I put pieces of 3M RFI absorption material on top of my DS Mk2 as discussed in another thread. I have some material left over. I’ve seen discussion of tuning rings for power cables made from this material.
Any suggestions for making these? How wide should they be? How many times should they wrap around the power cord? How do you get them to stay together after wrapping them around the cable (duct tape? Velcro?). I believe they should go near the component (not near the wall socket or halfway along the cord), but please correct me if that’s wrong.
Here is how I do personally. vmax and others may do it differently.
If you have a thick power cord (1”+), you can start with a 3” ring, you can make the ring a little bigger so you can reduce the size later to make a tighter 1 3/4 wrap to compare. I would start with the mid-point of cable and move towards the component end. But it will usually take a few minutes to hear the difference. My experience the ring around 2 to 4 inches from the end of plug sounded better (not always).
For thinner cord start with a 2” ring and follow the same procedure as above. I use a painter tape (or any) to secure the location.
For AC power cords i use 2” by 7 3/4” strips. I tape with about 1/2 overwrap. Then place one index finger from back of iec plug. Move taste best bass and toe tapping 1/2” either direction Then place 70 durometer Sorbothane sheet pressing up with cable support sometimes i also put sorbohtane inside tung ring if it slips. as extra vibration isolation and position stability
For DC power cables use 1/2” wide by 3” in tight wrap at one index finger length from back of LPS.
I never like AC tuning rings greater than 2” or less than 1.75” wide. If too wide they tend not to do much
All my Dragon cords I use 2” rings, CC Mag. Opus can only take a 1” ring and ZenWave PSR-11 needs a 3” ring to register a slight improvement.
Different systems and brands will probably need different layouts. Good luck on trying them out. In my system tuning rings make more difference than absorbents placing on equipment now. This only happened after the latest Massive update on Mk2 interestingly.
What is the best thing to do with a 3M 7050? tuning rings? Shielding in components? DAC, switch, streamer… . Graduation cap stickers? e.g. for the RJ45 Audioquest Noise Stopper. XLR connector and RCA caps. Maybe stick small remnants on fuses?
Where is the most effective place?
Depends on your system, power conditioner, cable designs, other stereo equipment need for filtering, and RF environment in your house or geographic area.
I’m thinking of DIYing a Faraday cage that shroud my entire hi-fi rack… still haven’t figure out how am I suppose to ground the thing… Would be a really interesting experiement for somone already have the tools, gear, setup, and know how.
Yeah, maybe have to deal with viration issues too…
Another idea, looking for some fine metal mesh thats semi flexible and cloth like and just DIY EMI socks for each individual gear, and just ground the sock to the case.
In my experience and following Vmax instructions the most effective way to use 3M absorber sheet has alway been: Tuning ring on AQ Dragon power cord feeding P20.
Then I tried and found effective a piece on the FritzBox! router.
Small pieces on top of the P20 were sometimes pleasant sometimes not, bringing a darker sound.
I have a PS Audio P 10 Regenerator. The Cambridge edge NG, Preamp/DAC/ Streamer.Melco switch S100. Akiko Audio Enhancing is already installed in the LPS sbooster for the switch. Cable for the P10 is a Dragon with Furutech NCF connectors. A Furutech DPS-4.1 with NCF connectors for the mono amplifiers and the Edge NG. According to a recommendation you made in your thread, two 3M rectangles should be cut for the P10. A small one on the display and one in the middle halfway over the transformer. Someone mentioned that 3M made the sound grainy on the Melco Switch S100. Should I use 3M in the Edge NG ? Directly to one or the other IC? Are tuning rings more useful? With my P10 power plant I already have Epplugs in 4 open sockets. As a result, the sound has already become quieter and blacker. I also have MaxiShielD under the Schwitch, Regenerator and under the Mono amp. EPPLUGS RCA for the edge and Amp’s.
