ERS. The cheapest upgrade known to man?

Just remember MO that careful use of a dishcloth in other areas of domestic life, brings things up nice and clean whilst removing a lot of crud

 

isnt that what the maid is for

 

As it happens I do. And it does. And I dont give a monkeys whether you agree or not TBH. Its basically an A/D converter and D/A converter on a board, yet you would not deny that a DAC would make a difference. This however, just sounds silly. I have read a lot of silly things on this forum...

 

explain
why is it silly in your opinion?
are you well educated on RFI and the means to disipate it?

like i said, if an international computer component manufacturer uses a very similar material then obviously your right and they know nothing

why dont you try it before labelling it as fairy dust, you might just be surprised

 

I am sure it does get rid of RFI....

But come on, wrapping plugs in it makes the sound better? Why would it. But hey, if WM is prepared to send me some, i'll by all means try it, and if I am wrong, I will admit it. I just cant see it thats all....

 

Seriously though, soundcards going through a computer, they don't sound great do they?

 

same reason as useing a decent power cord, not sure if youve tried any?
If you think about it, a good cord will help to remove some of the RFI tht is collected by the cable from fuse box to socket, the cord helps to remove some of it before it reaches the amp. A cleaner supply means less fuzz/noise and so the sound quality can improve.
So if you cover a socket with some then you are helping to take the filtration one step closer to the source of the interference.
Give it a shot see if it works for you.
Ive tried copper foil around sockets and leads, not as much difference when used on a socket, but if ERS is as good as they say then in theory it can be more effective than copper.
Yup ive not tried ERS yet, but i do know about the effects of RFI and with the confirmation from the tefal heads at work i reckon there is a good chance it is very decent stuff

 

Seems a fair amount of honest questions going on here, Paul, I do understand your sceptisum, First it doesn't look like a dish cloth it's a rigid sheet, woven with carbon fibre and rare particals, the military use it in their stealth planes and windscale subs, to absorb excess RFI from very sensitive equipment, that would other wise go hewire.
It is especialy effective with smps (PC's) and mains and clock's (crystal oscaltors) which are basic RFI generators, the ERS works by 'Defusing' the RFI emmisions in it's intricate web, it doesn't stop it all, but is especvially effective in the middle and upper frequency bands.
It can be used for all sorts of applications not just audio, I've been using it for about 9 months or so, very effectively too.
I do realise this has a serious Voodoo B/S factor, however it's more pure physics than foo foo dust. WM

 

Mine sounds great to me

 

I have tried various power cords, on various components, with varying results....

Eupen - Amp, no difference, Headphone Amp, better bass, DAC no difference, DVD Player much more bass, but somehow sounded like it was being overloaded

Blackcurrent - Amp, no difference, Headphone Amp, No difference, DAC, much better bass, DVD player, slightly cleaner sounding.

Yello - Save you the hassle - utter crap

So mixed results there.

Thing is I aint got many boxes left to plug stuff into...

 

Ok guy's here's an application of ERS, Paul should be able to spot the type of PSU here



The sheet has been constructed to give 'a Box effect' around the psu, here's another angle...






So, yes it could be total b/s couldn't it, humm ever wondered why some systems sound soo. good
However it wouldn't be the only mod I would be doing, but on digital gear and pre-amps it can make a big influence in the end result WM

 

Ill concur with the digital side, i didnt think about it before, but the penny sank and i realised that is one of our main concerns at work with regards to prototype equipments

 

Microwave dish as alternative

Some guys on Audio Asylum claim that you can use microwave browning dishes as a cheaper alternative.

"The Stillpoints ERS cloth is very effective.
A cheap alternative is a microwave oven browning dish. This is a ceramic dish with RF-absorbing material fired in to the glaze. I get them for $1.50 or $2.00 in thrift shops. The dish is not flexible like the cloth, but it can be moved around to see if there is a good location for absorption. I have one on top of my Wadia 861."

original Asylum posting

I got a whole load of stuff by searching for "microwave +browning" in AA:

a whole load of stuff

 

Re: Microwave dish as alternative

But if it's been used Steve, you'll still need the cloth to clean it

Oh sod it, I'm moving the system to the kitchen, everything is easily to hand there

 

Re: Re: Microwave dish as alternative

Does that mean you could get rid of all that digital stuff and not need the rf absorption in the first place?

On a (slightly) serious note, rf absorbing materials are also used in true anechoic chambers. I'm sure a cheaper alternative to the cloth could be found with a bit of research.

Steve

 

Re: Microwave dish as alternative

And all the results of the search were posted by the same person - someone who works for Leisure7 audio consultants. I'm not saying the cloths don't work, but the pattern of responses is consistent also with someone trying to hype a product. I'd feel happier if there were some independent responses, preferably with reports of RF reception going down on a signal strength meter. And that reminds me, no-one has explained why the presence of RF hash outside the boxes leads to an effect on the treble. Perhaps someone could oblige.

SteveC

 

Re: Re: Microwave dish as alternative

This may be a little off-beam but I was first made aware of the negative effects of RF by some articles on valve amp design by Norman Koren. He explains that the RF interference is increased by the use of feedback in amplifier circuitry. He also says that the mechanism by which RF interference degrades audio quality is not well-understood but that the most likely cause is intermodulation distortion.

Anyway, SteveC, this might go some way to answering your question.

 

Re: Re: Re: Microwave dish as alternative

Thanks for the measured reply. Would it be worth experimenting first with a handful of ferrite filters like those sold on Hi fi cables' website, rather than doing a personal import of the special cloth? If so, where would one put them? Most of my kit uses SMPS (Linn) but one part (Marantz 8400 DVD player) is not - would this perhaps be suffering from RF from the Linn kit, and if so would anyone suggest what one should treat in such a circumstance (i.e. prevent entry of RF on one item or prevent exit of RF from all the others)?

Thanks,
SteveC

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Microwave dish as alternative

Ferrites are generally frowned upon by those who have tried them Steve, tend to rob the system of life. There is a perfectly good explanation of this effect which has been posted here before. The trick is to remove the RFI without the use of ferrites.

 

I bought 6 (kind of DIY) PCs, each had a ferrite box, did some tests, including using the ferrites on the TV mains cable, didn't notice any differences...

As I read somewhere that they can be bad, removed all...

I think ERS is worth a try, as I have the digital cable box on top of the DVD player, some "isolation" between the two might improve things a bit, if it doesn't, the cost is not high, and I can always sell it to the tweakers... :JPS: