I used to endorse Herbie's Tenderfeet until I got my Marantz Reference series integrated and SACD player. I found it muddied up the sound a bit so now I use the standard (really overbuilt) feet that come on the units. They sit directly on thick maple shelves and sound best that way.
I guess it all depends on your units footing, the medium it's sitting on, and your take on it. Time to experiment as you'll get lots of advice (all which works for those advising) but as usual, YMMV.
I've had very good experience with Marigo Mystery feet, currently on the F8 extreme -- they are expensive ($1500 per set of 3) but work very well on my ARC 40th pre and Ron offers a 30 day trial and full upgrades to any future versions. You will need a good amount of clear space on the bottom of your pre to use them. In the case of ARC components there's not really enough room between the bottom ventilation plate and the front plate
Someone on this forum suggested that I use sorbothane footers (available from Audio Advisor, among others) to cure an annoying hum from my preamp. I tried it and it worked!
You may wish to investigate Terracone and Terrastone products from Edensound. Dan Sherbrook is very helpful and knowledgeable; his products are highly effective. I have many of them under all my components.
I agree with @arsh, I've been using Edensound's TerraCone footers (w/ point-receivers) on my VPI and it's made a big difference. Sound is more detailed, better dynamics, better bass. Dan offers a no-obligation 60 day trial so you can demo with little risk.
Get 3 for $189 and mount them under the pre-amp in accordance with the provided instructions. Unlike most footers FAT PADZadz also provides isolation from the table or rack on which it is mounted.
Fat Padz by passes the Pre-amp's feet. The flat bottom of the Pre-amp rests on the flat top pf Fat Padz. It is not necessary to remove the preamp'sfeet.
It is available from the manufacturer or from the cable Company.
Freedom from vibration is an essential, but often underrated or neglected, element for realistic audio reproduction.
I have found that vibration control is a critical part of maximizing the performance of the system. However, I think "YMMV" applies here more than in any other area. The factors that will affect the performance of footers include: the composition and stability of your rack, the component chassis, the overall resolution of your system, the type of component (tube/ss), the microphony of the tubes, the type of floor in your listening room, the energy thrown into the room by your speakers, etc.
There are reputable companies like Stillpoints, Nordost, and Symposium who make excellent products that clearly reduce vibrations and change the sound of your system. Whether it's for the better only your ears can tell you.
smrex13 226 posts 06-09-2016 11:43am "I have found that vibration control is a critical part of maximizing the performance of the system. However, I think "YMMV" applies here more than in any other area. The factors that will affect the performance of footers include: the composition and stability of your rack, the component chassis, the overall resolution of your system, the type of component (tube/ss), the microphony of the tubes, the type of floor in your listening room, the energy thrown into the room by your speakers, etc."
vibration control also extends to the transformer and isolating the circuit boards from the transformer vibration, damping the capacitors (which produce micro vibration) with cork or Marigo VTS Dots, damping the chassis with Marigo VTS Dots or some other constrained layer damping material. And those ubiquitous little ribbon cable connectors are an accident waiting to happen vibration wise.
jl35 1,001 posts 06-10-2016 8:47am "also important to isolate from airborne vibration. it seems many products that keep out floor vibrations, keep in airborne vibrations..."
Damping the chassis, tubes, capacitors, CD transport, etc. addresses airborne vibrations. Or if you use an iso stand, damping the too plate is also useful in dissipating any vibration in the component whatever it's source - transformer, acoustic waves in the room, motors, etc.
Vibrations in the component caused by airborne energies (eg. from loudspeakers) or from activities within the component(eg. transformer vibrations)
Vibrations from the shelf or rack on which it rests.
FAT PADZ is constructed like a sandwich. The "meat" in the sandwich transforms vibrational energies into heat. The 2 outer "breads" are made from highly polished stainless steel. The top one transforms energy from the component into the sandwich. Stainless steel is used because it is such a good conductor of energy. This is why most professional cooking pots are made from stainless steel. The bottom one not only transfers energy into the FAT PADZ but also damps the shelf itself, thereby reducing the amount of spurious energy imparted by the shelf or rack.
While on this topic I should mention that the top of most preamps are made from materials that vibrates a lot. Knock it with your knuckles and it rings like a bell. This situation smears music and needs to be separately addressed. There are several ways to deal with this at very little expense Years ago I used Dynamat which does a good job. I now use Walker Audio's one inch ( 1" ) resonance control disc available from walkeraudio.com for $75.00 and worth every penny..
My pre/ power reside on the floor on top of 1 3/4" maple butcher block with triple 1" carbides screwed into the bottom. I go further by treating open bare metal inside pre and source cases with Dynamat. It stops vibration and resonance in its tracks.
I have a custom Vacuum tube Direct Heated Triode Preamplifier and I use the Tall Soft Tender feet And they work great with detail and focus with fast tight bass . Thd other guy that likes thd stock feet maybe should have used the Tall firm footers. Also as was told to me before securing the feet try different locations Like under transfotmers and power supplies those usually are the most Effective areas.
