Later than I had hoped, the burst of pre-Christmas activity, and post-Christmas industry is reported in this Newsletter. And industry seems to be just the right word - this sense of activity in the lives of P.W.B. users is a very hopeful sign. The P.W.B. user is not an idle 'lets wait and see' person, it now becomes apparent, but a person capable of experimentation, examination, consideration and courage. The articles enclosed within the covers show people trying out new things, and developing their own thoughts, procedures etc.., and the Newsletter is truly becoming compulsive reading, as ideas not thought before become new practices. Of course our gratitude to P.W.B. is immense. Christmas was enriched by free gifts and ideas. Quite different from many MD's; perhaps uniquely so. Let us also hope that the spread of ideas reassures him that his ideas do have great worth, and having a great voice in the land of the deaf does not detract from the innate beauty of the voice. Perhaps 1997 will open ears, hearts and minds, not just to improvements in sound, but to the invigorating benefits that come from being open to new ideas.
It is also gratifying that now, so many people contribute, bringing more diversity and freshness. Of course there is always the possibility for difference to emerge, and I certainly found myself not agreeing with certain things, and if this is now possible, the 'P.W.B. Users Group!' are indeed a strong body, not needing to cling to fend off outside pressures. The area I am in disagreement with is Phillip's (and implicitly P.W.B.'s) Darwin influenced piece. I have found increasingly that Darwin's ideas, rather like the ideas of the 19th Century physicists etc.., do not afford us a great understanding of many aspects of experience or mental life. If Peter is correct in his grasp of a universe evolving in strange and mysterious ways, I suspect that the Darwinian and embryological explanation is not the whole story. However, I have not another explanation, unless one starts to consider the possibility that a powerful/large point of view, becomes a Message that starts to influence fields, even matter. Also we know that what is old/past remains a problem. I hope we can have more discussion on this as I believe there are important matters at stake.
This autumn is, I believe for many, the 10th anniversary of their contact with matters P.W.B., via the Jimmy Hughes pieces in Hi-Fi Answers. I think this may be a time to consider a meeting of some sort. Many people have written at different times suggesting, or asking about such a meeting, and I am sorry that I do not have much time at the moment to answer individually, mainly because of work pressures. However, something I suspect should be done to mark the anniversary of this autumn. I would be grateful if anyone interested write to either myself, or May Belt concerning this matter, either with suggestions, ideas or something they feel they would like to do. Clearly, the matter requires much thought, and if a meeting were to take place, the questions that arise are formidable (where, when etc..). I think we must also consider making some sort of statement to the audio industry - their ignoring/censorship has not destroyed P.W.B., and one cannot say that for all companies (Impulse Loudspeakers recently went- what might have happened if they had used P.W.B. devices!!)
For those with friends around the world, you will be pleased to know that these Newsletters now exist in the virtual world of a Web Site. Details from P.W.B. will reveal how friends can access this material on the Internet!
Richard Graham (28th March 1997)
Address for correspondence
P.W.B. Newsletter
P.W.B Electronics
18. Pasture Crescent
Leeds LS7 3QB
Or for you sophisticates
E-mail – to Newsletter@belt.demon.co.uk
I will not address here the Gold and Silver Foils which readers will have received with the Christmas Newsletter, as they will know of their beneficial effect, and no doubt be frustrated that these were but links in a chain leading to forthcoming products, and are thus not available any more... However, two things remain:
Updated Morphic Liquid
Anyone who thought the earlier version of this product was good I suspect will be bowled over by this new version. It really is very remarkable, and can be usefully sprayed onto anything, but is perhaps best on reflective or transparent/ translucent surfaces: CDs and their cases are ideal. Indeed, I have been so shocked by the impact on CDs, that I have wondered if this is one of the most substantial leaps forward yet. If you have some liquid, and haven't treated all your CD's, I would suggest you do so. But then one would forget the effect on glass (all those windows!) and mirrors. The TV screen is an obvious and likely candidate, and then one moves onto Electret Discs, and anything with Foil on, including of course any Photo Folder that is available. Knives and forks, drinking glasses, small glass fuses, the clear part of the washing machine door, any Morphic Message Label. And so the magic goes on, and sound are spun into the air lighter and more transparent still. We are defeated only by time and energy, and a lack of imagination and determination. 'Tis the season to be spring cleaning - try some.
'x 26 'x
I couldn't work out if this is truly a new product, a device, or a miracle. You will have read of the advantages of writing this 'code' onto objects, preferably with an X-Pen, and 'activating' it with a treated torch/Clip (sadly, this is one of the most powerful reasons for getting the Clip yet - there is no escape, although there are always alternatives). Of course one has to treat two Photos first, as per instructions, by placing them in special 'x 26 'x marked bags, and popping them into the freezer. But what benefit comes from such actions.
