Post by MartinT on Jan 8, 2021 8:58:33 GMT
Mad Scientist Magic Tubes
Magic Tubes are small glass tubes filled with a mix of black and white powders, hermetically sealed. They are 'magic' because of their special properties and because even Bob Prangnell, their inventor, doesn't seem to know exactly how they work (or won't say).
The advice is to attach them to some recommended locations and leave them for 30-60 minutes while they do their 'thing'. He explains "I think that it's due to the special materials relaxing into the earth's local magnetic field".
They come in a small box, complete with a blob of Blu-tac each.
I attach mine with two small cable ties each to keep them in place.
Usage
Bob suggests several locations to try out. I've had two samplers for quite a while so I had already experimented with a few locations. Although Bob says that he didn't find much effect on digital cables, this is where I found the greatest effect to be, with DC power cables being second.
I ended up using 11 of them as follows:
- At the destination end of every digital cable from the TP-Link router ethernet cable to the AES cable into my LKS DAC (4).
- At the destination end of every DC power cable from TP-Link router to Mutec reclocker and master clock (5)
- At the destination end of the two master clock cables (2)
I had previously tried them on my analogue cables and did not find a profound effect so none are yet installed (I have three spare Magic Tubes). No cables were disconnected for installation so that I could hear only the effects of what the Magic Tubes do and nothing else.
Sound Quality Changes
Bob is right in that there is an immediately audible effect but they seem to fully develop over an hour or two of being attached and left alone.
There is an overall darker presentation. I'm surprised at the change in feel of the sound. It's the kind of sound that brings out detail and definition while making you want to turn the volume up. Music appears to come from a great void and sounds quieter. I turned the volume up by 2dB from my usual setting and found this level to be best.
There is liquid beauty in the delivery of great female voices like Allie Moss, k d lang and Juliette Commagere, allowing them to soar without making you wince. Great clarity, less harshness or any feeling that you've hit the end stops. Music swells and fades in a more noticeable manner.
Bass growls with menace. It's deeper and more extended but with a balance that doesn't excite room modes as much. When it's there, you feel it more. When it's not there, music sounds lighter as you would expect. The overall balance of the sound hasn't changed, if that doesn't sound like a contradiction, but bass is definitely tighter with an incredible feeling of air movement and the aforementioned growl on certain recordings like Sting's A Thousand Years and Emmylou Harris' Goodbye.
Conclusions
That these crazy little tubes have any effect at all is something you need to get your head around. My first two samplers told me that they were a bit special, but the cumulative effect of using 11 so far is quite remarkable. I don't want to sound like a rabid reviewer waxing lyrical over some new snake-oil product, but I can promise you on this occasion that what I hear is not subtle. It has made a profound change in the way my system presents music. I am shocked every time I play something familiar.
How can I rate value for money at $199 for 12 of these little things? For me, it's incredible VFM because of what it has just done to my system and in the context of my overall system cost. Can I recommend them? I simply don't know what they would do in any other system. However, it would be definitely worth your while trying out a starter pack of two.
madscientist-audio.com/magictubes.html
Magic Tubes are small glass tubes filled with a mix of black and white powders, hermetically sealed. They are 'magic' because of their special properties and because even Bob Prangnell, their inventor, doesn't seem to know exactly how they work (or won't say).
The advice is to attach them to some recommended locations and leave them for 30-60 minutes while they do their 'thing'. He explains "I think that it's due to the special materials relaxing into the earth's local magnetic field".
They come in a small box, complete with a blob of Blu-tac each.
I attach mine with two small cable ties each to keep them in place.
Usage
Bob suggests several locations to try out. I've had two samplers for quite a while so I had already experimented with a few locations. Although Bob says that he didn't find much effect on digital cables, this is where I found the greatest effect to be, with DC power cables being second.
I ended up using 11 of them as follows:
- At the destination end of every digital cable from the TP-Link router ethernet cable to the AES cable into my LKS DAC (4).
- At the destination end of every DC power cable from TP-Link router to Mutec reclocker and master clock (5)
- At the destination end of the two master clock cables (2)
I had previously tried them on my analogue cables and did not find a profound effect so none are yet installed (I have three spare Magic Tubes). No cables were disconnected for installation so that I could hear only the effects of what the Magic Tubes do and nothing else.
Sound Quality Changes
Bob is right in that there is an immediately audible effect but they seem to fully develop over an hour or two of being attached and left alone.
There is an overall darker presentation. I'm surprised at the change in feel of the sound. It's the kind of sound that brings out detail and definition while making you want to turn the volume up. Music appears to come from a great void and sounds quieter. I turned the volume up by 2dB from my usual setting and found this level to be best.
There is liquid beauty in the delivery of great female voices like Allie Moss, k d lang and Juliette Commagere, allowing them to soar without making you wince. Great clarity, less harshness or any feeling that you've hit the end stops. Music swells and fades in a more noticeable manner.
Bass growls with menace. It's deeper and more extended but with a balance that doesn't excite room modes as much. When it's there, you feel it more. When it's not there, music sounds lighter as you would expect. The overall balance of the sound hasn't changed, if that doesn't sound like a contradiction, but bass is definitely tighter with an incredible feeling of air movement and the aforementioned growl on certain recordings like Sting's A Thousand Years and Emmylou Harris' Goodbye.
Conclusions
That these crazy little tubes have any effect at all is something you need to get your head around. My first two samplers told me that they were a bit special, but the cumulative effect of using 11 so far is quite remarkable. I don't want to sound like a rabid reviewer waxing lyrical over some new snake-oil product, but I can promise you on this occasion that what I hear is not subtle. It has made a profound change in the way my system presents music. I am shocked every time I play something familiar.
How can I rate value for money at $199 for 12 of these little things? For me, it's incredible VFM because of what it has just done to my system and in the context of my overall system cost. Can I recommend them? I simply don't know what they would do in any other system. However, it would be definitely worth your while trying out a starter pack of two.
madscientist-audio.com/magictubes.html
