Please share your listening experiences! I am especially interested in back to back comparisons. Perhaps you have gathered your audiophile friends around for a double blind shoot out? Would appreciate your guidance on how much of you budget should be devoted to cable elevators. Is there something out there under $1000 that really is a giant killer? Any truth in elevator directionality making a big difference?
"Is there something out there under $1000 that really is a giant killer? "
I'm guessing almost anything home made that works. If its elevated, its elevated I would think.
Practically, I'd first work to avoid EM interactions among cables by arranging them carefully to avoid long close parallel runs. I would expect that to effectively address any issues associated with wire location, relative or otherwise.
I do not see why elevating a wire in of itself is necessarily even a good thing. The thing to avoid is EM field interactions among wires and other electrical devices. Elevating alone just to elevate might help but could make things worse as well if not done properly. The best "elevator" to accomplish this would be anything best applied to this end. I would not expect there to be any benefit in paying a premium for some device to do this marketed to "audiophiles" unless perhaps there was some cosmetic or aesthetic advantage involved.
Actually I've recently discovered that some digested substances may increase audible frequency range. I'm planning to launch production of such vials that will be FDA approved and purchased with no RX. There are different formulas for different styles of music you're listening to. Consult your doctor if you have alergies etc... Price per weekly dosage vials =$$; monthly dosage etc... Morning, afternoon and evening formulas available. A special order is needed for night formula for night listeners. You can even match proper formula to the system components you have... Just lovin that audiophile market LOL where sky is the limit!
I've just spent the last week being blow away by the not subtle, totally profound effects of what I consider to be the world's best cable elevator system. Unfortunately, the cable elevator system (CES) is a prototype and I cannot describe it in detail nor mention the manufacturer. Unlike other cable elevators the CES looks at the problem systemically and provides a holistic approach integrating both quantum and gravitational effects. I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds cool. The CES is powered and not surprisingly responds quite well to different power cords. The MSRP is not set, but I expect it will come in under $10k.
All I can say is that this cable elevator did things to my system that took my system's breath away. It is so transparent that when inserted in the system you cannot hear any effects from the CES, but when you take it out the system is unlistenable and I suddently realize what a collection of mismatched crap that I really have. Put it back in the system and it's like the most beautiful woman in the world and her twin system are beckoning me to their bed. It's that good!
I'll write a more formal review as the manufacturer gets closer to his release date and production is about to commence.
"All I can say is that this cable elevator did things to my system that took my system's breath away" Wow, you have a system that actually breathes? Talk about live music..
Agree with the toilet roll solution, the natural unbleached sounding very open in the midrange, with a natural bottom end. Seriously though lifting speaker cables off the floor does give a subtle benefit, you can try anything - toilet rolls, kids wooden building blocks etc. No need to spend megabucks.
Mike60, Thanks for the laugh. Just the mention of cable elevator directionality was enough to make me chuckle. And Elizabeth; great post. I would have expected no less.
I have spent the last 8 years doing extensive listening tests on various cable elevator and de-elevator systems. Many friends loved to come over to do blind listening tests.
We noted the effects on directionality, material, material density, elevation pattern and elevation height.
The effects on speaker cables, interconnects and power cords lead to having to buy much longer lengths. For instance my stealth Indra of 1m had to be replaced with a 12m set so I could fit the elevators underneath.
I tried raising the elevators to various heights with significant improvements. A few inches off the ground did produced better lows than leaving cables on the floor, but on raising these cables higher I found much better highs. (my current elevators are 9 feet high).
The 9 foot elevators (best so far) are made from pure 5nines silver and insulated in doped paper and silk with carbon fiber supports. These made for an extra ordinary listen.
I had to buy bigger subs to balance these sparkling and extended highs. But it was for the subs which I found the cable de-elevators a brilliant solution. I was starting to get thinness from the subs but the de-elevation brought tight, plummeting bass, full of overtones and texture. de-elevating the power & sub cables cannot be underestimated.
The 9 foot elevators are prototypes but I am told will be available in time for CES 2013. The de-elevators are available in limited numbers.
Elevating cables higher to improve those highs...... it is so perfectly logical and yet I missed it! Unfortunately my ceiling is only 10ft high. I know this will sound out there to those stuck in their sad little paradigms, but I am going to glue my elevators to the ceiling. If that does not work I will locate my elevators upstairs in my bedroom and thread my cables through. It might not be that convenient during a midnight bathroom visit, but I refuse to allow a minor safety hazards restrict the enjoyment of my systems highs.
BTW-- I also tried to get my friends to join me in extensive double blind cable auditioning. All I can say is you find out who your real friends are, and I was deeply offended. Enough said.
I have found that charmin has multiple purposes used properly it can act as bass absorption, cable elevators, diffusors, and what better way to clean up your bottom end.
I actually had real elevators (albeit on a small scale) built and installed by my electrician and have found that using them with the toilet paper works best. Sometimes when I'm not looking or am at work, my cables like to ride up and down just for fun (those wiley interconnects)!! Make sure to put them on their own 20A circuits because those suckers are power hungry let me just say. And make SURE to remove the emergency phones. My Audioquests though it was a hoot to call when they got "stuck"...yeah RIGHT ;)
at the risk of sounding like an audio heretic, i use foam, or leave the cables on the floor. i have tried several materials. i prefer soft objects. i find hard objects harden the sound.
Elizabeth, put the paper towel rolls in the freezer for 34.5 hours along with a picture of Mikey Fremer and you will notice a HUGE amazing increase of everything that ends in "-ality". I am thinking of marketing this and a set of four risers with this special scientifically proven technology of quantumology should come in at just under $1000.00. The only problem I am currently having is that the Fremer Foto eats all my ice cream in my freezer.
What about us purist who cant even accept tone controls. I cannot argue with fine tuning cable height using the Otis initially, but once you have established your average optimum cable height, surely you move to a fixed design at that height. I also cant help thinking my cats will take a special interest as metres of cable start elevating up and down. Aside from that, 3 questions occur: What is the best power source for an Otis and would you condition the power? What is the resale value for a much loved, slightly used Otis? Is there life beyond Otis...what is the fixed position solution? Pleased to see some are serious about Cable Elevation, unlike those low life cretins earlier in the thread. (btw -- any truth in the rumour ThyssenKrupp are develop a competing product?)
Ha, ha, ha, ha!! ROTFLMAO! I've had a very good laugh at all your posts. Thanx for the levity. And, good to see that the original poster Mike60 was a good sport & joined in the fun (rather than being pissed off that his post took a silly turn). some very innovative posts from you people..... :-D
The auditioning of cable elevators and de-elevators in isolation (pardon the pun) is really only half the story.
The effects of elevation on most cables which are not designed to be levitated, tend to have their frequency response altered. There is a formula. mass x height + atomic weight - price = frequency response.
Now to get around this problem cable regulators must be used in conjunction with the elevators/de-elevators to make sure the cables ability to transfer the correct balanced frequency throughout your system is properly optimised. Think of it as "room correction" for elevated cables.
There is only one problem with the regulators and this is their size. To regulate within reasonable tolerance, the regulators must clamp onto the existing cable. But at 6 foot wide and 4 foot high, connection can be tricky. They are also quite heavy, which can lead to elevation collapse.
If you need to ask the price for these audio gems you cannot afford them and you will spend your whole audio life in despair.
If you think cable elevation changed your life wait until you hear cable regulation combined with elevation and de-elevation. Your ears will thank you but your wallet won't.
I joked with a dude in a respected hifi "salon" that the answer was hanging the cables from strings attached to the ceiling...like marionettes...and he claimed he knows someone who did that. Man....
Wolf, that was me and I tried all manner of string including dental floss (which gave brass instruments too much bite) and it was a cheapskate solution that just does not work. You have to learn to open your mind and open your wallet to be enlightened when it comes to cable elevation. Its a journey that will reward you like no other component upgrade, and I challenge all those disbalievers in the "my new fuse changed my life" camp to prove me wrong.
My little remote helicopter would suffer. Also, the clear answer is to run the wires outside the room in padded conduits and then back in to the speakers through maybe bass trap tubes .
You would have to ware a patch over one eye, have a parrot on the other shoulder, carry a treasure map, and say aaarrrrggg before each listening session.
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