The Hallograph

The Hallograph breakthrough technology is the result of over 10 years of research that studied the effects of the speaker/room interface. We learned how to reduce the audibility of the chaotic reflections from the walls of the listening room so they won’t overpower and interfere with the direct sound from the speakers. The Hallograph contours the frequency, amplitude and time coefficients of the first reflections you hear, which produces a stunning increase in realism.

The Hallograph Soundfield Optimizer consists of two arrays that are easily placed behind each speaker near the corners of the backwall. Each array is engineered with proprietary technology (patent pending) and made with exotic hardwoods, consisting of staggered activated panels that are mounted on an elegant base that beautifully blends into any style room environment.

More realistic presentation of stage depth, width and height, along with a warmer musical tonality that doesn’t compromise clarity and detail.

• Allows latest advances in State-of-The-Art electronics and speaker designs to be heard to their full potential.

• Each array is adjustable so that the system can be optimized for different rooms and speaker systems.

• Activated panels generate a musically complimentary reflective energy that transforms your listening room by overshadowing typical room distortions which muddy the bass, overbrighten the presentation and blur the soundstage.

• The Ambient detail of the original recording site is now finally revealed in all its glory.

• Beta testers were stunned by the level of musical improvement they were able to achieve when the prototype Hallograph arrays were put into their systems.

• Easy set up with floor stands. The Hallograph array offers the kind of performance increase that’s associated with a major upgrade in speakers and electronics.

RENOWNED MASTERING ENGINEER STEVE HOFFMAN ENDORSING THE HALLOGRAPH AT CES 2003

Testimonials

The Hallograph is an amazingly worthwhile and effective device. I've had it in my system for a couple of weeks of heavy listening and am hooked (no break-in required).  In my system, the soundstage became deeper and wider, images gained in intensity and size, while high frequency extremes lost some stridence. Information retrieval (or should I say "unmasking") goes up a notch, as details that were previously masked by room reactions reclaim their prominence in the mix. Vocals gain in intelligibility and clarity. Importantly, it appears to be very neutral, or evenhanded, if you will, in its impact across the spectrum -- nothing pushed at you or rolled off to create an artificial sense of impact. Quite the opposite, in fact -- the whole musical presentation seems to be naturally set in its recording venue to a greater degree.

The cumulative impact of all this is to peel off a previously unobserved thin layer of glaze from the music. It just has a fresher feel, closer to lifelike. If you've ever ridden a bicycle in a rural setting right after the rain, the air has a glorious, exhilarating dimension, scrubbed clean. Subjectively for me, that's the best way to sum up what the Hallograph does.
Highly recommended.

David Sparrow

I just received your Hollograph yesterday and got it set up. Wow ! I'm very impressed! The changes that can be made are surprising. When I read in the directions that you could hear a difference when only tuning the array 1/8" I thought I probably wouldn't be able to hear it . I then tried several changes and found myself laughing with amazement at the possibilities for customizing the sound. Very cool !! I don't see how it can work, but it does, and it is very very cool ! How did you get the idea to try and develop something like this ? It seems to be such a different approach than anything else on the market.

Congrats, and I hope it all works out for you. If you have any other secrets let me know. I'm sure I would be interested !
Bob Vaughan

My initial reaction upon hearing the Shakti Hallograph Sound Field Optimizer in my home has been nothing short of amazement in the enhancement of my system¹s sound. Not only has the soundstage width and depth been enhanced, but the resolution within the soundstage is spectacular. The bass exhibits greater control with midrange and highs that are now more articulate and less strident.

Most importantly, I am now drawn into the music to a degree that I have never experienced before.

Best Wishes,
Steven Plaskin

System: Wilson 6 speakers, Levinson 32 preamp with Levinson 33H amps. Basis Debut Vacuum 5 table with Graham 2.2 and Koetsu Jade Platinum. Audiocom modified Sony SCD-1 SACD player. Transparent Reference Cables.

Ben,
Thanks again for the great follow-up on my Hallograph Soundfield Optimizer (say that fast three times).

I received the Hallograph the first week of January, and found it very easy to set up.  My wife's visual reaction was "it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be" and "though weird, works well with our contemporary décor."  The wood is well finished and the overall effect is more akin to a fun sculpture.

