Tbg, difficult to be sure about the ERS in the new improved Z Sleeves. Is it possible that the Z Sleeves would actually sound better if the ERS was removed? In other words, the improved Z Sleeves have other innovations besides the ERS, is that true? Everything is relative - a. einstein
Review: Stillpoints ERS Tweak
Category: Accessories
I must admit a fondness for trying almost every tweak that comes down the pike. Going in, many make sense and many do not. I remember being very suspicious of any difference a power cord could make, as it just didn’t make sense. After all, if your house was wired with romex, how could the last leg of the chain make a difference? Well, we all found that they do make a difference, and some to a larger degree. For some of the same reasons, the Stillpoints ERS also comes through with flying colors.
From the Stillpoints website:
The core of ers is made of a blend of carbon fibers of various lengths and sizes. Using a proprietary method, these fibers are coated with metals, such as nickel. These fibers absorb, reflect and diffuse RFI/EMI. ERS has on average about 66 db noise reduction in it's 10meg to 17 gig range. This is all that we can claim, due to its defense restrictions. (the product was previously defense department classified) The exterior is laminated with a polyester textile on both sides to make the material easier to handle and use.
Specifically, ERS rejects and absorbs EMI and RFI interference and it does so very efficiently. I say this because it doesn’t take full coverage to make a very audible improvement. ERS comes in 8 x10” sheets and by all reports, does the best job if attached internally to your equipments case. I noticed an immediate improvement just laying one sheet on the top of both my CD player and preamp. I am a big fan of EMI/RFI removal, as many well designed tweaks designed to do this will improve your sound top to bottom with no side effects. The Z-sleeves are one of these products and the Stillpoints ERS mimics the improvement you get with the Z-sleeves. I am told that ERS is one of the internal components of the Z-sleeve.
My first introduction to RFI reduction came in 1982, long before any commercial product was made available for audiophiles. I was invited to a listening session at an Oberlin College professor’s house in Oberlin, Ohio. He had modified some older Scott tube equipment and was showing it off with some Klipshorn LaScalla’s. I noticed some little red rings that his interconnects both passed through and were hanging on. He gave me a few to take home and lo and behold, an improvement. These were nothing more than ferrite choke cores and the predecessor to products like TDK’s noise filters and “Blockers”. They actually did a better job with none of the sonic disadvantages found in the later products. The other non-RFI related tweak he was utilizing was large copper Frankenstein-type throw switches in his speaker lines. This was wired so that he could change phase for each and every song in his collection. His albums were cataloged and marked according to phase – as well as individual songs on each album. I didn’t read about phase issues in the audiophile community for at least another ten years. This guy was ahead of his time!
Most of us have bought in to the idea that EMI and RFI are detrimental to our entire audio chain. This is evidenced by the many power conditioners that are now sold to eliminate the same. The problem is that these only solve the RFI interference that exists in the power line. RFI is present in every part of your audio chain. The longer your speaker wires are, the worse the problem can become. Think of your wires as an antenna.
According to Stillpoints, digital gear not only is more affected by EMI/RFI but actually produces RFI internally! For this reason, they feel the ERS works even better on digital gear.
This reminds me of a RFI toy that I had as a child. Many of you may remember the “radio rocket” which was nothing more than a transistor, potentiometer, and earphone. You would find ANY metal, attach the alligator clip, and you had a radio. Any metal object contained enough RFI to be an antenna. We would use fences, garage door tracks, and lamp cords – anything metal worked. This was a great toy back in the 60’s and proves that RFI is everywhere. Think of the increase of it since the 1960’s!
As we have found with any tweak, properly designed products work great, the ones that aren’t can actually cause sonic degradation. Stillpoints ERS work, and from a price standpoint, are a steal. These sheets improve the sound across the board and do so in a similar manner to any well-designed EMI/RFI filtration product. This includes removing a level of grain that you previously didn’t realize was there. Inner detail and focus, and transparency improve dramatically. Dramatic is a description that is easy to use considering that these sheets are only $20 a piece, and $29 for a pre-glued sheet. I also gained an improvement in soundstage width. I treated my entire system with four sheets and actually went overboard on the CD player. This is the efficiency I spoke of earlier. There is an improvement with just one sheet on the inside top of you components. You gain slightly more using it on the bottom inside panel as well. Mounting it on the sides is overkill and a waste of material. I ended up covering only the power supply in my Aesthetix Calypso, and the top inside panel of my Magnepan 3.6 crossovers. I also cut small strips and used them on the internal wire runs to and from the power supplies. This product is very easy to use, cut and install.
I’ve tried to make a case for EMI and RFI having a detrimental effect more than just your AC line. Stillpoints ERS is an inexpensive and effective solution to this problem. The Z-sleeves are another highly-recommended device on my list.
As with any tweak, ERS does require some experimentation. I read all the printed reviews to get a starting point for my use. I did initially mount a sheet above the analog boards in my CD player and after 6 hours, removed it. Although there was an improvement using it there, the highs were slightly too prevalent with it in place. In some analog circuits, the presence of EMI/RFI is tuned into the frequency response of the device. ERS can effect of the amplitude of the high frequency and/or the low frequency extremes resulting in a less than desirable balance.
