Neodio B2 resonance device

[sbnx]

Hello, I thought I would share my experience with the neodio B2. I have not seen any real discussion on it with the exception that someone listed it in their top 5 favorite tweaks. I thought it needed its own thread.

There have been two reviews of the device with 180 degrees difference of opinion. The positive review was by Roy Gregory over on his website GY8.eu. The negative review was by 6moons. If you google these you will find them.

What is this thing? Well it looks like a stainless steel puck with one side having a protursion. It is this protrusion that you want up against whatever it is you are wanting to effect. In a traditional sense it could be used a a footer by placing 3 or 4 of them under a piece of gear with the protruding side up against the bottom of the box. It is really not much to look at and one migh assume it will just be like putting whatever you have up against a stainless steel puck. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I recall reaing Roy G's review when he released it some time ago. It was intriguing but I was skeptical at the real impact this could have. Roy tends to use a lot of words and is enthusiastic about stuff. So at the time is was hard for me to gauge what this thing was really capapble of. Was this just another reviewer going on and on about his latest love affair about some widget?

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. A friend of mine texted me a couple pictures of the B2 sitting on top of his speaker and one on a shelf in the corner. The shelf in the corner does not have audio gear on it. Just a piece of pottery. He said I just had to hear these things to believe it. I fully trust his ears. So...

I Googled Neodio webpage looking for a US dealer and found out that Sunny Components in CA carries Neodio. I ordered 4 to see what's what. (They are about $275 ea.) A few days later my box arrived. I took the to my room and started playing around.

WOW! I started by placing one on the bottom cross bar of my Tios. Then I put one on the top of the iTRON amp housing. Then I put one on the floor under the cable as it leads up to the speaker. Then I played with putting one on top of my clock, DAC, floor, grounding box and many other locations. I did not actually put it under any gear like a footer. The effect is cumulative. As I put each one out and left it there and then placed the next one the effect was magnified. The effect was also pretty much the same regardless of position.

What is the effect? A sense of ease and flow to the music. A sense of soundstage envelopment. A sense of much better organization to the music. I could go on and on but you should just read Roy's review as what he said it right on. I know all of those words sound "squishy" and not very tangible. And at first I didn't believe it either. So I would put the B2's out and listen and then pick them up and listen and back and forth and each time it was the same story. B2's in the system equal very good! I am going to get more of them to put out. The effect is very addictive.

Continued...This past weekend I went to Houston to help a friend setup his new pair of Rockport speakers. I took some tweaks along with me for him to hear in his system and one of those of the set of 4 B2's. We started with his old speakers as he was very familiar with that sound. I put one on the top of each speaker and he was impressed. Put one on his streamer and he really like that. Then I saw the spot. He has a short throw projector sitting on the floor between his speakers. I put one on top of that and the effect was HUGE. All of the same stuff that I experience in my system happened in his. We did the same testing with the Rockports when they were setup and again the same thing.

I would encourage anyone to give Sunil a call and get 4 of the neodio B2's to try. I would venture to guess you won't send them back.

 

[Amir]

Thank you for review

 

[LL21]

Great stuff. While it has taken great experimentation, each piece of equipment, the big Wilson XLFs and the Velodyne all have isolation underneath and a form of damping on top. These even includes damping 3 levels of 4 of the back shelves of the XLF. Generally, a combination of HRS, primarily Artesania and a few Stillpoints and one giant Z:Axis which was custom-made for the Velodyne. And in some of these cases, varying amounts of dead weight on top. Enjoy!

 

[Amir]

Neodio is very interesting company

 

[sbnx]

Great stuff. While it has taken great experimentation, each piece of equipment, the big Wilson XLFs and the Velodyne all have isolation underneath and a form of damping on top. These even includes damping 3 levels of 4 of the back shelves of the XLF. Generally, a combination of HRS, primarily Artesania and a few Stillpoints and one giant Z:Axis which was custom-made for the Velodyne. And in some of these cases, varying amounts of dead weight on top. Enjoy!

Hello Lloyd, I think I need a point of clarification in my review. The B2's seem to do somthing that adding damping plates don't do. For example, I have HRS damping plates on all of my CH boxes. Yet, adding a B2 to the top makes an audible difference in "finesse and ease". Adding more damping plates does not do this.

This afternoon I had an audiophile fiend over. He asked what was new and I pointed to the B'2 sitting at various locations. "What do those do?" he said. I responded with Let's listen to something you are familiar with. He wanted to play "The Latin Touch" by Laura Fygi (Track 11). It opens with some solo 'latin' guitar and then Laura starts singing. We listend to the first 30 seconds or so 3 times. Then I went over and took the 4 B2's out. We listened again. Then I put the B2's back and listend one last time. I asked so what did you think. His repsponse was that without the B2's the guitar lost its sense of delicacy an presense and Laura singing lost a couple degrees of intimacy. Right on.

