Alternatives to Stillpoints

Totally agree @yoby

Good to know Elizabeth as I was considering buying a set to trial.
Money saved....

Next

I received an order from Herbies a few days ago and my results are puzzling.
Bought 3 isocups and lamp black balls to place under my Ayre ax7e amp.

So placed under the chassis bypassing the existing 3 feet wrought a slight increase in depth and bass.

However placing under the existing feet gave a considerable change! Much improved bass and top end, almost like I had hit the loudness button...lol.

I thought the idea was to bypass the manufacturer supplied feet and go direct to chassis.
Tbh I was truly surprised to be really hear anything this noticeable. And I swapped back and forth many times just to be sure at least in my mind.

Any thoughts?

I like Herbie's products across the board and use the iso cups and balls under my Primaluna mono blocks to great effect (on Himalayan salt block platforms).

Hey Andy,
Where did you get  Himalayan salt block platforms large enough for your mono blocks? 

Amazon. I think this is it:

https://www.amazon.com/HIMALAID-Himalayan-Serving-Naturally-Provides/dp/B07L3BLLHH/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UT...

It's 12 x x 8 x 2 so it's footprint is a bit smaller than the amps.

Thanks Andy

@thyname, Ingress and Symposium roller and cup footers work well to damp seismic vibrations in rotational and horizontal planes. To get the best results you need to combine them with an air spring under a supportive plate made from a material with good damping properties.

Another point, @thyname. The Ingress should be set up with the ball directly touching the underside of the component and arranged in an equilateral triangle on plan.

Thanks for the advice @toetapaudio!

I have yet to receive the Ingress. Maybe next week. It's taking a while to get them from Canada

Values (Shore A and ASKER C scales) provided by Diversitech indicate the black rubber and blue "foam" materials used to construct the 2x2" EVA MP2E pads are similar in hardness to Herbie's Audio Lab Tenderfeet.  For details see the 5:45PM 2/20/19 post at the thread here:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/vibration-isolation-2 

 

Even if you have a dedicated room for speakers and amps, equipment out of room is the best 

TW Isolation feet much better and much cheaper as well.

thyname,

How did the Ingress Engineering compare to the Symposium?

I generally won’t pay for snake-oil tweaks and exotic cables. However, I really like Center Stage Footers by Critical Mass Systems. Pricing by any standards borders on ridiculous - until you hear what they do. The explanation for how they work is pure obfuscation to me. I didn’t want to like them....

You can find comparisons reviews to Stillpoints. Don’t read them! If you try them, you won’t thank me for this.

Oh, I also like Herbie’s for tube dampers. The footers are ok, but not in the same sonic league, or price bracket as the CMS gizmos. Thank God!

Homemade low cost recipe:

quartz feet /granite plate/ sorbothane/Granite plate/ cork plate/ bamboo plate/ granite plate/sorbothane....Cost is under 100 dollars for the 2 speakers and the same cost for dac+amp

This controls resonance and damp it with diverse densities of materials at low cost....My speakers are under load (70 pounds)also....My speakers are on my desk beside the dac and the amplifier that are on top of the same sandwiches....No vibrations are sensed at all with my finger on my desk at high volume with drums.... Not perfect but very good....

Ack chew ally, you cannot control the very low frequency seismic type vibrations with materials such as mahgister just mentioned no matter how exotic the materials or in what combination. If it was that easy everyone could do it. 🤗 And LIGO the project to detect and observe very low frequency gravity waves ♒️ would not (rpt not) have required the long 20 year program of vibration isolation development to be able to sufficiently reduce the effects of seismic vibration type noise on the experiment.

What is required for audio systems is a mass-on-spring isolation system of sufficiently low natural frequency Fn to be effective for the critical frequencies 8-20 Hz. For cables and power cords a simple suspension by strong thread from eye 👁 hooks in the ceiling will suffice. So I have just distinguished between isolation and damping. You can still use your exotic materials for damping. I am looking for people who want perfect, not just good.

Ack chew ally, you cannot control the very low frequency seismic type vibrations with materials such as mahgister just mentioned no matter how exotic the materials or in what combination.

I am very happy with just good for the moment.... Perfect this is not.... And you are right for the difference between damping and isolation for sure....

But all is a question of trade-off/cost.... My sandwiches solution cost peanuts and are very good without being perfect.... Vibrations controls is one embeddings only.... The money spared will be invested better by someone who use my low cost solution in the electrical grid embedding and mostly in the acoustical embeddings... The audible effects of a rightfully treated room exceed any other changes....Then a good isolation and damping solution like mine even if not perfect for sure suffice to most people.... :)

I will add your spring solution one day to my sandwiches when i will be in the obligation to recreate my audio system, selling my house....After that without being perfect my sandwiches+springs would be very good indeed....Except for isolating my audio system for Yellowstone eruption for sure or fire truck passing near by my sandwiches are good enough for now.....

I will leave perfection search in audio to you, myself i will be happy with a good audio only and a good woman only....I wish you also the perfect one tough....

:)

Maple-shmaple! I’ve got my stuff in a horizontal maple cabinet that looks and houses gear perfectly but is now my new obsession. I’ve cleaned up my sound enough that the resonating maple cabinet has to go! Need to get the equipment rack away from the center image.Move it?  Or burn the sucker?

@whart
 

Vibrapod cone plus puck

Thanks this good to know.

Nice thread

I want to set my whole rack on vibration isolators with just the regular, inexpensive rubber padding type under component feet for those compnents that did not come with anti vibration feet.

what is the “best” shore scale for reducing vibration transmitted to the rack, either vibrations from bass or “thumps” to the floor (ie dropping a heavy object)?
 

thanks..  

I miss Geoff Kait.