Whilst I was very pleased with the result of placing two temporally distinct Photos in their bags, and then into the freezer, I was so much more impressed by the cumulative benefits of writing 'x 26 'x onto objects. Whilst the torch worked, the effects were greater with the Clip, and so I gave up with the treated torch very soon. Clipping each 'x - as confirmed by Phillip, later - really had a wonderful effect. Where to start! Well, obviously, each large piece of equipment needs its code, plus any wire or plug large enough to sustain the mark. Batteries were downright obscene when treated, and one had to sit back and think 'how can this be? I have no answer to that, and moved onto discs (wow!) and tapes (wow!) and books (wow!). Indeed, the effect of treating but a few books on a shelf defied even a supernatural explanation. It has thus become the activity of the past three months to affix this code onto anything that can take it, and I have never regretted the time taken; I only wish I had more of it.
Whilst the anything/everywhere approach is self explanatory, I think there are further benefits to be gleaned which, at first, might seem less obvious. When putting the bags/Photos in the freezer, it is worth applying the usual P.W.B. processes to the bags/Photos. Thus the use of Foils and Films, Liquids and Creams to both Bags and Photos enhances the freezer result. The procedure works well without these steps, but one can wring a little more out of them
One further benefit comes from placing Photos of the car in similar bags into the freezer and anyone that one might consider 'family' - this also helps the car radio etc.. (Indeed, I wonder if it helps maintain the car better, but have no proof etc..)
All of the above steps push the sound and sights of the world into deeper richnesses. Sometimes, I am palpably shocked by a colour or sound, and feel that the whole of ones being is radically thrust into more vivid, vital universe. Can't be bad. Out with the pens then.
It is tempting to think that there is a lull at P.W.B. at present, but worry not. Work still continues, and every product benefits. So keep Clipping, Tapping, etc.., and the advantages of such actions will leap out at you. My only concern is that when the fruits of P.W.B.'s current work become available, our already tattered minds will be blown so much further. Let's hope so!
RG
Delighted and relieved to receive the Morphic Liquid prize. I had half expected court action over the scandalous use of the Belt name in my unashamed and frantic efforts to secure P.W.B. products! Some time ago I received a little sample bottle of this stuff from May Belt and, after splashing it about, the results were inconclusive. Not so this time. It did not take long to hear a change for the good after a few preliminary sprays. As I am in the process of purchasing a Q-Clip, this was used on objects that had been sprayed. After a start on speakers and drivers, proceeding to amp/CD/turntable covers, the sides of the gas and electricity meters, fuse box, light bulbs, aerosol cans, all appliances from the mains - in fact the most extensive bout of Belting I have ever undertaken by far - the results proved quite interesting. Work, including nearly every other weekend, limits my time to experiment with P.W.B. products - especially as I also struggle to master the Art of Water-colour with little success! Anyway, this meant that I have only read in the Newsletter of others experience, and the gains to be had through determination and leg work with Foils, X-Pen etc.. As I progressed with the Morphic Liquid applications, I found that the sound did not come up in a proportional curve with treatments. It was more a case of spray/clip say five times and listen - no perceived change. Repeat spray/clip again five or six times and listen - no change. Repeat spray/clip and snap! A definite change for the good; more focus and more detail revealed. It is as if some objects respond in a more positive way than others. I recall what Peter Turner stated in Newsletter Number 8 when he Blue Z Foiled the gas bottle connector. Why was that particular bit of a gas heater so responsive? I'd love to know. I could go back over treated objects, reverse Belting, trying to isolate the key items, but no, I hate to try to change a Belt treatment, even in the name of research. Although I did not put in the same amount of groundwork using the Foils, I suspected at the time that their effectiveness varied. with some objects responding better than others. Most importantly is the fact that every P.W.B. product, from the newer Foils onwards, have produced for me, with little or greater efforts, profound changes, not only to the perceived sound of the main music system, but also to the TV picture quality. And yes, as said by others in the Newsletters, the humble bedside clock radio, with a little Foiling and spraying, throws out a sound far too big for its boots.
I have so far used up the first Morphic Liquid bottle, purchased and used nearly all of a Refill, and also received a new stick on Label, and have not yet started to treat individual CDs or LPs. This is rapidly becoming my favourite P.W.B. product, along with the Q-Clip. Mind you, I also like the X-Pen. Maybe a blitz on Bar-codes? Don't even think about it! I can see about 10 without getting out of the chair. I'll do the one on this here Guinness can. Ah, that'll do nicely......