Note: I have no affiliation with Neodio or any dealer. Just trying to convey something that works.

 

[LL21]

Hello Lloyd, I think I need a point of clarification in my review. The B2's seem to do somthing that adding damping plates don't do. For example, I have HRS damping plates on all of my CH boxes. Yet, adding a B2 to the top makes an audible difference in "finesse and ease". Adding more damping plates does not do this.

This afternoon I had an audiophile fiend over. He asked what was new and I pointed to the B'2 sitting at various locations. "What do those do?" he said. I responded with Let's listen to something you are familiar with. He wanted to play "The Latin Touch" by Laura Fygi (Track 11). It opens with some solo 'latin' guitar and then Laura starts singing. We listend to the first 30 seconds or so 3 times. Then I went over and took the 4 B2's out. We listened again. Then I put the B2's back and listend one last time. I asked so what did you think. His repsponse was that without the B2's the guitar lost its sense of delicacy an presense and Laura singing lost a couple degrees of intimacy. Right on.

Note: I have no affiliation with Neodio or any dealer. Just trying to convey something that works.

Great stuff...I wonder how different the design/construction is from Stillpoints Ultra 6?

 

[sbnx]

I don't know what is inside the "puck". It is not like a Stillpoint. The stillpoints have bearings (as you know) so when you hold a Stillpoint you can feel it shake and it makes that sound of ball bearings rattling. The B2 is solid (or seems solid). There is no noise at all no matter how hard I shake it.

I have several of the Still Point Ultra 5's. I don't have any Ultra 6's so I can't comment on that.

 

[LL21]

Thanks...good to know. I wonder how they would fare on the back shelves of the XLF where the Artesania dampers have done wonders. We have several on the back of 3 of the 4 XLF shelves, including the big 12.5kg damping plate on the bass cabinet.

 

[treitz3]

What is the difference between the plate looking item and the puck looking item in your photo above? Which is it that you are speaking of here? If you would be so kind, please clarify.

Tom

 

[LL21]

The puck item is the Neodio B2. The plate is the HRS damping plate (there are 2 kinds, the double thickness DPX and the regular thickness DP...i think the silver one in the photo is the DP.

They are different products...the B2 being useable under and on top. The HRS damping plate is only for damping the top of a piece of equipment.

 

[treitz3]

Thank you for clarifying, sir. Much appreciated.

Tom

 

[Amir]

Hello Lloyd, I think I need a point of clarification in my review. The B2's seem to do somthing that adding damping plates don't do. For example, I have HRS damping plates on all of my CH boxes. Yet, adding a B2 to the top makes an audible difference in "finesse and ease". Adding more damping plates does not do this.

This afternoon I had an audiophile fiend over. He asked what was new and I pointed to the B'2 sitting at various locations. "What do those do?" he said. I responded with Let's listen to something you are familiar with. He wanted to play "The Latin Touch" by Laura Fygi (Track 11). It opens with some solo 'latin' guitar and then Laura starts singing. We listend to the first 30 seconds or so 3 times. Then I went over and took the 4 B2's out. We listened again. Then I put the B2's back and listend one last time. I asked so what did you think. His repsponse was that without the B2's the guitar lost its sense of delicacy an presense and Laura singing lost a couple degrees of intimacy. Right on.

Note: I have no affiliation with Neodio or any dealer. Just trying to convey something that works.

It seems the B2 is not vibration isolator/absorber or damper like other vibration control devices.

I did not listen to Neodio B2 yet but I will have it soon and will report about the result.

designer of Neodio produced one of best CD player at best price.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thank you for this report, Todd!

1) Do you have any Shun Mook disks? They are about the same size as these disks appear to be, but they are made out of Mpingo wood (African Blackwood). I would be very curious to know if you hear any difference in effect between them.

2) Putting to one side entirely all of the arguments pro and con about blind A/B testing, since these disks are small and lightweight and easy to remove and place on it would be interesting to learn if you or an audiophile friend can perceive any differences on a blind A/B basis.

3) Do you have any theory as to method of operation of these disks?

Thank you!

 

[sbnx]

Thank you for this report, Todd!

1) Do you have any Shun Mook disks? They are about the same size as these disks appear to be, but they are made out of Mpingo wood (African Blackwood). I would be very curious to know if you hear any difference in effect between them.

