Has anyone experimented with tourmaline in your systems? If so, what kind gave the best results and how/where exactly you've used it?
Mike, I'm right there with you: Furutech NCF plugs, 10 NCF dupex outlets and all of the inlets in my components + 2 NCF Boosters! I agree completely - they steamroller top Oyaide hands down. I'm glad I've stumbled across your thread about GTX-D NCF outlets. Thank you for sharing this with all of us!
Back to tourmaline... If I bought, say, a pound of tourmaline to experiment with, put it in a cotton bag and balance the bag over one of the AC plugs in my system. Do you think this would be a good place and method to get up close and personal with tourmaline?
the key issue with tourmaline's benefit to hifi perfromance is the thermal reaction releasing negative ions. so either hot/warm air needs to be pushed through the right sort of tourmaline pellets and blown on the media, cables or circuits, or the tourmaline needs to be somehow encased in a material that gets thermal warming. i've not taken the tourmaline pellets and placed them on a warmed chassis or power cable or outlet. your idea of a cotton bag seems to me, based on my experience blowing hot air through the screen with tourmaline, not to be sufficient to cause enough effect.
OTOH your cotton bag idea does trigger another idea you might try; maybe a cotton 'wrap' around a power cable, with tourmaline crystals inside the wrap between layers of fabric. this would transfer the cord warmth to the wrap, maybe even an outer foil wrap layer to trap more heat and reflect it inward and hold the negative ion effect more on the power cord. I could see that working based on my previous experience.
if you do it and it works, I just want a cut of the profits down the road.
Mike,
I think - but I can't be sure, please correct me if I am wrong - that in power supply devices, the key issue with tourmaline should be its high magnetic susceptibility and complex composition and structure, not the ionizing capabilities. And the Furutech Nano Crystal Formula is not connected to tourmaline, although Furutech sells a power supply distributor including NCF connectors having a chassis filled with tourmaline and other mineral powders.
We should not forget that there is no real science behind power tweaks. Just plenty of knowledge of material properties and empirical findings, based on people experience. And then manufacturers pick what helps to sell!
I have no idea about the exact science, only what I observed over a year to 18 months of using the hair dryer heat blowing over a tourmaline screen onto various things and it's considerable positive effects. and exactly what tourmaline and Furutech's 'special crystalline material' they call NCF have in common I don't know. I don't think we can necessarily accept that this 'mysterious' material is not tourmaline......or another crystal that is similar.
my suggestion would be relatively easy to do, I hope someone does try it and report. the materials would almost cost nothing.
We should not forget that there is no real science behind power tweaks. Just plenty of knowledge of material properties and empirical findings, based on people experience. And then manufacturers pick what helps to sell!
I use an Acoustic Revive RIO-5 II, along with an RD-3 demagnetizer & RR-777 + KR PSU MkII. If I want to listen critically to a cd, my routine is I negatively ionize, demag, then 'Schumann' the disc before playing it. That works a treat, but as you noted the effect is temporary & needs to be repeated each play.later some commercial products came out doing the same thing. here is one such product.
https://www.acoustic-revive.com/english/rio5/rio5_01.html
a few years ago Furutech came up with a line of products with tourmaline (they call it special crystalline material) related to the power grid since current in power cables puts off the heat which activates the negative ion effect in tourmaline. they call it NCF (Nano Crystal Formula). they are not the only audio tweak company doing this.
http://www.furutech.com/technology/
i use Furutech NCF plugs on all my power cords, and Furutech NCF duplex outlets on my whole power grid. i am very impressed by the performance gains from these products.
tourmaline is the real deal.
Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator | Ron Resnick Site Co-Owner | Administrator | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |