Bob Levi: a moment. LAOC Gala Board Banquet, 2022 (Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson)
One of my pet peeves in listening room acoustic treatments is devices that not only enhance the sound quality, but also cause an irregularity to the musical reproduction at certain frequencies. I run across these items almost weekly from folks that want me to review their newest room tweaks. The one company I can count on that stresses linearity as well as improved definition is SteinMusic of Germany, run by the genius inventor Holger Stein. His newest offerings are the new Acoustic Discs available in black, white, or painted to match your listening enviroment. These six discs, when placed appropriately, enhance both the definition and transparency of whatever source you may use. I just finished playing the 30th anniversary edition of Jazz at the Pawn Shop, and I have never heard better textures from instruments, more depth, or pure beauty of the instrumental tone and it is a CD. I did not hear any emphasis of any particular frequencies excited by the Acoustic Discs. It was all very natural and neutral, as if the system should have sounded this way from the beginning!
Holger Stein, LAOC Gala 2022 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson)
From Holger Stein, his personal explanation distilled down from 60 pages to just two, including masterful room set-up and his physics analysis utilizing the Acoustic Discs as follows:
SteinMusic Acoustic Discs bring clarity, depth, and naturalness to your listening space.
They noticeably enhance the spatial imaging of your audio system – instruments and voices appear more tangible, the soundstage opens up, and the overall presentation becomes more relaxed and focused. All without any structural changes to the room. Easily mounted on walls, ceilings, or furniture, the Discs blend discreetly into any interior and deliver results with just a few precisely placed elements. For a more immersive music experience –exactly where you listen.
Benefits for your music experience:
Clearer spatial imaging – sound detaches from the speakers and floats freely in the room
Greater calm in the soundstage – unwanted reflections are tamed for more relaxed listening
Holographic sound – instruments and voices become more three-dimensional and tactile.
Individually positionable – tailor soundstage, depth, and imaging to your space.
Subtle & interior-friendly – discreet design, even paintable to match your room.
What makes the Acoustic Discs special?
54 mm diameter – compact yet remarkably effective.
Available in black or white – unobtrusive in any setting.
Paintable – easily matched to your interior décor.
Reusable adhesive pads – easy, residue-free installation.
Designed for maximum effectiveness within the SteinMusic Room Acoustic System.
Practical Application
Side walls: 30–40 cm below the ceiling (approx. 2.3–2.5 m height)for an open soundstage.
Behind the speakers: for enhanced depth and vertical imaging.
Ceiling: halfway between speakers and listening position to expand the sound image.
At ear height next to the speakers: for wider stereo imaging.
Symmetrically throughout the room: especially effective in larger spaces for sonic coherence.
FAQ's
1. How many Acoustic Discs do I need for my room? That depends on the desired effect and room size.
1A. As few as 3 well-placed discs can already deliver a noticeable improvement.
2. Do I need to drill or screw them into the wall?
2A. No – the included adhesive pads hold securely and can be re-moved without leaving any residue.
3. Can I reposition the discs later?
3A. Yes – the 6 mm pads are ideal for testing different placements. For permanent
installation, we recommend the 20 mm pads.
4. Do the Acoustic Discs work without other SteinMusic products?
4A. Yes – they are effective on their own, but can be perfectly combined with other SteinMusic acoustic solutions for even greater results.
5. Is there a recommended starter set?
5A. Yes – many customers begin with a set of six discs to cover the key positions in their room effectively.
My Listening Analysis
Listening to the 30th special edition of Jazz At The Pawn Shop on CD was a musical treat with the Acoustic Discs installed.
I placed the discs in this order:
1. I placed two discs in the front center of the room, one a foot above the other.
2. I placed one disk equidistant between the listening position and the system on each side of the room.
3. I placed two discs at the same height about a meter apart in the rear of the room. This was my favored installation pattern for my nearfield listening room.
The discs brought out all of the elements that were lost in the background of the Pawnshop recording and made the instruments sound more natural and lively in the foreground. I particularly loved the sound of the clarinet and the xylophone, which were more correctly textured and enjoyable. The bass response was natural and more solid. The piano had better textures and focus. The CD was more mellifluous and had an analog appeal.
Miles Davis, Kind Of Blue, Blue Dot edition on CD
Listening to this very special CD was ear-opening. The trumpet was more textured than I had ever heard it before. The air around the instruments was increased, as was the distance between the instruments. Coltrane's saxophone was more lively and warmly textured and bathed in ambience. Cannonball Adderley's baritone saxophone was powerful and forward, but not etched or unlistenable in any way. The space between the instruments was amazing, with a blacker background than I recall with this Blue Dot edition CD. The double bass was clearly defined with lots of woody textures mixed with the string sound. Though the 24/192kHz Qobuz addition has more definition overall, it is not textually superior to this Blue Dot CD. The Acoustic Discs improve the perceived fidelity of my EAR DAC 3 CD player by at least 20%.
Ellington Indigo 65th Anniversary Purple vinyl Edition of the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society, 45 RPM, two LP set. Impex pressed 2500 in black vinyl which is musically perfect as well.
This is by far the finest LP recording of Ellington Indigo on the market today, limited in purple vinyl to only 250 LPs, cut at Bernie Grumman‘s studio, and pressed at 45 RPM. This is a must-own. I've heard this LP many times as a reference disc, but never better than now with the Stein Music acoustic discs installed. The instrumental groupings were more complex, the sound stage was wider, and the performance had a naturalness that was addictive.
I utilized the Stein Music Adventurin cartridge, the EAR PB-88 tube phono-stage, the EAR V12 tube integrated amplifier, the Martin Duke Two Speakers, and Rel subwoofer. Cables included UIT Audio interconnects and power cords, as well as Kubala-Sosna Elation! interconnects and power cords. Also, Audioquest provided the fantastic Dragon speaker cables, while SteinMusic provided the recently reviewed Signature Speaker Matches. With all this, I still heard a significant improvement in the liveliness and sense of realism from this vinyl. It was as pronounced an improvement as I heard utilizing the CDs of other recordings. Holistically, there is a fullness and richness that was not present before the acoustic discs.
Nojima Plays Liszt from Reference Recordings, 45 RPM, two LP set.
Solo piano is one of the easiest and most obvious ways to hear any improvement in a fine high-end system. The reference recording of Nojima Plays Liszt is one of my finest solo piano recordings which can be mind blowing at 45 RPM. It can sound rather chunky and congealed if a system is not up to the task. I always liked this recording for its openness and robustness, but hearing it with the acoustic discs was startling. The piano was larger and deeper, and the tonality of the key strokes were more lively and intense. It was very exciting to hear almost as if I had never heard it before.
Holger Stein has developed a real product with the acoustic discs that are almost invisible to the eye in black and certainly easy to mount. I am most impressed.
Summary
The SteinMusic Acoustic Discs enhance every type of musical format I tried. When the room is tuned to bring out the nuance and power of music anything you play is going to sound better. The acoustic discs enhance that nuance and power. I loved the increase in spatial cues and the perfect linearity of those improvements from the lowest to the highest notes. I cannot fault the acoustic discs as they improved the reproduction without any quibbles to note. Placement is not critical, so don't sweat how many meters high you place the disc. I found that consistency and continuity was more important.
My compliments to Holger Stein, and SteinMusic for creating these marvelous acoustic discs. They have my highest recommendation.
Acoustic Discs
Retail: About $419.60 for three and $839.20 for six, plus any tariffs
SteinMusic