2) Putting to one side entirely all of the arguments pro and con about blind A/B testing, since these disks are small and lightweight and easy to remove and place on it would be interesting to learn if you or an audiophile friend can perceive any differences on a blind A/B basis.

3) Do you have any theory as to method of operation of these disks?

Thank you!

Hello Ron, Tom, Lloyd and Amir,

The picture shows an HRS DPX damping plate on top which is the big silver rectangle covering the middle portion of the top plate. The silver puck is the Neodio B2. I placed the puck in that specific location as it is over the power supply transformer. The reason I posted the pic was twofold. One so people could see what the B2 looks like and two to illustrate that the B2 still did what it does even with a big damping plate already on the top plate.

To Lloyds question: Yes, I think the B2 would work very well on the "shelves" at the back of the drivers of the XLF.

Ron, It is funny that you brought up Shun Mook. I thought about them a few days ago as what people describe what they do is similar to what I am experiencing with the B2's. I don't own and have never experimented with Shun Mook stuff.

I have no idea how the B2 works. They call it a resonance harmonizer and they have some "white paper" type stuff on their webpage. When I read it I still have no idea what they are doing. Just a few years ago I would have totally blown this off as pseudo-scientific "mumbo jumbo" and moved on. However, having my friend send me such an enthusiastic endorsment led me to give them a try. Glad I did. All I know is that it works and has the effect neodio and RG basically describe.

The B2's can be used either as footers or resonance control/harmonizer devices. Used as a footer it would go under the equipment with the "protrusion" facing up against the bottom of the gear. Used as resonance control they can be placed on top of almost anything to evaluate the effect. The idea is that the "protrusion" is placed against the surface you want to effect. The effect is instantaneous so very easy to assess. Although Neodio states that the effect will grow over a 24 hour period.

As far as A/B testing. I am pretty sure I could pass this test easily. Like I said, at first I didn't want to believe my own ears. I was questioning "Am I really hearing this??" or is this just me wanting to hear it. I took them out and put them back several times and sure enough it is there. My friend yesterday is certainly not afraid to say he doesn't hear a difference. I was honestly worried he wouldn't hear it. But he nailed the effect of what they do and I didn't give him any coaching or suggestions on what to expect. After setting up my friends Rockports we experimented with the B2's. I was letting him listen and I was standing back and off to one side. I could hear the effect from there. Then I sat in the main listening seat again and a left/right timing difference was exposed. I could not hear this without the B2's in place. There was too much blurring due to some of the elements of his overall system. I corrected the timing and all was good. Took the B2's back out and although blurred the timing was still correct.

Looks like Amir is going to get a set or two and experiment. I am looking forward to see what his thoughts are. I hope he doesn't tell me I'm crazy. If you have an extra $1k sitting around I think these are worth a try. I very much like the effect. I think most will as well.

 

[facten]

I'm the one referenced initially in the thread as having the Neodio B2s on my top 5 tweak list. I posted the following on Nov 6 in response to a question asked on that thread. I use them as isolation devices and did not find any benefit from having the other placements noted. But, like everything else different systems, different ears may equal different results.

I use the Origine B2's in my main system under both of my integrated amps (2 placed in the rear , 1 placed in the front at the center) . I have a Neodio Origine S2 CD player in the same system and the B2s come integrated into its chasiss. I also use the original B1's in my second system 1 set of three under my integrated amp, 1 set under my DAC.The B2s & B1s replaced a set of Daedalus Audio Isolation Devices, and multiple sets of Isoacoustics Orea isolation pucks. I don't use the B2s under my preamp or power amp as their chassis are the same length as the shelves they are on and the B2s need to have a small portion of each reside beyond the edge of the chassis. I found the sound became somewhat richer, and has more body and resolution with either the B2s and the original B1s versus the prior isolation devices I was using.

There is a Roy Gregory review of the B2s in which he experiments with placement with one on top of a component and he found a benefit. I tried one on the corner top of a preamp and could not decern any change in SQ. Also, both in his review, and I believe Neodio in shows have placed B2s on the top of speaker cabinets and on the floor in front of them. I tried this in both of my systems and again could not replicate the benefits they noted. But, as I noted above, I definitelly found them beneficial under the components I mentioned. One last thing, again with my system and ears, I found the improvement of the B2s vs the B1s to be about 5%. I don't recall exactly but I think Roy cited a larger improvement. Regardless, if I have further need for isolation devices under components I would definitely purchase another set of B2s (B1s are no longer available) as they are effective. As with everything else YMMV.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Hello Ron, Tom, Lloyd and Amir,

The picture shows an HRS DPX damping plate on top which is the big silver rectangle covering the middle portion of the top plate. The silver puck is the Neodio B2. I placed the puck in that specific location as it is over the power supply transformer. The reason I posted the pic was twofold. One so people could see what the B2 looks like and two to illustrate that the B2 still did what it does even with a big damping plate already on the top plate.

