skyscraper has some good questions
Millercarbon, would you know if the BDR Cones and Round Things are substantially better than the Vibrapod equivalents? They are substatially more expensive and I’m wondering if there’s enough difference to warrant that extra expense.
Haven't compared directly. Couldn't say anyway. For me I could say but nobody but you can decide what's worth it.
Just to look at them its obvious what they have done. Its just like what I said earlier about granite and sand having faults but being good together. Vibra pods combine ordinary o-rings (rubber) with plastic, with steel. Then notice the shape isn't a straight cone its got an angle change in there and the base has a flange. So its obvious what they have done is combine these materials and shapes and tune them to get the sound balance they consider best.
DJ did the same with BDR Cones. The main difference being the material is inherently superior. Its like the difference between a semi tractor trailer and a F1 car. Both have suspensions with springs and shocks. One is a whole lot more advanced in terms of geometry and materials. Vibration control in BDR is down to the molecular level. The material itself is inherently stiff and highly damped. It doesn't need a rubber o-ring to damp the ringing of the steel ball bearing in other words, which is what the Vibrapod does.
Most of these things the best use is directly on the component. Not under the component feet. There's nothing worse in all of audio than the feet manufacturers put under their gear. Even ones with impressive looking footers, they are so bad probably even a Vibrapod would be an improvement.
The best practice is to use three. Three points define a plane and so never any rocking with three. Components are different enough there's no one simple rule to follow on where they go. On a CDP it might be one under the disk, one under the transformer, and the third wherever it stabilizes best. The only way to know for sure where is best is to try different combinations. Usually a difference can be heard. Which in itself is amazing. But so is this whole subject.
If you look at my Melody, its hard to tell from the pics but the factory feet and bottom cover was removed and three BDR Those Things are screwed in right through the bottom with Round Things screwed onto the bottom. So one inside, one outside. Yes the bottom cover is basically clamped between carbon fiber on both sides. Cones screw into the Round Things.
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 Vibration control is a huge component of system performance. I take it very seriously.
