has anyone else tried Lloyd Walkers latest tweak

Dover, You wrote, among many other things, "The piezoelectric properties of a quartz crystal make it usable as a resonator." With all due respect,and I do respect you, as I understand it, a quartz crystal (or any crystal) when energized by electricity will indeed resonate at a unique frequency. That's what makes it so useful in servo and clock mechanisms. Along with this resonance, RFI is emitted. In this case, as I see it, RF noise and EM noise would be synonymous, but,when we just mount a crystal out in space on a cartridge or tonearm there is no electrical energy source to set the crystal into resonating, and I don't know how "the EMI emission from the crystal can alter the behaviour of other EMI floating around in the vicinity", even if it were emitting EMI/RFI. These frequencies don't shut each other down or interfere with each other very much except to re-enforce each other. Otherwise, we would not have radio stations broadcasting on adjacent bands that don't differ much in frequency.

And, as Geoff pointed out, I don't think this is "piezo" effect, for which pressure on the crystal is required.

Wasn't there also a ZYX cartridge that had a spherical sapphire-colored something mounted forward of the body? Was/is that supposed to be a crystal?

I am beginning to think I have to try this stuff, even though I would say the jury is out on how crystals may work.

I cannot believe the amount of B.S. that is passed off as science on this forum. Dover, where did you learn your science? I learned to do science as a grad student at Stanford. Maybe you could provide a derivation of this effect you claim starting from Maxwell's equations. Electromagnetic radiation covers a wide spectrum from ultra low frequency radio waves all the way up to the most energetic gamma rays. What is your proposed method of interaction? Absorption? Scattering? Since we are dealing with a collection of atoms in a crystal lattice a good grounding in Statistical Mechanics would be helpful. One would need to write out the partition function for such a collection to predict its behavior. As far as emitting electromagnetic radiation, that requires an oscillating dipole. Whether that is a radio antenna attached to a transmitter or a nitrogen molecule in the atmosphere whose electron cloud is polarized by the oscillating electric field (Raleigh Scattering, why the sky is blue) generated by light from the Sun. Maybe the crystal converts vibrations infrared radiation (heat). But so would a lump of coal. If you wish to make scientific claims you need to be specific and not just spout a bunch of mumbo jumbo.

ZYX Omega has a Lapis Lazuli sphere.

Problem is piezoelectricity, by it's very definition, is the conversion of mechanical pressure to electrical charge, not EMI. Besides wouldn't one wish to reduce EMI rather than increase it? Hel-looo!
Geoffkait (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

Hel-looo
Where there is electrical charge generated there will be electromagnetic radiation. I should have used "EMR" instead of "EMI" perhaps.

Here is some light reading for you.
I'm a little crystal short and stout

Lewm

when we just mount a crystal out in space on a cartridge or tonearm there is no electrical energy source to set the crystal into resonating,

In my view there are 2 possible sources of excitation for the crystal -
1. Any resonance generated by the cartridge when playing a record
2. Electromagnetic radiation from the cartridge generator.
Whether these are significant enough to excite the crystal - someone else can do the maths.

the EMI emission from the crystal can alter the behaviour of other EMI floating around in the vicinity

This is the basis for the "looney" brigade selling crystals for PC's to make you feel better. Whether it is a process of absorption of EMR or emission to change the fundamental frequencies of electromagnetic radiation is open to debate.
Remember a doctor was struck off by the medical association for suggesting smoking was injurious to health in the late 1800's and Florence Nightingale took 30 years to convince the medical fraternity that clean bandages and fresh air was helpful in wound treatment.
I try to keep an open mind in these matters.