After publishing the previous page, Stéphane volunteered this: "I have no problem with the fact that you already have effective vibration-attenuating accessories in your system. My Origine B2 will work in synergy with other products as long as those don't interfere with its behavior. The previous B1 was designed and thought to be a footer but the B2 can be used in new ways. For that it must be in direct contact with materials which contain water molecules such as MDF, Plywood, wood flooring, cable sleeves, furniture and so forth. Here good positioning makes performance so this is not a plug'n'play cable-type device. In October I participated in the Brussels show with my retailer Alain Stroobants of Silences. We had the pretty good system below of Neodio electronics/cables and Vienna Acoustics Liszt Reference speakers. The performance for a hotel room was okay but once I installed B2, there was some magic to the sound. I used eight units around the speakers, rack and walls. This greatly improved the system's perceived value. I'd be happy to send you such a set of eight." To which I replied, "I understand the need for secrecy to protect intellectual property. That said, is there more you can share about the problem with water molecules which are trapped in common household materials? Water obviously responds to sound. What is it about trapped water molecules reacting to physical vibrations from sonic exposure that has a negative impact on the quality of our playback? If we can understand this issue, we can look at the interaction of hifi/environment with new eyes."
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As we see above completely contrary to common footer isolators, Stéphane did not use his two quartets beneath the speakers' spikes; or main components. So rather than put mine just anywhere, I'd start by duplicating the man's own scheme to dip my toes into these – uh, waters. Could he provide more hints to help us understand the underlying MO? "About 20 years ago Pierre Johannet, a researcher at the Clamart Électricité de France laboratory, the leading producer and supplier of French electricity, began talking of interface micro discharges or IMD distortion. [This subsequently informed Bernard Salabert's designs of speaker drivers and cables at PHY HP and continues with today's Ocellia and Auditorium 23 – Ed.]. I met with Pierre who confirmed my difficulties understanding certain phenomena which fall outside known Physics. Encouraged, I began theorizing about ultrasonic disturbances created by a hifi and finally had a chance to use a very costly laser vibrometer for certain tests. To my dismay I couldn't measure any ultrasound. By 2017 I realized that instead it was water molecules which cause erratic performance changes in a hifi. Understanding how this works took me a long time. It meant hundreds of experiments and prototypes to validate assumptions with all manner of circuitous results. I was following a slow process of painstaking elimination. Today's Origin B2 is the most successful manifestation of this work. Rather than attempt to make pleasant sound, as a formal electronics engineer I wanted to understand the underlying reasons that work against good sound so I could then formulate strategic solutions. Pierre Johannet was one of very few who identified a specific issue outside then known Physics and how to solve it. While running Neodio's day-to-day operations and commercializing electronics, cables and accessories, I spent about half my time on this R&D. The trouble with water molecules is that they're everywhere around us. That includes our own bodies which are mostly water. It's in materials and the air and the latter constantly changes. We might think of it as a form of weather." Once before I'd come across a presumed correlation between air moisture and sound quality. During a CES show demo in Las Vegas, a presenter used a plant mister to combat the very dry desert air, swearing that higher air moisture improves the sound. Somehow I didn't think that Stéphane's theory overlaps.
This begs some words on theories. From Franck Tchang's acoustic resonators to Louis Motek's BlackGround, from assorted Schumann or quantum resonators to New Age tachyon devices and cable lifts, I've reviewed even own products whose MO ties to 'strange' theories. If a theory seems implausible but the associated product clearly works, I'm left to think that veracity or not, said theory led its believer to an effective solution. Should I care if the theory has holes? As a music lover, I don't listen as a scientist chasing theoretical proof. I'm not beholden to just textbook products. If something seemingly odd prompts a clearly benign repeatable effect which I appreciate, even the wonkiest theory is fine by me. It's just gift wrap one throws away to get at the bits inside. On the flipside of this possibly flippant attitude, I enjoy gaining understanding of how things in our sector work. Whenever I come across a new theory that attempts to explain familiar if still unexplained observations, I'm happy to try it on for size. See where it leads. 100% theoretical accuracy is no prerequisite. The new theory is just a pair of colored glasses through which to look at things in a different light. If that nets useful discoveries, I can discard the glasses. Now it matters naught if they were faulty. That's my Joe Consumer attitude. It's why I'm happy to review such product. Others demand airtight explanations before they lend ears to avoid accusations of peddling crocodile tears. To not end up in that jar is why some tweak makers like this shun theories altogether. They prefer to collect user/owner feedback against a no-questions-asked return privilege. Leave the theory, bring the results. I view reviews as telling stories. They should inform, entertain and educate in hopefully equal measure. Now a novel theory can inject some color into what otherwise is yet another metallic hockey puck with damping layer of undisclosed provenance. At least that's my excuse for taking today's joyride. What's yours?
Seriously, we can all see Stéphane Even's conundrum. After 20 long years of solitary R&D, he's come up with a working theory and product proof which he's excited to share. As an accredited electrical engineer, he's only too aware of the swamp and all its would-be drainers in the forum wings. If he doesn't at least touch upon the theory, there's little incentive to the end user to view and apply his B2 as anything other than a conventional component footer. Yet Stéphane is bullish. It's a lot more. That puts him between a rock and a hard place. He can't promote the concept without outlining at least some of his views on the matter. Once that genie is out of the bottle, the one wish it'll never grant is going back in. Roy Gregory's review didn't yet uncork that bottle. Apparently Seven—Stéphane's initial and last name—has changed his mind since. Risky business? No more than the cosmic radiation theory by LessLoss to explain their Blackbody and BlackGround devices. Here's Stéphane's:
