WA-Quantum GmbH's Quantum Chips

Nope, Geoffkait, not this time. I know to do it, but not right now. I'm going to live with it in one direction for two weeks and then I'll change it and play the same music again. Sometimes, something like the change in voltage coming in thru the wall can throw off the sound as well. I opt -these days- for a longer "trial run" and then change. Besides, the only thing to change is the fuses. I had the Capacitor chips on my Hurricanes, and found that using four of them reduced the realism on CDs that have that capability. When I took them off both amps, the realism was reduced again, which meant I could use two, but not four. My experience is that the chips (as many of us know) don't work in every application, no matter what the manufacturer thinks (or even individuals). There's enough examples on this thread alone to show that the chips DO work, just not in every spot. I'm exceedingly curious about the chip that one puts on the breaker box (that one's on its way). If it works, Great! If it doesn't, well, back it goes to the place I bought it from.
I wish they worked on every single thing you put them on, but I just haven't found that to be the case, although the Synergistic fuses, with the WA Quantum chips wrapped around them, have yet to fail to make noticeable differences.Good ones (more transparency, more air around instruments and a fuller timbre), but I think part of that is Synergistic, which is similar to Shunyata in that they also have a fuller timbre, no matter WHAT the product is. They're probably pretty powerful in the midbass, which gives an instrument its "body." I was playing Malcom Arnold Cornish Dances tonight, and I thought, hmmm...the sound is clearer, and timbres better, but the CD itself remained "light"- sounding as in, say, the difference between Nordost,which is lean in timbre (although very fast) and Shunyata,which has more tonal color. (And I have both: Valhalla, Tyr and Shunyata's Cobra line so I can hear the difference between them).
The fuse was a good thing, since, if putting the Synergistic fuse in the system made the Arnold CD sound "thicker" I would have known it was a coloration. I've heard the Arnold in enough systems to know that it isn't ever going to sound as though it has a "presence" to it.
But back to the Quantums. In some applications, they shine. In others - where you're sitting back going, Oh MAN, this is gonna be great - it doesn't pan out that way. I still think they're fantastic on fuses, which is where they show the most immediate improvements.

Gbmcleod, tweaks are a real crapshoot. Trial and error is all we have going for us. I put a Syn. Res. Quantum fuse in a new preamp and was amazed. Then the next day it was better, as on the third day. I got suspicious and took it out. It was not as good but still it was considerably better than before I put the SR in.

Finally, I put the SR back in with a major improvement. Was I happy? Yes, but not satisfied. I put a WA Quantum fuse Chip on the SR fuse yesterday and last night listened critically-wow!

I cannot be absolutely in praise of the WA Quantums, however. The Line and speaker Chips only work IMO on some wires and speakers. The SR Quantums are directional and in all cases I found, their writing goes the wrong was, which guides me to how to initially put them in, once I check with the manufacturer, if they even know. You can check by putting your meter on the hot blade of the IEC and find which internal wire shows continuity. This is with the switch of the unit off.

Gbmcleod, I agree, the chips don't always work, but I also think sometimes the effect can be subtle, so until the system gets more resolved the effects might not show up. It's also not clear how long these chips take to "settle in," if at all. I have heard different stories, ranging from zero to one hour to one week. After all is said and done I'm getting very good results with one Cable chip on the wire coming into the breaker box, transducer/coil chips on headphones and AC filter inductors inside electronics. I have quite a few small and large capacitor chips, and quite a few semiconductor chips on DAC and other ICs, of which there are at least 10 in the Oppo.

Geoffkait, the WA Quantum Chips remind me of Acoustic Revive jade tweaks. Since there is no real theory for why they work, everything is trial and error. I think their effects vary greatly as does their breakin period. My most extensive experiences are with the Fuse Chips. Even there the impact varies how long it takes to have its fullest effect. Generally, it is very quick. Overall, the Chips may even have a negative effect as did AR Jade.