But this is really about sound reproduction, not aesthetics. The Hallograph does for my audio system what laser vision does for my sight. Smearing of tones, edginess of timbre, and wooly bass have now vanished to be replaced by a clarity of pitch and timbre, an improvement in micro and macro attack, bloom and decay, and a very natural, you are there sense to all types of music; chamber, symphonic, jazz, male or female vocals, massed chorus, and opera. I have been tweaking my system for years, and have made some very good improvements this past year. The Hallograph stands with the best of these improvements (components, cables, and the ubiquitous Shakti stones) and for the most part at a much smaller investment. They truly are adjustable with audible changes, and I have had some fun "tweaking the tweak." In my room with my speakers, setting the Hallograph's "vanes" dead center on left and right is for my ears the best overall presentation and balance.  It is very hard to turn the system off at night.  I find so much new enjoyment with my most familiar recordings (on CD, HDCD, SACD and vinyl).

The Hallograph Soundfield Optimizer is a mouth-full to say, looks strange in pictures, is hard to comprehend at first sight how or why is should even work, and does everything as advertised. Thanks again for making this hobby so much fun and for producing an audio product that is so effective.
Jack Simmonds

Quotes from reviewers

"The spectacular sense of spaciousness didn't really surprise me, as I had heard that effect at my very first encounter with the Hallographs. But that brief CES audition did not prepare me for the myriad other improvements offered by the Hallographs. Bass gets quicker and tighter, with better pitch definition. Vocal and instrumental images typically have more dimensionality and lateral stability. Previously unnoticed low-level detail emerges, and the entire presentation takes on a more relaxed and naturally musical quality that is hard to describe, but easy to love (in my case, often deep into the night)." Wayne Donnelly, Ultimate Audio now at www.enjoythemusic.com

"The Shakti Hallographs have become permanent parts of my system. At $1000 a pair, they are not cheap, but they can transform a system, even one in a highly treated room. A very strong selling point is that they look like pieces of art and not room treatments, so will be likely to have a much higher "roommate" acceptance factor. The improvements they make are essential to enjoying music to the fullest." Clay Swartz  Positive Feedback Online APRIL 2003

"The Best New Room Treatment at the show was by Ben Piazza of Shakti. This was demonstrated in the E.A.R. room. The Hallograph Soundfield Optimizer is a tall floor-standing wooden device designed to work in the room corners behind the speakers. On top of a wooden post are three vertical wavy wooden segments, made out of two different kinds of wood, each containing a resonant chamber. They are difficult to describe in words, but they did work. With the devices in place, the soundstage filled out and the midrange and treble sounded more natural. With the devices removed, there was reduced ambience and naturalness to the sound."
Dave Glackin

"... Ben leads me up to his room. Yes! Lest one has not caught on, CES is all about male-on-male seduction. And we of the press, star. Babes for hire in Toyland! Anyway, Ben is showing a novel room treatment called the Hallograph. Unlike his more discreet Shakti Stones, which have become the favorite whipping boy of stiffs in audio academic society, here is something out in the open. Hallographs, probably TM although I don’t see a sign, are three wavy upright pieces of exotic wood that perch in the front corners of a room on tall thin poles. Scarcely a nuisance, visually. Kind of attractive, actually.

I mean, they also sound good! I mean, no sound comes from them, and yet... What I mean is... These Hallographs assist the hi-fl by helping to recreate a real sense of sonic space. I do not say that lightly. Removing them proves the point. In two systems, one major, one minor, both in mediocre rooms, Hallographs make the difference between great sound and good. And we’re talking sound by E.A.R., that’s Tim de Paravinci, which would otherwise be quite acceptable, tonally, before adding the Hallographs. I predict that these light wooden sculptures, which may even elicit ahs of wonder from artists and ladies, shall become in one form or another a standard feature of good rooms.

In the two locations one can hear them, Hallographs impart a sense of presence to the music unlike any other room trick I have ever heard. Astonishing. Congratulations, Ben. Although who knows how they may work in better environments? At any rate, for under $1000, they seem well worth trying.

OK, want a better quote? Here you go.

“Hallographs provide a fundamental, as-yet inimitable solution to room problems. They extract, rather than synthesize. Hallographs help unravel the tangled web that music reproduction in real rooms weaves."

How’s that?

Oh, and this just in. Later I revisit to find famous mastering engineer Stan Ricker, along with Dave Glackin, sitting in the catbird seats. Moments into the “A” play (which I happen to know is an old Merc, albeit on CD) Stan remarks, “That must be a Bob Fine recording.” Of course he is correct. Moments into the “B”, with Hallographs up, Stan bursts out: “Still a Bob Fine.., but, much finer!”"
Clark Johnsen