Addendum.
I have now used the Morphic Liquid on CDs and LPs and right from the first one treated, and there was definite leap in sound quality. I was almost wishing not to hear a result, as I don't relish the thought of treating all the hundreds of LPs and CDs in our collection.
The method of treatment I used was to spray the LP/CD cover/case, then dab some of the sprayed liquid onto the Rainbow Foil attached to the CD logo, or the 33 third on LPs, with my finger, the CD/LP was then clipped with the Disc inside. Just about every CD and LP had been previously Rainbow Foiled and 'Domed'. Much as I have enjoyed the relatively fast results gained by Belting 'key' items, stunning is the only word that describes the pain in the neck approach I have been using this past few weeks.
Kevin Kehoe
Note l
In the previous letter, towards the end, I said every P.W.B. product from the newer Foils onwards produced for me positive results. I meant all those that I have tried made immediate improvements. There are a great many P.W.B. products that I've not even tried, much as I would like to!
Note 2
I would love to see a P.W.B. get together come about.
In the past, I have written on the cheap way to get good, mainly Classical discs, i.e. £5 cheaper per disc than, say, HMV. The previous company I recommended restructured, and I think have gone into a rather chaotic phase, and so there is a new recommendation. This company is called EUROPADISC, and their numbers are:
Telephone 01787 375743
Fax 01787 311469.
I have found them very helpful, efficient, and cheap: you could save £10 for a double CD set e.g. an opera. They also run special offers, such as 3 mid-price discs for £ 20 - post free!
I can't resist mentioning that some new Double Deccas are emerging (at £ 10.95 per set) and top of the list must be the famous 1960s recording of Puccini's 'Tosca' conducted by Karajan, with Leontyne Price - surely one of the great recordings - also mentioned by Tom Marsden previously. There is a similarly tempting, opulently sung 'Madama Butterfly' conducted by Tulio Serafin, with Renata Tebaldi in the title role. Of course there is much more, but space and time permit no more.
* It must be almost 5 years since this product was introduced, but the new Morphic Liquid is so mindblowingly, fantastically amazing that I've found it's worth spraying everything - absolutely EVERYTHING. I cannot stress the word EVERYTHING too strongly ! - inside and out, on every side. Even the Dome, Bridge, Clock, Photo Folders. Magnadiscs, Foils, Labels, Ties. Cables..... Anything! It works wonders, especially on transparent or reflective surfaces; windows, glass, mirrors, lights, lenses, chrome etc....! Just think of all those places you can't treat with Foils - inside the Washer/Drier, Microwave, Gas Burners, Heating Elements, or anything too small for a Foil. Wax, cloth or rubber materials are easily treatable using the spray and yield excellent results. I now use it as part of my usual treatment routine; after applying the Foils, before I use Q-Cream, out comes the 'Morphic Spray' to add extra sheen! Also, I've found that the Label on the Bottle (like everything else) is worth re-clipping from time to time (then you could re-spray with your freshly clipped liquid).
* Try upgrading all Electret Discs by applying all the 'Message' Foils and Clip Film to both sides, directly behind each other. Then spray, Q-Cream, tap and Clip. On the Active Electret Disc for CDs, it is preferable to apply the strips along the radius, from the centre to the circumference. After final clipping, insert the Active Disc (alone) into your usual player, remove the Mains plug, and Clip in. Electret Feet can also be upgraded using the larger Morphic Message Labels, or even Branded Labels, featuring the name of the equipment brand, atop the disc. This has to be experienced to be believed and doesn't even require a screwdriver, just a quick call to P.W.B. HQ. N.B. the Electric Windscreen and Plug Charge Barriers also benefit from upgrading in a similar fashion.
* To enhance your 'space' you could try a small bag of 'Morphic Fluff' (hollow fibre) behind the CD storage case tray (the bit that the CD clips on to, with embossed CD logos). Remove this from the case, and attach bag of Fluff to the rear with double-sided tape in a corner. Fit case back together and Clip. This also works for Pre-recorded Video cases, Computer Software boxes, and any equipment boxes. In fact, inside any box, hole, tube, cushion, plug, hollow cavity or space of any description, transparent or not. Hollow fibre also works well on the outside of objects (although inside is better) which is great for all those objects you cannot gain entry to (i.e. gas and electricity meters etc....) It's a corker - hear texture and layering and separation like never before.
Pens, Pens, Pens...
