Brass door knobs as footers

Jmoog08 -
I love a bargain, myself.
I think the idea with the footers is to drain internal vibrations into a very small foot print so there's not a lot of area to conduct vibrations back up into whatever the equipment is you are trying to isolate.

I do think the knobs might work. Seems to me (without actually seeing the knobs you are considering) you might still have a broad contact area, however. Check out Parts Express and look for Dayton Speaker Cone Spikes (or some variation on that). I used 4 of these (~$30 with shipping) and a 2 1/4" Cuisinart wood chopping block (HEAVY!) from Lowes to make a bargain plinth for my turntable. Actually think I hear a difference. Hey - either way, it's worth the experiment.

Oz - I used the cones under a Technics table not a speaker. But I do agree with your point. I cranked my cone tips totally down before installing. I'll check for loosening though I suspect this to be highly unlikely. $ for Loctite + 4 Parts Express is still way less than Heavy Footer $. Is the Mapleshade stuff probably higher quality/better made - yes. But the flip side to the econommic equation in my mind is, will I hear the $ differential? Answer for me is, I won't be A/B-ing and given my modest system - probably not. I'm actually surprised I think I hear a difference with the budget cones and plinth now.

Lucas - no argument with 3 is more stable than 4. I went with 4 because the Parts Express threaded studs match perfectly the thread gauge of the stock footer for the Technics table. I was fortunate and needed only a minor shim under the wood block to get things level.

Would have done only 3 had there been some way to go there. The bottom of the Technics table has a somewhat "irregular topology". Using the 4 corners was easy.

The Totem Forests I own have - as you recommend - a 3 legged "claw" configuration (I don't use the balls though that geometry resembles the round surface of a small door knob!).

Johnny - glad to hear PartsExpress cones worked for you. Here's to hi-value, budget options. Using a 2.25" Cuisnart chopping block that I bought at Lowes, myself. I really believe Mapleshade is onto something re vibration draining.

Vinyl playback is so good now, its amazing - even on non-audiophile, reissued LPs! - and I have not yet added fluid to the damper trough. An experiment to come, I suppose.

I have to admit I was always a little skeptical about the whole vinyl better than CD thing. This has certainly opened my eyes to vinyl's potential. Though I'm still not sure it's an absolute advantage. In my case it certainly reflects at least in part the ~$2000 invested in TT, Cart, phono-pre amp & inconnects vs the ~$500 invested in CDP + ICs.

The downside to this $ disparity is that it led me to spend more $ buying a DAC and tube buffer to try and get CD playback to be as rewarding as vinyl. The good news is, CDs are sounding way better now - though still not equal to vinyl. But now I also have the itch to upgrade the ICs in the CDP chain to the same level as the TT IC. (I hope this stops at some point!)

Apologies to this thread's originator for "hijacking" but hopefully some of this will be helpful to them as well.

Hello JB53 -
Guess I haven't priced doorknobs lately!

When I ordered the TT, I got Kevin's KAB Modified Stanton "Groovemaster" MM cartridge. It's a DJ cart but tricked out with nuded canitlever and stereohedron tip (no longer in production and Psychicanimal scarfed up the last few that Kevin had. It has an integrated mount so it doesn't use a head shell.

I've followed many of your posts and if I recall you are running a Denon (103?) with Sumiko headshell that you seem very happy with. When I first started listening to the Stanton - it was kind of darker sounding (I was coming from a Sumiko BluePoint Special (high output MC) and an old Thorens belt drive table. Maybe I've gotten acclimated or something. Or maybe the Stanton is finally broken in - but it sounds great now. I don't feel like I'm missing any high frequency stuff. Oh, I did upgrade from an NAD PP-1 phono pre to a used Lehmann Black Cube along the way since buying the Technics table. It is hard to isolate how these individual changes affected the overall sound. I haven't exactly been following scientific method while upgrading my system.

You are very welcome and glad to have contributed somemthing to someone on Audiogon. This has been a very helpful site to me.

re the vibration "evacuation" concept in practice - it's amazin', ain't it!

Hope we all continue to be able to enjoy the music.

Hi Gonzo1- No, I did not encounter that problem. The Dayton cone studs were (by memory) shorter than the threaded legs of my stock TT footers. Compare lengths in your case. Are you using a Technics table? Make sure the studs that come with the cones are screwed into the cones as far as possible. My recollection is one one end of the stud is "slotted" for a screwdriver (might be wrong about that). If for some reason your studs are too long - shorter is the fix. People at Parts Express told me the cone stud thread was an "M6 coarse". Should be possible to reseat those fittings and use some kind of glue or perhaps silicone to hold them in place. Hope you get things working.