To Lloyds question: Yes, I think the B2 would work very well on the "shelves" at the back of the drivers of the XLF.

Ron, It is funny that you brought up Shun Mook. I thought about them a few days ago as what people describe what they do is similar to what I am experiencing with the B2's. I don't own and have never experimented with Shun Mook stuff.

I have no idea how the B2 works. They call it a resonance harmonizer and they have some "white paper" type stuff on their webpage. When I read it I still have no idea what they are doing. Just a few years ago I would have totally blown this off as pseudo-scientific "mumbo jumbo" and moved on. However, having my friend send me such an enthusiastic endorsment led me to give them a try. Glad I did. All I know is that it works and has the effect neodio and RG basically describe.

The B2's can be used either as footers or resonance control/harmonizer devices. Used as a footer it would go under the equipment with the "protrusion" facing up against the bottom of the gear. Used as resonance control they can be placed on top of almost anything to evaluate the effect. The idea is that the "protrusion" is placed against the surface you want to effect. The effect is instantaneous so very easy to assess. Although Neodio states that the effect will grow over a 24 hour period.

As far as A/B testing. I am pretty sure I could pass this test easily. Like I said, at first I didn't want to believe my own ears. I was questioning "Am I really hearing this??" or is this just me wanting to hear it. I took them out and put them back several times and sure enough it is there. My friend yesterday is certainly not afraid to say he doesn't hear a difference. I was honestly worried he wouldn't hear it. But he nailed the effect of what they do and I didn't give him any coaching or suggestions on what to expect. After setting up my friends Rockports we experimented with the B2's. I was letting him listen and I was standing back and off to one side. I could hear the effect from there. Then I sat in the main listening seat again and a left/right timing difference was exposed. I could not hear this without the B2's in place. There was too much blurring due to some of the elements of his overall system. I corrected the timing and all was good. Took the B2's back out and although blurred the timing was still correct.

Looks like Amir is going to get a set or two and experiment. I am looking forward to see what his thoughts are. I hope he doesn't tell me I'm crazy. If you have an extra $1k sitting around I think these are worth a try. I very much like the effect. I think most will as well.

Thank you on all points!

 

[divertiti]

I had first hand experience with these voodoo pucks in my system thanks to Todd. He came over to set up my speakers (an even more mind blowing experience but that's for another thread) and brought over the B2s to try. We tried them on top of the speakers, first, and there was a slight cleaning up of the sound, as if a camera lens became more in focus. Next another was added on top of my Innuos streamer, which increased size of the soundstage, on a symphonic track, it felt like I moved from row 20 to row 3, the orchestra was much closer. Next we tried it on top of my Boulder 1160 amp, which added more dimensionality to the sound, pulled everything apart more, it was a very interesting effect.

The craziest place these things worked their magic was on top of my short throw projector that was sitting on the floor in between my speakers. I know us audiophiles will believe almost anything if it improves our sound, but this literally boggled my mind and slacked my jaw when the B2 was placed on the top plate of the projector. The sound got so much cleaner and clearer. Todd theorized that the flimsy plastic top plate of the projector was acting as a resonator right in front of the listening position, which in hindsight makes perfect sense, but if it wasn't for the B2s, I never would have thought about it.

I never tried these as footers, but as vibration dampers they are pretty amazing. They would make for great final tweaks to wrap up an already very dialed in system.

 

[Amir]

Hello Ron, Tom, Lloyd and Amir,

Looks like Amir is going to get a set or two and experiment. I am looking forward to see what his thoughts are. I hope he doesn't tell me I'm crazy. If you have an extra $1k sitting around I think these are worth a try. I very much like the effect. I think most will as well.

I have ordered B2 and I will report the result.
In my Opinion Neodio designer is smart and I think B2 will be good in my system.

 

[LL21]

Very very interesting!

 

[Amir]

about Stéphane Even (designer of Neodio) :


In 2017, an experiment made me realise that water molecules, naturally present in our environment, are probably the cause of all these anomalies. It took me five years to learn how to interact with how this molecule’s behaviour. The Origine B2 acoustic purifier is the fruit of this work, which required starting from a blank page, without the influences of existing knowledge. Today, the effectiveness of the Origine B2 is such that the supposed limitations of equipment are greatly reduced. The music gains in naturalness and beauty: an edifying experience that I invite you to share.
We will be deploying this technical progress in other products.