Spend $20 to $100 and prepare to have some fun while improving your sound.
Associated gear
Click to view my Virtual System
I must admit a fondness for trying almost every tweak that comes down the pike. Going in, many make sense and many do not. I remember being very suspicious of any difference a power cord could make, as it just didn’t make sense. After all, if your house was wired with romex, how could the last leg of the chain make a difference? Well, we all found that they do make a difference, and some to a larger degree. For some of the same reasons, the Stillpoints ERS also comes through with flying colors.
From the Stillpoints website:
The core of ers is made of a blend of carbon fibers of various lengths and sizes. Using a proprietary method, these fibers are coated with metals, such as nickel. These fibers absorb, reflect and diffuse RFI/EMI. ERS has on average about 66 db noise reduction in it's 10meg to 17 gig range. This is all that we can claim, due to its defense restrictions. (the product was previously defense department classified) The exterior is laminated with a polyester textile on both sides to make the material easier to handle and use.
Specifically, ERS rejects and absorbs EMI and RFI interference and it does so very efficiently. I say this because it doesn’t take full coverage to make a very audible improvement. ERS comes in 8 x10” sheets and by all reports, does the best job if attached internally to your equipments case. I noticed an immediate improvement just laying one sheet on the top of both my CD player and preamp. I am a big fan of EMI/RFI removal, as many well designed tweaks designed to do this will improve your sound top to bottom with no side effects. The Z-sleeves are one of these products and the Stillpoints ERS mimics the improvement you get with the Z-sleeves. I am told that ERS is one of the internal components of the Z-sleeve.
My first introduction to RFI reduction came in 1982, long before any commercial product was made available for audiophiles. I was invited to a listening session at an Oberlin College professor’s house in Oberlin, Ohio. He had modified some older Scott tube equipment and was showing it off with some Klipshorn LaScalla’s. I noticed some little red rings that his interconnects both passed through and were hanging on. He gave me a few to take home and lo and behold, an improvement. These were nothing more than ferrite choke cores and the predecessor to products like TDK’s noise filters and “Blockers”. They actually did a better job with none of the sonic disadvantages found in the later products. The other non-RFI related tweak he was utilizing was large copper Frankenstein-type throw switches in his speaker lines. This was wired so that he could change phase for each and every song in his collection. His albums were cataloged and marked according to phase – as well as individual songs on each album. I didn’t read about phase issues in the audiophile community for at least another ten years. This guy was ahead of his time!
Most of us have bought in to the idea that EMI and RFI are detrimental to our entire audio chain. This is evidenced by the many power conditioners that are now sold to eliminate the same. The problem is that these only solve the RFI interference that exists in the power line. RFI is present in every part of your audio chain. The longer your speaker wires are, the worse the problem can become. Think of your wires as an antenna.
According to Stillpoints, digital gear not only is more affected by EMI/RFI but actually produces RFI internally! For this reason, they feel the ERS works even better on digital gear.
This reminds me of a RFI toy that I had as a child. Many of you may remember the “radio rocket” which was nothing more than a transistor, potentiometer, and earphone. You would find ANY metal, attach the alligator clip, and you had a radio. Any metal object contained enough RFI to be an antenna. We would use fences, garage door tracks, and lamp cords – anything metal worked. This was a great toy back in the 60’s and proves that RFI is everywhere. Think of the increase of it since the 1960’s!
As we have found with any tweak, properly designed products work great, the ones that aren’t can actually cause sonic degradation. Stillpoints ERS work, and from a price standpoint, are a steal. These sheets improve the sound across the board and do so in a similar manner to any well-designed EMI/RFI filtration product. This includes removing a level of grain that you previously didn’t realize was there. Inner detail and focus, and transparency improve dramatically. Dramatic is a description that is easy to use considering that these sheets are only $20 a piece, and $29 for a pre-glued sheet. I also gained an improvement in soundstage width. I treated my entire system with four sheets and actually went overboard on the CD player. This is the efficiency I spoke of earlier. There is an improvement with just one sheet on the inside top of you components. You gain slightly more using it on the bottom inside panel as well. Mounting it on the sides is overkill and a waste of material. I ended up covering only the power supply in my Aesthetix Calypso, and the top inside panel of my Magnepan 3.6 crossovers. I also cut small strips and used them on the internal wire runs to and from the power supplies. This product is very easy to use, cut and install.
I’ve tried to make a case for EMI and RFI having a detrimental effect more than just your AC line. Stillpoints ERS is an inexpensive and effective solution to this problem. The Z-sleeves are another highly-recommended device on my list.
As with any tweak, ERS does require some experimentation. I read all the printed reviews to get a starting point for my use. I did initially mount a sheet above the analog boards in my CD player and after 6 hours, removed it. Although there was an improvement using it there, the highs were slightly too prevalent with it in place. In some analog circuits, the presence of EMI/RFI is tuned into the frequency response of the device. ERS can effect of the amplitude of the high frequency and/or the low frequency extremes resulting in a less than desirable balance.
Spend $20 to $100 and prepare to have some fun while improving your sound.
Associated gear
Click to view my Virtual System