Before I cut up the sheet, I put it down and push it around a bit. I have to listen better, so far it’s been difficult. We have over 30 degrees again, summer has come back a few times. Since yesterday I have my Edge NQ back. A new volume control was installed. After 4 weeks with the loaner and the normal backup, I now have the SR Master in the Edge NQ and the Purple in the P10. Unlike the stock fuse, it sounds less grainy in the highs. Perhaps it is difficult to hear further improvement. The first few upgrades brought the biggest improvements now it seems to be just a small step.
In my system with 3M 7050, the absorbent works great on P15 and on DS DAC. The turning rings work great on all AQ Dragons especially on HC. It was used on ZenWave PSR-11 too with great result. It did not work on Stealth V10 and Silnote Orion. I found it works on AQ Dragon48 HDMI too.
After the latest Mt. Massive update on MK2, I had to remove the “T” absorbent sheet behind the screen, I still have a 3x2 on the back-left on top of MK2. I also removed the strip behind PST screen. They were in fact making the sound less clean after the software update.
The absorbent sheet does not work on Lumin U2 streamer nor LHY SW-10 switch (they have internal shielding to block RFI/EMI). But it works on a modified Purist Audio power cord that serves the switch.
It is really system dependent so you need to experience with it.
I never thro a pice awY. The one I tuned the mk2 DAC I yanked out of the MK1 before trading it. I am on my fourth sheet. It just takes patience and a few drinks to start trialing. It can fool you like a silver ethernet cable if misplaced or using too much. The openness detail and tone can get to be too much. But as long as it isn’t stuck down you can easily move it or take away to figure out what works. I can guess sizes and find position for optimizing in less than an hour these days It is butt ugly unless hidden but can work wonders. I can tell quickly by ear if a tuning ring has slipped. Using sorbothane under them really helps damp cable vibrations and keep them from sliding.
Just ned somg snippets with lots of vocals, bass, highs,0ianos and vocals. It gets easy to tune
I spent most of the day moving the 3M shield on my power plant. I didn’t notice anything on my switch either. Maybe it’s because I have Epplugs connectors and a lot of Furutech NCF connectors. It’s not day and night. So I cut a 2 inch wide strip lengthways the width of the M3 sheet. I put this on my Dragon HC for the power plant as a tuning ring. It seems to be doing something. The soundstage has a bit more depth and sharpness. But it’s not a pitch change. With the power plant, I have the feeling that the sound has changed minimally. But I could also be wrong. The change is roughly the same as the RJ45 caps. I wouldn’t call it a change that can be heard loud and clear and still be felt the next day.
Changing an Ethernet cable carries more weight. I’m thinking about laying fiber optic SFP instead of the powerline connection to get to the upper floor or just getting a better lan cable between powerline and my switch in front of the streamer
I did not test P10 only P20. Ensuring lacent over half of toroidal is key where wires come in. If too much or in wrong place you will hear little change. Addressing front display is also key. On chips or barier wall.
The dragon ensure on index finger from iec. Also place Sorbothane isolator sized for weight and push up on cord. Also need a bedframe support at wall male plug with isolator the dragon realy improves. Others have said 800 dollar NCF connectors on Whisper power cords negate need for tuning ring.
Ribbin digital cables benefit from a strip crossways. Using a sheet over lid in large sections unless most hanging off edge will not ne noticeable. Less is often more with this material.
I agree, just for curiosity I recently tried with an entire sheet under the P20 chassis and between PSU/Streamer chassis of my Statement.
So large amount of sheet might change dramatically the sound, for the bad. It became darker, veiled, with bass distortion and emphasized mudded alterations.
If the proof of its ability is to transform EMI/RFI into heat… oh well, I suggest you all an experiment: put a piece of 3M on top and bottom of your router and see what happens. Mine 3M absorber becomes HOT! And the router is plastic made without grills for passing air or similar cooling parts, so to speak. WiFi always disabled. Without the 3M, the router is always dead cold. It means that the router is the noisiest stuff indeed.
