Black Diamond Cones ADVICE

I have tried BDR cones reasonably extensively. For me, cones are a final touch. If there is significant resonance getting through your rack to the cones, then what happens is you get to hear the resonant frequency of the cones - which can trick you into believing you are hearing more detail, but the sound is very irritating in the longer term. This seems to go for all cones I have tried. But if your rack and shelves are good then the BDR cones work very well. When your rack and shelves are good, placement of the cones makes little difference. When a lot of resonance is getting through however, then placement of the cones can make a very marked difference - possibly due to different parts of the bottom plate resonating at different frequencies. But the difference due to moving the cones around is not so much an improvement/diminution in sound quality - just a change in the resonance being heard. The other observation about cones is that, in my room (which I must admit does not have a totally rigid floor) I still find it best to have some compliance somewhere in the equipment support. If you use BDR cones, then you are bypassing the rubber feet and it may be best to also try some form of compliance either in the shelf material (which MDF is an example of - as opposed to thick glass or perspex) or with an air cushion product like a seismic sink.

I don't think you made a mistake David99. There is nothing that is perfect in the vibration control arena. And no single product does it all. Location, under-floor support, rack material/structural integrity/damping, shelf material/thickness, etc. The cacophony of all these things that vibrate affects the sound you get, not just the cone under your equipment. Judiciously used the BDR cones can be very beneficial. IMHO, the common mistake is made when you find something beneficial like BDR cones under your transport, and then assume if you put them under everything, get BDR shelves for everything etc, that things will just continue to improve in proportion to how much BDR is in the system. When this results in a system that resonates to the sound of BDR, the mistake is compounded by removing every vestige of BDR altogether, and leaping on the next band-wagon. So hang on to the BDR cones. Use them judiciously and they can play a very valuable part in a resonance control strategy. Too much of the BDR can play havoc with tonality, but from my experience, too much of the Walker Valid Points causes problems too - mainly in the pace and rhythm department.

Drumsgreg, I doubt that we are really disagreeing. I was making the point that any seemingly beneficial vibration control device can become detrimental if over-applied. In the case of the Walker Valid Points - I reckon they are great and use them myself. However I did find that in placing the pucks on top of a component, that there was a point where you had too many, and that the problem manifested itself first in pace & rhythm - I should have made this clearer in my post. I was meaning to point to the down-side of over application, not to a down-side I hear with Walker Valid Points when they are judiciously applied.

Interesting Mcp1. I find the #3s to roll-off the tops and deep bass if used as a threesome, and the #4s to thin and harden the mids if used as a threesome. But there is no general rule - just what I have found more often than not. I find 2 #4s and 1 #3 works best most of the time. The place where I am most happy with the BDR cones is between my Martin-Logan speakers and the very hard floor of my listening room (both use 1/4" UNC thread and so they can be fixed in place easily). But I have never been happy with The Pits or Those Things when used in combination with the cones - it has always resulted in an unacceptable tipping upward of the tonal balance and a flattening of images.