* The new type P.W.B. 'Chunky' Violet and Black Marker Pens are simply wondrous! For CDs,
use the Violet pen to mark the outer edge of the disc at 4 points - top, bottom, left and right (3-4cms for each line) and then tap each line with both ends of the pen. Then mark the inner hole of the disc with the Black pen, all the way round, and tap this with both ends of the pen. Other hot spots for the Violet pen include the end cap of Fuses - mark each end and tap (a black mark around the circumference of the fuse works too) - the contacts on light bulbs/tubes, and on magnetic tape/disc material. The results are easily worth the effort and my old Violet pen has run for over 4 years, and is still going strong!
* The X-Pen keeps going from strength to strength. I've been 'x 26 'x-ing all over the place, then clipping each 'x mark (holding the closed jaws of the Clip to the 'x and activating). A typical example is marking each battery in a Remote Control, the clipping the battery terminals in the Remote , with the batteries in place. Other hot spots include mirrors, radiators, plugs, transformers, doors, CD cases etc..... (N.B. This only works if you've done your Photos, as per instructions. Friends and Family Photos help too - see P.W.B.'s 'What a Mess! - An Alternative View of Reality')
* Back in 1992, I first tried the Quantum Energy Blocks, which, to be honest, I didn't think that much of them at the time. But after reading Tom Marsden's article (thanks Tom) - plus the experience of how much all P.W.B. products have matured with time - I thought I'd give them another try. Well I can't believe I'd missed out all these years, as after fitting a few of these devices, the sound had soared in scale and drama, with greater resolution, and less grain, especially on female vocals. I'd also sprayed and Q-Creamed each square, and clipped the object to finish off. These actions all improved the efficiency of the QEBs, especially that of the Morphic Liquid. My favourite spots were inside of the fridge, on the inside front cover of the boiler, the electricity and gas meters, under equipment shelves, and inside food cupboards. I'd almost gone through w hole pack in a night, so great was my enthusiasm. I'll have to get some more. I haven't even touched my equipment yet. P.S. Don't forget to clip the Blue Tie on the Pen.
Freebies...
* If possible, stack all Media - CDs. LPs, Videos, Books etc. -vertically in a row (like soldiers) rather than stacked up horizontally. You'll be surprised: I was!
* Where possible, place any portable mirrors in the house face up (reflecting the ceiling).
* Place a watch (in a bag) in the freezer.
Here are a few old retro favourites, which are included for the sake of nostalgia.
* Try to remove all unnecessary labels from items before treatment e.g. batteries, cables, mains plugs, equipment, etc.., especially holograms from CD cases and Videos.
* Align all the slotted screws in the house horizontally (Cross align all cross headed screws), especially on loudspeakers, AC sockets, plugs, light switches, door handles, hinges and locks.
* Place a circle of plain paper - preferably blue in colour - under one leg of any of the four legs of a piece of equipment or piece of furniture, If Electret Feet are not available. If you are still using spikes or support cones, and they are of an even number under any piece of equipment, try placing a small coin between the interface and spike to simulate an uneven number of support points. Even better though is to do away with the spikes altogether, and use Electret Feet.
* Fold up one corner of any curtain and secure with a safety pin. With clothing, remove one corner from the washing instructions label, with a diagonal cut.
Reef Knots
* As well as tying a Reef Knot in any untreated piece of wire or cable, you can apply Reef Knotted wire shorting links to the plugs of disconnected electrical equipment i.e. stored vacuum cleaners and the terminals of spare loudspeakers. Using narrow gauge, solid core, non-insulated wire is preferable for the Reef link, with the knot tied as tightly as possible. Solder the Reef Knot to small crocodile clips to facilitate fitting the Reef Knot device to disconnected plugs and terminals. For use in spare outputs/inputs on equipment, P.W.B. manufacture an excellent phono plug device; known as the DigiPlug, it comes highly recommended.
Talking about retro products (when I was a lad).... I recently tried removing an old clear Spiratube Limpet which I'd Blutacked to the underside of the Gas Meter (which is on the outside wall of the house) and thought nothing of it. I couldn't believe the collapse in sound. It became flat, uninteresting and uninspired. All this from a pathetic looking pair of spirals. So I quickly refitted it, this time with treated clear Bostic, sprayed, clipped and 'Belt me rigid', it was better than ever!!
So the moral of the story? P.W.B. products never die. They simply evolve!
Phillip T. Turner (Feb'97)
Over recent months improvements in sound have - in my experience - gone hand-in-hand with new enjoyment of different types of music. In this article, I would like to show how one factor has led to a greater appreciation of the other, until they now seem to be woven together into one strand of involvement.
