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Cable elevators - conventional wisdom wrong?

Reluctant to put any considerable money in them, the reasons for using cable elevators seemed intuitively correct to me: decouple cables mechanically from vibration and insulate them from the carpet's static. I have therefore built cheap elevators myself using Lego building blocks. (Plastic with a more or less complex internal structure; moreover, there is enormous shaping flexibility, for instance you can also build gates with suspended strings on which to rest the cables)
In their advertisement/report on the Dark Field elevators, Shunyata now claim that conventional elevators are actually (very?) detrimental in that they enable a strong static field to build up between cable and floor causing signal degradation.
Can anyone with more technical knowledge than I have assess how serious the described effect is likely to be? Would there, theoretically, be less distortion with cables lying on the floor? Has anyone actually experienced this?
karelfd
splaskin
169 posts
 
Today I replaced the 3 Shunyata Dark Field elevators with 2 CD cases under my speaker cables as suggested by Ted. I am using Tesla Apex cables.

All I can say is WOW!! The CD cases were much better sounding. The Dark Field elevators are dark sounding with a closed in high end and muted high end transients.

Ted, you never cease to amaze me!

Steve
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
2,267 posts
 
CD cases are better..at least no blunting of transients or opaque artifacts.
joeyboynj
621 posts
 
OK, how do I set up these CD cases? In a t-pee position with cables on top balancing off the floor a few inches? OR am I placing the cables in the fold as if the case was open on the floor ready to put a CD back into it for storage. Anyone have a picture they can send me of how this looks? ...THANKS! Joe
splaskin
169 posts
 
Set the CD case as a t-pee and rest the cable on top. I ordered some Walpuna Sound wood risers to try.
ted_d
85 posts
 
Joeyboynj,
Splashkin's suggestion will work just fine. You may also want to simply lay your CD cases on their sides making the letter "V" (non tee pee, stable, and uniform height). Now simply lay your cables with at least 4 CD cases per 8ft run being careful not to let your speaker cables sag between CD cases while allowing them to orient themselves in such a way as to not force them into a position they do not naturally lie.

Yours in music,
Ted Denney III
Lead Designer, Synergistic Research Inc.
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