. I would be unlikely to benefit from this tweak given my crap Sony sources and HT preamp - so it is not a path that IO will try. However you never know...perhaps you won't get the last laugh and you'll all be buying a hair dryer and demganetizer for all your media and cables very soon! |
I will keep on laughing even if it works because if it is indeed as basic as it looks and can be purchased at Wallyworld or cheaply modified from a stock unit that is always going to be a joke worth laughing at. If you want to really take it to the next level add some Magic Pebbles but boy that would require ear protection! |
Nrostov; no, your wife's hair dryer will not make a difference; even if it is one of those consumer 'tourmaline one's. those do not emit a sufficient amount of negative ions. OTOH if you get one that has a diffuser modified to hold lots of Tourmaline balls; you will get a very positive effect on the performance of your Lp or digital disc. and further; if you combine that with the use of a demag unit that will be the ultimate tweak you will ever hear. i will try to explain. caution; i don't really know about physics.....but this is how it was explained to me; the hair dryer blowing hot air thru Tourmaline balls is a process called 'de-ionization'. it shoots negative ions at the static field on the disc to neutralize the random static field. you could also do this by using positive ions which will also neutralize the static field. there is a product called a 'Zerostat' which does that for Lps. the problem is that it is difficult to cause enough positive ions to be sent to have a lasting effect....whereas the Tourmaline does do that with negative ions. the 'Zerostat' is designed to make it so an Lp will not have a 'pop' when the Lp is cued; it does discharge the static (lower the static) but does not have sufficient effect to completely neutralize it, even temporarily. the stylus or laser reader cannot distinguish between static noise and recorded signal; we are all used to hearing our music with static noise included. once you eliminate the static; you hear what i have been talking about. it's not 'fairy dust'. remember that the spinning disc is building up a static charge as it spins. how do you shoot it with enough neutralizing agent to hold off the static for an extended period? (hopefully long enough for one side of an Lp or the whole cd). i have been using one of these for three months and it has been a remarkable experience. you can read about my experience on my system page (just click on my 'system' and go to my posts from two to three weeks ago). one additional point; my hair dryer was modified by my friend, Andrew Kosobutsky. the hair dryer sold on the Audiogon ad is modified by Xtreme, Brian Kyle. i would expect Brian's unit to work well although i have not heard it. i can say that Andrew's works great. Andrew has no commercial product at this time. |
The real irony would be if this thing proves to be the one "idiotic on the face of it" tweak that really makes sense. there is no 'if'.....only 'when' people hear it for themselves. i can tell you that i would never have thought i would hear an effect so dramatic it would cause me to use a hair dryer on my discs for 50 seconds on 100% of the music i listen to. on the face of it i agree that it appears to be crazy. people spend $30k to $50k upgrading systems and will not hear the differences that this tweak can make. we have never understood the role static plays in music reproduction performance until now. |
why not just spray the disks with Static Guard? |
Mdhoover, having tried many liquid digital disc cleaners and treatments, all of which do that to some degree, my opinion would be that a static spray would have some effect; but more in line with other previously tried approaches......not worth bothering with.....effort/reward ratio not good enough. i would encourage someone to try it and report.....we must keep out ears and minds open if we are to move forward. |
Someone swears by every single tweak ever pulled from somones a^*, but based on posts and others expeience I happen to think Mike L is a credible voice but again every single tweak ever thought of has those who cant understand why nobody else hears a improvement so it is not a rock solid "when" but still at this point a questionable "if" but Mike has made me really curious. |
Kub and Chad, i truely appreciate being given a little benefit of the doubt; thank you. i also realize that credibility can be lost. i consider myself very fortunate to have been in the right place to be exposed to this. this experience has been so profound that i felt an obligation to tell people about it. it's a break-thru. regarding what level of system it takes to get the value; last weekend i was at VSAC and took it around to 5 different rooms at various points on the food-chain of levels of resolution. in every room it's effect was profound. the most profound was the highest resolution for sure. my opinion is that the degree of effectivness percieved has mostly to do with one's connection with one's system. if you are a listener who is in touch and are observant; this will matter a great deal in every system. if everyone at a show listening to unfamiliar systems and unfamiliar music 'get's it', then any audiophile with decent gear will also hear it. this is not subtle. one note; since i have put my credibility on the line to get this word out i am concerned that people hear this the right way......which is hard since there are very few of these out there. solving that problem is where things are right now. |