In the summer of '96, I was fortunate enough to have some free time on my hands, and a chance to try the astonishingly powerful 'Clip'. The effect on music and its environment was delightful. In fact, from that time the whole quality of my system took a giant step forward.
Since then, I have enjoyed other improvements such as Sol-Electret, and the Quantum Foil and Cream. All these effects have combined, and even though time itself for exploring and listening has been tight, in these months I have felt my mind opening, and re-tuning to new and old music's delight and appreciation's.
Richard Graham's articles on classical discs had set my curiosity going. Alfred Brendel's Schubert swam into focus. Another affirmation was Vivaldi with his phenomenal contrasts of texture and dynamics through a wide selection of Baroque instruments. A chance tuning to a radio broadcast alerted me to Rachmaninov, strangely a violin setting of his music. It is as if these three, Vivaldi, Schubert and Rachmaninov, have drawn me over the years to tune into their music, and become influenced and enthralled, to be made aware. Over the years, being exposed to their works now and again, a gradual transformation occurred; from knowing of them and hearing them, I became fascinated with the possibility of knowing them, attending acutely to each nuance of a phrase - listening for the slightest hint or emphasis, for power withheld and unleashed.
Why these three you may ask! Time will tell, for just as I an convinced that I may not let them be superseded in my scale of ratings; yet more time will allow me to listen further and more deeply to other composers as well.
Suffice it to say, at this stage, it is partly the timbre of certain instruments that strikes me, timings, inter weavings of various denominations of the orchestra. Feeling close to the actual sound and moment of creation is crucial to the expansion of musical taste. It has been said that the best time to judge the quality of a Hi-Fi system is on hearing it afresh, after a break of a day or weeks. The incredible leap in sound-improving techniques in recent months at P.W.B. has meant that such an awakening can happen two or three times in the same day, and again the following day. If it could be said that you listen to music properly only when you hear it for the first time; through P.W.B. techniques, you can listen to it, as if for the first time, each time! Yet with each occasion, if you were analytically inclined, you may find it has grown on you, revealed more of itself. A peripheral listener may be on a journey bound for a central experience, which in turn might necessitate a need for knowledge, or at least the conversation of a knowledgeable
person. And so music links itself in our lives, across the years, from one generation to the next, from one mind to another, from one season to the next.
As we approach the year 2000, it is just this freshness of approach and experience that seems under threat. The plethora of technically 'advanced' digital products threatens to swamp our listening (and working) environments with a mishmash of threatening messages. Even expensive Hi-Fi equipment is subject to this sonic and sensual degradation. P.W.B. users, however, have been moving in the opposite direction: that of environmental nourishment to the senses, without needing to give up the marvellous fruits of these new products (I.T. of course.)
The intensifying musical appreciation which I outline above was accompanied by a sort of lucky sixth sense: just happening to turn on the TV and flick to the station where Andras Schiff's programme on Schubert was being broadcast. For those who did not see it, Schiff is a leading pianist and musical director whose favourite composer is unashamedly Schubert! His recent concert broadcast from Wigmore Hall was another treasure-trove for the aspiring Schubert addict.
On the TV programme, Schiff talked eloquently about the difference between playing a Steinway and a Bosendorfe piano. He always plays Schubert on a Bosendorfe -and from my humble TV source (much foiled and labelled) I could hear why - it seemed to have a subjective quality; a sort of prolonged intimacy of notes. Schiff compared it to the difference between High German and Southern German dialect, between Hanover and Vienna - hence the perfect sympathy of this instrument for Schubert's music.
Now there is no need to 'prove' to the reader that having P.W.B. Domes, Foils, Magnadiscs and Morphic Messages all about has a lot to do with my attunement to increasingly better musical experiences. What is significant is that I have revisited these Composers over a number of years, and never have they sounded so fresh, so complex, yet immediate. At the same time the P.W.B. devices employed in the home have built increasingly and are getting more advanced all the time. Any reasonable person will be able to draw their own conclusions.
To sum up, there is no longer a frosty 'Classical' feel about the music I have referred to. Not only does it strike me as more intimate, but it now has a lingering Jazz-like quality a pure movement of air. The barriers between different types of music are still there, but they have softened and become more transparent. If once they were fortresses, now they are walled gardens, with doors that invite.
Kenneth Hyam.