Geoff and Tbg:
I agree with both of you: the chips are a crapshot - in certain applications.
I think we can ALL agree that fuses are easily heard as the most obvious improvement.
Just tonight, the chip (more like a wrapper!) arrived for the breaker box. It was instantly obvious that the grain in the soundfield had lessened to the point where rows of players separated out, akin to an accordion when it's folded up and then when it's full extended out to the sides. My eyebrows went up to Jupiter at how easily heard it is.
I think there is a caveat - but it is not the chips themselves. It is the room. If your room is not acoustically treated in some way to deflect first reflections or simply large enough that the sound bouncing off walls, ceiling and floors don't matter, you hear less of the effect. As Alton Everest says in his book "Master Handbook of Acoustics," larger is better. I doubt anyone reading this with a small room wants to read this, but reality doesn't really care what the hell we think. It's just there. I've heard my Arcam FMJ 23 sound better in the 30 x 47 room of the Meow Meow jingles writer (with awful speaker cable, poor placement of speakers - right next to the grand piano - and mediocre speakers - than it will EVER sound in my 13 x 20 room).

Having heard several speaker systems in my basement, I know they could equal Mr. Meow Meow's room ( my basement being 23 x 45 with tube traps every 3 feet, which I have enough of to do that - stacked, even), but his room had NO treatment. I was disgusted and thrilled in nearly the same moment. Point is, the room - as REG wrote in an old issue of TAS, which I was reading recently - is everything.

Nonetheless, the effect of Quantums on the (master) breaker box cable (which Quantum themselves said was better than putting it on the [breaker] box itself)was obvious. I didn't have to strain, no "you hear it because you want to" (who ARE these dopes?!?!) effect. I had to pull myself away long enough from being mesmerized, to come in to type this!

I have yet to put these on the large fuses in my Hurricanes, and I need to hurry: time's running out. I'll give myself until the weekend withOUT them on the Hurricane's large fuses. They're already on the small ones in the back of the amps, and they're a WOW if ever I heard one, but that was months ago. I have to say that the Synergistic fuses have, finally - to my ears - turned out to be the best ones for the Quantum chips. Bargain is hardly the word: $7.95 for an improvement akin to going from a $300 power cord to a $900 one?!?!?
I haven't had much luck with the capacitor chips in the Hurricanes: a kind of grain inserted itself between me and the music, and the Hurricanes, whatever anyone might say about their (supposed) lack of resolution, will instantly reflect changes ahead of them (as Scot Markwell wrote in TAS in issue 140 in the sidebar). I have the 2nd Mercury Living Presence Boxed Set CDs. There's a CD, #37, which was recorded by the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra: cuts 12 and 14 (by Bernard Rogers and called "Once Upon a Time: Five Fairy Tales") have simple instrumentation: cymbals, woodblocks and a few other instruments - I forget which ones. The sound, on my reasonably-good system, leaves me cross-eyed. (You really should get this while it's there. The first boxed set, which cost $100, is selling on Amazon for anywhere from $250 - $400 a set. And it's worth it if you love the Mercury Sound) The cymbals shimmer as they clearly did not do prior to the breaker box chip installation, and the sense of clarity - the sense of a "fog" lifting, allowing you to hear straight through to the cymbal itself, shimmering into empty space around it, is fan-TAS-tic. Afterwards...Oh, never mind, people will read this, shake their head and say, "hyperbole. Or that apple martini he's drinking." Let them.(Anyways, I had the apple martini AFTER I heard the effect, the way a man gives out cigars after the birth of his first child. Jubilant!! Well, not quite the same, but you get my point...)
These are great devices, but one does have to remain skeptical on certain applications, because it IS possible to think: waaaaay better, but then - for me, anyway - hours later, it's: no, it's NOT better. I hear grain covering up the harmonics on the piccolo and it wasn't like that before.
And it doesn't change by day 3 or day 10. So yes, negative effects Do happen. But I think, if one uses voice recordings instead of instruments, one will hear the effect much, much faster whether the effect is positive or negative.

But these are still stunningly good on fuses, the breaker box (who'da thunk it?!?) and maybe even DAC chips (which you guys have had more luck than I have). Capacitors? Well, on come components, a crap shoot, but still, one DOES have 30 days to try them out, so what's the loss (besides shipping costs)? Besides, they clear enough grain out of your system that when you buy your next component, you'll know pretty quickly if you want it. That puzzle you (how could they possibley do what they're doing?), but they Do work. And damned, damned well, at that.