The Grid Protector, the EMI Protector and The Allocator By Schnerzinger-In My System and I’m Blown Away

[Zeotrope]

my best advice is to try it as the DC batteries are inexpensive. You might be surprised. AFAIK the wall war is used in all the Schnerzinger devices I have in service. Zoetrope here has done the most extensive testing. have a look at his posts here on the subject

Indeed, I am using batteries for the EMI and MULTI and the GRID.

 

[jasond]

Indeed, I am using batteries for the EMI and MULTI and the GRID.

Do you need to power the Grid or EMI as soon a you go from setting 0 to 1 or higher?

 

[Zeotrope]

Yes, correct.
Note regarding battery life - don't rely on the green LEDs built into the battery - you will see the white LED on the Schnerzinger units decrease in brightness after a while - that's when I recharge.

 

[Zeotrope]

Does anyone have measurements for the Reflectors? They are not in the online manual or the website.

 

[Steve Williams]

Does anyone have measurements for the Reflectors? They are not in the online manual or the website.

My Reflector kit is due here within the next 2 weeks. All of my settings are either 1 or 2 but never zero so always powered. I too found the LED light does wane and a good clue as when to charge

 

[Zeotrope]

I have a mixture of power settings - they make a big difference to the sound and not always positively!
You can drive yourself a bit crazy but unfortunately it's necessary to experiment with all of the combinations.
For Music, I leave the GRID/EMI/MULTI at Power 0.
For Movies, I have the GRID at Power II, EMI at Power I and MULTI at Power II.
With the MULTI at Power I, sound quality diminishes - the highs are reduces, and there is a dullness/lack of life in the music...
You can make the sound worse, or certainly not optimal, depending on your settings... so take the time to experiment. Start by setting the other switches with Power at 0, as described in the manual.

 

[Steve Williams]

Time to resurrect this thread with some news. After being held up in customs for quite a while, the Reflector has finally reached stateside and mine are on their way and should be in my room in the next few days

 

[Steve Williams]

 

[Jazzjunkie]

You are getting closer and closer to a next level!
I recently had one more Schnerzinger experience of an unbelievable kind.
What is happening suggests, that their products are the most uncompromising and best researched audio high tech to get.

I like the metaphor I once heard, as it perfectly describes the progressive listening insight over time..

In essence: „Good but compromised sound without the Schnerzinger cosmos equals a Porsche with worn suspension, that’s optimized by attaching a trailer to damp the poor road holding. ‚This‘ can ‚sound‘ very good ss long as one doesn’t know how it could sound. The Schnerzinger cosmos means ‚fixing the suspension‘ “.

 

[Zeotrope]

You have to be careful though, as you can overdo it — especially if you use Power levels I or II. There is definitely an audible compromise in my system, at the trade-off of a slightly lower noise floor with the “powered” power levels. It’s nice to have the options, but you can go crazy with all of the permutations. And there is no magic bullet - you have to try them all.
I’m pretty happy with where I am and don’t want any more “black boxes” in my room, so I won’t be adding the Reflectors. I also need to understand more of how they work, and the company does not seem willing to share more insights.

 

[Jazzjunkie]

You have to be careful though, as you can overdo it

Correct in my experience. The further you get, the lower the settings (except if you have a very strong interference somewhere).

 

[Jazzjunkie]

so I won’t be adding the Reflectors

Things develop. Just try when you’re ready to switch or extend. It’s not always good to know about progress and to have to go back (as good as it was).

 

[Zeotrope]

Correct in my experience. The further you get, the lower the settings (except if you have a very strong interference somewhere).

We need to keep in mind there are tradeoffs (as with most things in life). Too often we hear only the positives.

 

[Jazzjunkie]

We need to keep in mind there are tradeoffs (as with most things in life). Too often we hear only the positives.

In my experience it’s rather as you said before:
Settings have to be made appropriately. With strong interference, switch 1 or 2 can sound better, but worse in case of lower interference in the room. Therefore they are available.

In case you hear tradeoffs generally, which you accept due to the parallel advantages, there’s probably still a strongly compensating part in the chain (for example in case of mixed cabling).

For example when you change from a previous cable to a Schnerzinger, a higher setting that was solely beneficial before, can have to be changed to a lower setting, due to the new cable‘s higher bandwidth.

Or for example if you still use filtering audiophile fuses (or components using informed processing), they can cut off high frequencies, which can interact with Giga Cancelling and limit its benefits.

 

[Zeotrope]

The biggest loss with power levels 1 or 2, especially with the GRID and EMI, is in fact in the high frequencies. Sound becomes less airy and duller. But background noise is reduced, which is a suitable tradeoff for when I need it.

 

[Jazzjunkie]

Yes. 0 is ideal except you need 1 or 2. In chains with less bandwidth or higher interference it can be different and level 1 or 2 can be solely beneficial. Try the Reflector if you dare, things develop ;-)

Just in case you experience tradeoffs GENERALLY besides the advantages:

It's ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY to not only adjust the antennas of the new Reflector according to the manual. Also the old Giga Cancelling devices have to be positioned with the antenna's open area of the angular joint in line with the front side of the device towards the listener (or along the wall on their side, that's a matter of experimentation). In case just one of several devices has an off orientation of the device or the antenna, you loose a lot of their benefit. Properly orientated there's always a setting for all benefits WITHOUT ANY TRADEOFF.

I recently read this in a mail exchange with Schnerzinger about a technical question. Fortunately I had everything orientated correctly by chance. I suspect they will address this important information over their dealers or website, as it was not mentioned that clearly in the old manuals.

 

[Steve Williams]

The biggest loss with power levels 1 or 2, especially with the GRID and EMI, is in fact in the high frequencies. Sound becomes less airy and duller. But background noise is reduced, which is a suitable tradeoff for when I need it.

It must be system dependent or maybe just me but I am not finding any loss of airiness nor am I finding the sound to be duller

 

[Steve Williams]

My antennas are all aligned with he joint painting forward to the listener. AAs you stated, the manga is very specific about this. This only applies to the Protctors and and not to Multiguard or allocator Antennas

 

[Steve Williams]

The one thing that that manga doesnt clarify but becomes obvious is that the Reflector Master serves as a REFLECTOR . IOW when you order a set of 4, one of the reflectors is the Master.Plus with reflector the wall wart is never used other than plugging each of the other 3 deflectors into the master with the master plugged in via the Wall wart , etc for 20 minutes only as this syncs the other reflectors to the master and to one another. After that you only do this once a year

It is also mandatory that the front of the Reflector br facing forward and angled slightly to the listening position as well as the Protectors. I have two reflectors in the front of my room behind my amplifiers and each sitting just to the inside of the GRID and the EMI

Finally I have them all mounted on stands 40" above the floor. This is also strongly encouraged . Comment have been made elsewhere about the not so important 40" height but rather that they just be elevated and I strongly disagree with this.

 

[Jazzjunkie]

It must be system dependent or maybe just me but I am not finding any loss of airiness nor am I finding the sound to be duller

Exactly. Simply spoken in a not really matching analogy...if in your case the sun shines very bright, you need a lot of shade to be comfortable in your room. The same shade would make a different room too dark. Both kinds of shade are fine for the respective room, but not for the other.