According to the modern day Anthropologist, at its most basic, the designation 'Human' simply refers to apes that walked upright - bipedal apes. They say that the evolution of upright locomotion, which distinguished ancient hominoids from other apes of the time, was fundamental to subsequent human history. Once our distant ancestor became a bipedal ape, many other evolutionary innovations became possible (Rambling?... An Editor limited by Darwin) with the eventual appearance of 'Homo'. In Africa, the origins of Bipedalism has been estimated at over 7 million years ago (genetic), expanded just over 2 million years ago (Homo-erectus/fossil), and around that time the earliest stone tools were in use. 1 million years ago, evidence of meat eating becomes strong, and the first use of fire is dated to 700,000 years ago (Homosapiens). The origins of Modern Humans in Africa is dated at around 200,000 years ago, the first Art at 30,000 years ago, the first agriculture at 10,000 years ago, the first cities at 5,000 years ago, the Industrial Revolution 150 years ago, and the Technological Revolution around 20 years ago.
Well we seem to have gained a fair bit, tool wise, at quite an exponential rate. But how do our senses fit into this equation? We've all seen the old BUPA TV ads. stating 'You're Amazing - we want you to stay that way' (For a not insubstantial Fee no less - your NHS Correspondent), but just how amazing are we, when we can't even deduce whether a cardboard box is friendly, predatorial or benign? We might just as well try asking it! It does seem ironic, but we appear to have lost something along the way.
Peter has often talked about our bodies possessing the ability to process or manipulate our perceived environment, and suggested I try an experiment. I took some everyday household (untreated) sugar, salt and carbon (loose cut diamonds) and placed a sample of each in a separate, small resealable bag. I also prepared an empty bag for control purposes. Once they were prepared, they were left at hand on the room. I then auditioned ten seconds of a track, whilst standing, and made a mental note of the sound. This sound 'standard' was used for comparative purposes.
Results:
Whilst standing, samples placed in turn on CD player:
Empty bag - slightly worse than standard.
Salt sample - worse than standard.
Sugar sample - " " "
Carbon sample - " " "
Still standing, I repeated the experiment with each bag, placed individually between my lips. Taking care not to taint the samples with my saliva (see N.B.)
Results:
Whilst standing, sample in mouth:
Empty bag - worse than standard.
Salt sample - better than standard.
Sugar sample - better than standard.
Carbon sample - worse than standard.
Now here's where it becomes interesting. As per instructions, I crouched down, feet and knuckles to the floor, with my palms facing upwards, fingers towards the body. I then repeated the experiment in this position. (Can you imagine how this looked: squatting down with a bag in my mouth: luckily, I was clothed - no cartoons, please Kevin!) (Sadly, we have negotiated a cartoon, indeed a short feature film with Channel 4 Films, but what price fame and the pursuit of scientific truth etc.?... The Increasingly Firm and Financially Astute Editor.)
Results:
Whilst on all fours, knuckles down, sample in mouth
Empty bag - worse than standard.
Salt sample - better than standard.
Sugar sample - better than standard.
Carbon sample - better than standard.
Now this is serious stuff. Only whilst mimicking an ape did the sound improve when the carbon was placed in my mouth. If I altered the position of my hands, i.e. with the palms to the floor, the results of the experiment were the same as when standing. The problem here is that carbon just happens to be the building block of all life on Earth! We , and all living matter we know of on this planet are 'Carbon Based Units'!
Sodium Chloride, common salt, has a simple cubic structure in which each Sodium ion (Na+) is surrounded by six Chloride ions (Cl-), and vice versa. Common table sugar, sucrose, is not one of the simplest: it is made by linking two smaller saccharides. Chemists call it a disaccharide. Like all carbohydrates, saccharides are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Since sugar molecules contain carbon, why is there a difference between sugar and carbon samples? Well, I think the key here is not to look at the base elements, but to look at the molecule. Most biologically active molecules depend upon a particular shape for their function, because they interact with other molecules, and must fit them like a key in a lock. Because of the ways that molecules are constructed, it is possible for them to exist in many different forms. This variation in form is called isomerism. The most important type of isomerism in Biochemistry is called optical isomerism, where molecules differ in so far as they are mirror images of one another (just as the left and right hand are mirror images). If the left hand molecule or isomer fits one molecule chain, then the right hand isomer will not. When a chemical is made during biological processes, the product is nearly always 100% of one particular isomer. Peter has theorised that the body supplies the 'other hand', which then enables the body to manipulate the molecule, thereby processing the sugar, and changing the effect, but this effect is not permanent; once the sample bag was removed from my mouth, the beneficial effect ceased.
Hopefully P.W.B. can use this pathway to our advantage, and 'fill in' the evolutionary gaps, since it is virtually impossible to treat any object whilst in this position. I've even attempted this, asking friends to 'assume position' and look at the speakers whilst I tapped-in using the Q-Cream jar. This had very little effect in comparison to extra treatments around the room.
