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Black Discus arrived - impressions.

Posted by carcass93 (A) on November 17, 2013 at 10:12:53

Following the leads posted in this forum, I asked Mad Scientist Audio (Bob Prangnell) for free samples of Black Discus. Sample arrived this week, and contains 2 quarter-sized disks, "Canopener size" I assume.

A little bit of background: I am a big proponent of using crystals to improve sound of the system, and you could say that there's fair number of them residing both inside and outside the components. I discovered long ago - very quickly - that particular kinds work best on particular positions, in other words, what's best on top of a transformer, most likely is far from the best on a plug of a power cord, and so on. That's not news, of course - but this evaluation should be taken in the context of a system, where various crystals were very carefully chosen for each application. That is to say, as opposed to comparing application of Black Discus to application of nothing.

Another thing - when speaking of improvements to sound, effects of Black Discus are pretty much like that of crystals:

- Softer, but at the same time more detailed highs;
- More detailed mid-bass - easier to follow the lines of an electric bass, played fast;
- More impactful, harder-hitting bass;
- Bigger - wider, and especially higher - soundstage. Depth is more difficult to assess, due to my musical material of choice;
- More relaxed, "analog" sound;
- But, at the same time, more forceful when called for. I would use the word "drive", instead of "dynamics", which assumes dynamic swings - again, difficult to assess with the music I listen to.

With that in mind, my first 2 experiments were pretty much unsuccessful. On either end of analog interconnects from CDP to preamp, and from preamp to amp, crystals residing there were more effective. The same goes for either end of several power cords - but it's highly possible that device of the larger "Cupcake" size could tip the scale in favor of Black Discus. As a next step, before opening up CDP or preamp, to try the device on top of power transformer, I decided to use the fact that it comes with a bit of sticky substance on the bottom surface, and try it around the VFD displays on front panels of CDP and pre.

Big time BINGO! Despite the fact that in both cases, displays are already treated with crystals, which are placed behind them from the inside, the
improvement from Black Discus was easily audible, and far from subtle. Curiously, position under the display turned out more effective than above. Also, it was still effective, but less so, under the meters on my amp, which are analog (needles - not, it's not a Mac).

Pictured are final positions of two devices. Needless to say, I would love to continue experiments, and have a feeling that larger size Black Discus could be effective in more places in the system.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Kimber Kable

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