Clio09, yes, absolutely Brian's product will spread the word. as i mention above; as i have not personally heard Brian's commercial product it is hard for me to blindly endorse it but i do 'expect' it to 'work well'. what would be great; would be for someone 'besides Brian' to post their impressions of Brian's product. so far, to my knowledge, i'm the only person who has actually posted any first hand knowledge about this tweak anywhere. there were two people who had visited my room; one on Audioasylum and another on the AVS forum, who did briefly confirm what i heard in my room.....but that is it. there are a few of my friends around the country who have e-mailed me their 'raves' about the hair dryers that Andrew has sent them. but none have posted so far. i hope that answers your question. |
Hi Mike, I should get my gun in a couple of days and I will try to post what I hear. We talked a few months ago about your sub woofers, I am the guy who lives right next to the Columbia River and has a nursery. Hope that you can stop in sometime on your way to the coast. Also, I am sorry that I missed running into you at the Vancouver show, I was there on Sunday. |
Skamok, i remember our discussion and mentioned it to my wife that it would be fun to stop on our way back from Cannon Beach this summer, see you and your flowers..... i was at VSAC most of the day on Sunday......we likely passed each other in the hallway at some point. i will look forward to your feedback on the tweak. |
Acoustic Revive also makes the Rio-5 that does what seems to be the same thing as the hair dryer, but for three times the money. I will also have the Brian Kyle tourmaline gun version from Extreme Cables by this weekend. I will keep you updated on my findings as well. Thanks Mike L for paving the path to musical truth. The only way to get there is by trial and error (trying new ideas even as crazy as they might sound). I think I will only use the hair dryer when nobody is looking. |
Norm, i did not spend enough time in Ron's (Marigo) room to say anything about which is longer lasting, the Rio or the hair dryer. after three months of using this tweak in various forms typically the greater degree of the percieved tweak effect the longer lasting. regardless; the degree of effect of the RIO-5 would not cause me to use it consistently, not a good enough effort/reward factor. the hair dryer ,OTOH, has become essential. i have not tried the RIO-5 on Lp's. but Andrew has tried it on Lps on recommendation from Joe Pittman, a local Acoustic Revive dealer. Andrew said it has some effect but not that much. |
A few days ago a friend of mine and I stopped by Brian Kyle's place in Dana Point. Brian demonstrated the "hair dryer" on several of his discs and a few of ours. We chose a reference song, listened to it straight from the jewel case - then used the Tourmaline hair dryer. Every time the sound became noticeably better. More natural, less edgy, "cleaner", instruments were separated better within the soundstage. Low level details previously not noticed became apparent. I liked it enough to write a check and am experiencing similar (great) results in my home system. All I can say is this is a very worthwhile product. I am in no way affiliated with this product, or Brian - having met him for the first time a few days ago. |
This tourmaline hair dryer thing really does work very well. I put my cd into the Furutech RD-2 demag label up and tourmaline it for the 20 seconds or so. I then flip the disc and repeat the process. This is the only method I have tried so far. First thing I noticed was a more relaxed presentation. Second thing was that the sound stage was more spread out and deeper. I also get a better sense of the size venue in which the recording took place. I just might use the hair dryer even when people are around. Because I can easily demonstrate the difference it makes. I better demo this for my wife really soon for she thinks I have lost it again. |
I did tell her I bought it for her and that the tourmaline would make her hair silky smooth. Then she asked me how much I paid for it. That is when she laughed and said I can get that same blowdryer including the diffuser for less than $30.00. She definitely knows that I have completely lost it now.I am still safe I think for she has come to this same conclusion many times before. |
....i bought one of brian's tourmaguns and received it saturday. this is not a 'tweak'...this is a significant product that accomplishes exactly what mike has been saying for a while. it markedly improves the 3-dimentionality of the soundstage creating a much more transparent picture as well as increasing the imaging. background details are more apparent and the intonations of vocals are much improved. poh-poh it if you want or buy one and find out how $200 can buy you an improvement in your system it would cost ...imo..thousands to get otherwise ..if you could get it... |
I bought one recently on a whim . I was not prepared for a major improvement nor did I get one . What I did get however was a noticeable improvement in a few key areas of musical reproduction : Dimensionality , musicality and an overall sense that any previous molecules of glare were gone . The real treat however is when it is used in conjunction with a demagnetizer . The cumulative effect is good... not great however . Great is the effect achieved when you first treat the disc with an excellent cd treatment like Brian's Liquid Resolutions cd treatment , then the demag then the dryer : Together the effect borders on excellent. I am an audio dealer but not affiliated with Brian in any way |