We have to remember though, that nature has favoured Bipedalism before, in the Dinosaurs, and later Birds. So we are by no means unique in this respect. Our tails have also been lost at some point along the evolutionary path, but that's another story.
As Homo Sapiens we experience the unity and diversity of a mind shaped by aeons of life as hunter gatherers. We experience it's unity in the common possession of an awareness of self and a sense of awe at the miracle of life. And we experience its diversity in the different cultures - expressed in music, art and customs that we create and that create us. We should rejoice at so wondrous a product of evolution. You're amazing!
N.B. Anyone with experience of P.W.B. devices will appreciate that Saliva (DNA) can permanently 'mark' an object, with beneficial results to our senses. In the above experiment, it was important to utilise salt, sugar and carbon in their unnatural form (i.e. away from the ocean, from the growing plant with its roots in the earth and the depths of the planet) and that in this form they have an adverse effect upon the human senses. The surprise here is that this saliva 'mark' can be nullified, and therefore reintroduce the adverse effect by using mild salt or sugar solution (even a single crystal per litre of water will suffice).
This experiment was very difficult to perform. The perceived differences were very slight. In comparison, a dot from the X-Pen on a CD storage case would produce a much more obvious difference. P.W.B. devices produce profound improvements to the perceived sound.
Phillip T. Turner (March '97)
The P.W.B. loudspeaker leads came Saturday morning 9.30am. They were up and running by 10.30 am. My first impression on audition with Jeff Waynes' 'War of the Worlds' was realised after about 2-3 minutes listening - vocals: Richard Burton's voice was absolutely stunningly natural; much better than with the Chord Flatline cables that I had been using previously. Overall the sound seemed fairly tight, with bass notes both deep and 'quick'. I always believe cable gets better with running in and I first believed the treble was slightly 'reserved' or a bit laid back; more later!
Today, Wednesday, with music at very low levels for 3 days, I had another serious listen to 'War of the Worlds' Everything sounded right, with the treble clean, clear, high and controlled. The Chord cable was obviously a bit exuberant on the treble; hard sounding too.
I had used, during the three days, the Sol-Electret oil, especially on the turntable arm, and I believe this brought about a considerable improvement in the overall sound, and also on radiators, mains plugs, screws etc.., etc.. Sol-Electret is very easy to use and a cheap way to add to Foils, Magnadiscs and such things. The improvements have to be heard to be believed. I have been using P.W.B. devices since the 1980s, and I only know of one person whose Hi-Fi sounds anything like right besides mine - Harry Brad field (another heavy user of P.W.B. devices on his 1970s equipment); He has an excellent sound. P.W.B. it or else!
In further praise of Sol-Electret, Tuesday I fitted 'SPLITFIRE' SPARK PLUGS to my Proton 1.3GL. I used Sol-Electret on the threads, top and bottom. The car runs a lot better, but I expected some improvement.
Then I turned the radio on and was absolutely flabbergasted to hear the sound in the car totally changed, with an improvement of about 30%! Very hard to credit this to the new plugs and Sol-Electret. I have a very keen ear, and the improvement is there ! Try it!
In conclusion, the speaker leads are the best I have ever used, and the £120.00 price tag is excellent value for money.
The Sol-Electret is absolutely magic and at £25, cheap. You can't do without it.
One final conclusion, I had problems with my Cable TV, and I removed the Spiratube and few Foils to wait for the Service Man. When he rectified the fault on the tuning, he remarked upon the excellent picture. I settled down, to watch a film, and changed channels because this picture seemed so poor; I knew it shouldn't be so. Replacing the Spiratube and a few Foils gave good sound and superb picture quality. The moral is, when using P.W.B. devices, just dare to remove them, and then see what you've got!
The Electric Windscreen.... presented itself as a pleasant improvement, immediately noticeable.
Then I fitted the Arkiv cartridge (£1,000!) - bought second-hand for a tenth of the price at a general second-hand shop - and I decided to evaluate the cartridge without the Electric Windscreen in place. WHAT!
Thwak, bomp, blump on the bass notes, rhythm slowed down, vertigo set in after 5 seconds or so. I nervously replaced the Electric Windscreen, wanting to know why the Arkiv was nowhere near as good as the 10 years old Sony XMC3 had been, with the Windscreen fitted.
Yes! Yes! Refitted, the Electric Windscreen and the Arkiv came over as musical and sweet as any sound I have every heard from the turntable. What are Linn Listening to ?
Dougie Swann.
Delving back into the final two pages of P.W.B. Newsletter Number 8, an intriguing question remains to be explored. It is the question which Richard Graham summarises as, 'Is simple better?'
The context was that Todd Cunliffe reported on how simpler electronics when treated, often produced better sound than expensive complex units, such as the multiple-driver Linn Isobaric speaker (untreated). However, RG mentioned that Phillip Turner had noticed a deterioration in sound when treated transformers had been removed from the listening room. Could it not then be argued that, economics aside, one might still get superior sound from a more complex unit as long as all of its components were treated?
The focus that I have chosen to explore is slightly different: basically, I have chosen to strip the question down to a simpler form. Do P.W.B. treatments merely remove chronic energy patterns from the environment, or do they also supply hitherto missing life-positive patterns which in turn enhance our senses, and our ability to appreciate sounds and visual stimuli?
To investigate this further, I fell back on my liking for model cars. My collection is extremely small, and consists of a handful of yesteryear models, mostly given by indulging family members who share the automobile craze with me. The high point in this questionable activity is a brilliant matchbox reissue of a 1940's Dinky HMV record van, whizzing through a hamlet, somewhere in pre-stereo England I assume, or certainly pre-transistor England. This model, suitably foiled in its transparent box also contains or supports such key morphic messages as
DINKY > O.K.
MATCHBOX > O.K.
and sits atop of my amplifier. Apart from there being an obvious link between model van and Hi-Fi, there is also the unifying sense of the unifying of a childhood craze for toy cars, and dare I say it, the adult craze for audio equipment? With such thoughts in my mind, I began to wonder whether this little object was improving my sound.
If it could be logged that it was indeed improving the sound, then a simple but possibly strange truth would emerge: certain objects, when adequately treated with P.W.B. techniques and devices, themselves become P.W.B. devices! This could range from a Dinky or Matchbox model to the drivers in an Isobaric speaker. I therefore tried removing and reintroducing my much treated HMV record van from, and back into my listening room.
The first time I did this, I simply could not believe the results. The results became harsher, colder and less involving. Joyce corroborated this impression, and, replacing the van, confirmed our feeling that the sound got better when it sat atop of the amplifier. Two days later, I repeated the experiment. This time I used a track I had recorded from the radio programme,
'The Best of Jazz'. It was a singing number from Al Fair-weather and his band. This time, the music became flat and two dimensional as soon as the van was taken out. The detail was all there. Oddly enough it now sounded what you would expect a taped track to sound like. When the HMV van was back in place, it sounded simply marvellous again! The piano and bass wove around each other in a convincing way. Humph's voice introducing the track was uncannily close and real. The volume also seemed more impressive. Dinky is definitely O.K.
For a long while now, it has seemed important that P.W.B. devices remove the chronic effects of manufactured stress and energy patterns in objects. Now could there be the rider that these patterns can not only be removed but replaced with soothing, comfortable peaceful effects? My experience with the Matchbox/Dinky toy no doubt poses other questions as well, but for me the answer to the original question is ; Yes! Simpler is better, until complex is transformed. Or better still: if an object offends then by all means get rid of it, but if you like an object, Belt it, and it will add to the quality of your sound.
Kenneth Hyam.
Christmas came a wee bit early for me in the shape of an unexpected gift with my edition of the Second Christmas Newsletter. Low and behold, four Foils were forwarded: Two Gold and two Silver, measuring approximately 3 mm in width. These had no name or title attached. I was asked to evaluate.
One of each type was required, to be attached to the outer casing of the audio equipment (Gold and Silver on the DAC, and Gold and Silver on the CD transport in my case.) For the first time in my experience of using P.W.B. devices a single action took place instead of a complete improvement on the sound stage, and that was that the vocal input of any artist's/artists' voice/s was greatly more believable. I noticed this in particular with the Beatles' Anthology No. 3. I wonder if this is a deliberate effort on behalf of the Belt family to improve certain part of the sound stage - who knows? I am informed that these Foils are to become a Morphic Label at a future date.
Secondly, another experiment was asked of me. This was to put 2 photographs of myself into 2 separate plastic bags, one photo to be a current likeness, and one from an earlier time. On each side of the bags, using the X-Pen, I wrote a letter-number 'x 26 'x. These bags were then put into the freezer section of the domestic fridge, and yes, you guessed it - the clarity and quality of the sound became obvious and more 3-dimensional. By the way, by freezing the whole 'family' in the above fashion, the results were even better. The photos were then removed and the gains were quickly lost.
John Dymond.
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