Ceramic insulator cone under phono stage shocker!

What most of you are saying about orienting the cone tips so they point away from the source makes logical sense to drain the energy...but for whatever reason in my setup they sound better pointing up.  However my arrangement is a little different.  My turntable sits on a BDR The Source platform with BDR cones (pointing up) between my rack and The Source platform.  I have flipped them numerous times and it isn't even close - I lose much dynamic range with tips down on the rack under The Source platform - in fact it sounds downright "thin" as if all the musical goodness got drained away along with the "energy".  

Except cones are not really inherently diode-like.  We only wish they were.  They can approximate the action of a diode, if very carefully placed on a resonant shelf, on areas that act like vibratory nodes.  Otherwise, energy can go both ways through a tiptoe cone. To maximize any diode-like function, you have to listen to confined areas on a shelf, best done using a stethoscope while tapping on the shelf; look for small areas that do not transmit the tapping noise as efficiently as do other areas.  There you can place a cone and hope for a diode-like effect.

@uberwaltz,

One other thing..... when I was dealing with tinnitus years ago....luckily, mine was more due to impacted wax, I was so distraught because of how much very low bass frequencies hurt me. I was ready to give up listening to music. Just driving in my vehicle on the highway, hurt my ears....driving with the window down, etc.... It was from low frequency noise that humans really don't notice in their daily lives. If we had the hearing that dogs have, most of us would go crazy. All of the seismic vibrations from the earth's crust constantly moving would be....well, I hate to think about it. This is on a different scale but needs to be thought about when trying to isolate or decouple out components.

My theory is... it’s a shadow.. from a limb,  to a other limb . 
See below:
https://youtu.be/nda_OSWeyn8

Thx guys.

Making sense to my poor head now.

Yes sir...I love it!

OMG @slaw ,  We're posting the same thoughts again.

@uberwaltz, the reason could be as simple as the tubes in a component pick up any mechanical or acoustical sound/noise and introduce it into the circuit. Relating to Almarg's comments, all tubes are inherently microphonic to some degree however small. I don't mean in the sense a tube has become "microphonic" due to damage, poor design, etc. But the fact that if you touch a tube, you will still hear the sound thru the system.

This type of noise/vibration would not be present in a SS component.

@uberwaltz,

Tubes put out more tenny vibrations than SS in general. They are also more succeptable to taking on vibration from outside sources. A tube is a circuit encased in a glass enclosure. On (top) of that it's just out there, swaying in the wind...... think of a skyscraper and how much they move just because of their height, dealing with, as GK puts it, "Seismic vibrations" & wind etc...This all needs to either be tamed/drained/or both.

I cannot disagree with the logic of cones down, HOWEVER as I stated in the OP, under my SS PH10 phono I could hear no difference.

So I am more intrigued by that as much as to why they work so well in present orientation on the tube phono.

I discovered the positive effects of ceramic under tubed equipment a couple of months ago.It seems to work better than anything else I've experimented with.

@lowrider57 

I was getting ready to post the same/similar words. 

Now, I just can't wait until I get my phono pre decoupled from the room....I expect greater things!

@slaw and @geoffkait , agree with the concept of draining vibration from the component to a neutral platform. I must thank @geoffkait for turning me on to DH ceramic cones. I'm using them underneath SS and tube components. The points are sitting on a maple plinth with Herbies underneath. 
The result is focus, dynamics, transparency. Cones pointed up do not provide these benefits.

Cones act like mechanical diodes, so you always want the points down so the excess energy will exit the system. Points up actually allows more seismic energy to be transmitted to the component 🔝 and less excess energy in the component to escape.

Maybe an additional benefit or way to explain what @almarg was pointing out is the latest orientation is a superior way to funnel vibrations out of the Manley.

Ever tried Herbies tube dampers?

Interesting.
No microphonics from either of the 4 tubes inside the Chinook that I could hear at all by performing Almargs suggested test, not even the slightest pop.

It just has to be the difference in the way the vibrations are borne away being much more noticeable through the tube phono.

Whatever it is a great cheap tweak! Lol.

Al
You could have something there.
I know one pair of Amperex tubes in it are well used to be polite......

Sounds like a project for tomorrow morning.

I suspect it's more than coincidental that the PH-10 is solid state while the Chinook uses tubes. Probably having the cones in the new orientation lessens vibrations that previously were affecting some or all of the tubes.

It might be a good idea to try to determine if any of the tubes are excessively microphonic, in which case they should be replaced. You can do that by removing the cover of the Chinook, and while it and the rest of the system are operating **very gently** tapping each tube with the eraser at the end of a pencil. If you do that with the volume control set at or a bit below a setting you would normally use, and the tapping results in a particularly loud noise, it would signify a problem in the particular tube.

Best,
-- Al