I used the Star Sound points which fits instead of the standard feet on the VPI tables. Screw one out and the other in and noticed a good improvment. I was a dealer for both then and VPI makes a very good table. I am using a highly modified Linn now and it works best on a low mass stand which is not too rigid. Strange but true.I was using a torlite stand on top of another stand. Rube Goldburg.
I have two words, Golden Sound Super DH (Diamond Hardness) Cones. NASA grade ceramics. The next hardest material next to diamond. 9 point 5 something on the Moh scale. For extremely rapid transfer of energy. Plus each DH Cone can support some unbelievable amount of weigh. Cannot beat with stick. Tip: they work like magic on top of components and speakers.
IMHO, having tried over the years most of what is listed above, I like the Stillpoints Ultra Fives and Ultra Minis and very much the Star Sound Audio Points, especially the new 2.5 larger version. Both maintain the pace of the music, but especially the Star Sound APs used with their Rhythm racks.
The Stillpoint Ultra also sound best with their ESS racks.
I have piles of ceramic, bad brass, aluminum, rubber, wood, plastic and steel, graphite, and lead feet.
If You can afford it this is one of Technologies Best !! You have heard of Mag Lev Magnetic energy to Levitate. I just may buy one for my Vacuum tube pre amplifier Check this out, http://www.higherfi.com/hf/shelf1.htm
audioman58 527 posts 06-11-2016 11:31pm If You can afford it this is one of Technologies Best !! You have heard of Mag Lev Magnetic energy to Levitate. I just may buy one for my Vacuum tube pre amplifier Check this out, http://www.higherfi.com/hf/shelf1.htm
mag lev is sort of interesting but the nature of the beast is that you can never get the top plate completely free and clear of the bottom plate. The interface between two opposing magnets in a mag lev system is extremely "slippery" such that the top plate will slide over and locate itself against a stop post, providing a path for vibration to the component on the top plate. Still, I like mag lev stands and they're light years ahead of a lot of things. It’s easy enough to build your own mag lev iso platform with neodymium magents and short hollow tubes.
My brother has had 2 in his system for several months now. One for his dac,thd other his DHT tube preamp. We compared to my other per items and his still points. This Maglev aRe far better then anything out there.the low level detail and separation noticeably better,as well as soundstage image depth. The only limitation is the 55-60 lb max weight. They may make for bigger amps Now possibly.
audioman58 528 posts 06-12-2016 11:18am "My brother has had 2 in his system for several months now. One for his dac,thd other his DHT tube preamp. We compared to my other per items and his still points. This Maglev aRe far better then anything out there.the low level detail and separation noticeably better,as well as soundstage image depth. The only limitation is the 55-60 lb max weight. They may make for bigger amps Now possibly."
just a comment that it might have been a bit of a stretch to say that "this Maglev are far better than anything out there." For example, did you compare the Maglev in question to say, Vibraplane or Minus K or the Townshend iso stand, you know iso stands that are well documented? Having built Maglev devices myself I have an appreciation for what they can and cannot do. I also have designed sub Hertz airspring iso stands and many other types of iso platforms.
tbg 5,214 posts 06-12-2016 5:42pm "audioman58, a long time ago I had Sony likepole magnet feet and later a platform from Italy much like what you are talking about.
Such devices behave just like springs.The Sonys were best as they did not slide to one side. They were about the size of the Stillpoints Ultra Fives.
I don’t like spring isolators."
i appears there’s a lot of folks who disagree on the dodgy subject of springs and isolation. You know, the thousands of Vibraplane users, not to mention Minus K, Townshends iso stands, in fact almost all iso platforms are spring based in one form or another. As well as the many university labs who employ bungee cords or similar springs for isolation. Even the project to detect gravity waves LIGO employs spring based iso systems. Of course, it’s always possible to implement these systems incorrectly or ineffectively. C’est la vie. Isolation is part science, part art. In the special case of maglev devices it’s not that they act like springs, it’s that there is no physical pathway for vibrations to get to the component. It's levitation. As I said earlier the slippery interface of opposing magnets results in a small pathway where the top plate, by necessity, comes in contact with one of the stops.
Lots of good recommendations... Lots of products... I personally use Sistrum stands ( Star Sound Technology) on every piece of equipment I can... They work great: open and transparent...
Most of these are going to change the sound in some way- sometimes for the better, sometimes, not so good, but all in the context of your system and your preferences. I tried a variety of different "footers" under the tube power supply chassis to my phono stage- from cheap to expensive. Some brought extra clarity to the sound, at the expense of harshness, others made the sound more muffled. The units I tried included: Herbies (Tender Feet?), Aurios decouplers, Vibrapods (puck and cone), HRS (both the couplers and the damping plates), an old set of Goldmund Cones, Stillpoints Ultra SS, and a custom made roller block, using different kinds of ball bearings. You could hear the differences- some were pronounced; others not so much. (I wrote up my comparisons a while ago on another forum, it has been several years since I did this). I think the end result will depend very much on how the devices affect the sound as part of the system, overall. Sorbothane in my estimation is better for higher mass damping under the platform or table, with considerable weight on it, rather than directly under a component. But, that was my experience in my system. The Vibrapod (combined puck and cone) is actually a performance bargain, given its relatively low cost. You probably have to factor in the weight of the component on some of these devices too-
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