Rogue Hera, awesome preamp. About 20 years ago I had one on loan for 2 weeks and loved it. My ignorance of tube microphonics at the time dissuaded me from keeping it as I was heating the tinkling of the tubes at idle and thought it was a defect. 
It was so delicate and musical at the same time. You're lucky to have it @buellrider97
Footers under new speakers
Hi , I’m seeking advice regarding footers and/or platforms under my speakers. I purchased Tekton Double Impact’s and have heavy shag carpet and padding over a cement slab floor. House is 35 years old, cement is thick and well cured. I’m from that old mindset of spikes into cement and I am looking for an improvement. I’ve looked online at Gaia footers and Herbie's Studded Giant Gliders. I emailed Herbie’s and specifically inquired about the studded gliders alone on the DI’s over carpet. I asked about stability and was told the speakers were “ heavy enough “. Unfortunately I just set up the DI’s temporarily to get a little break in time. They are without any footers upright on my carpet. At 115 lbs the speaker does about zero to compress the carpet. I understand weight Vs footprint is abysmal but they won’t even stand straight. I’ll probably put the spikes on for a bit until I formulate a plan. But my first concern is that Herbie’s gliders alone are not enough and due to the minimum cost of the speakers I am struggling with purchasing Gaia’s footers and footer spikes. The seismic stands look exceptional, but I’m trying to be frugal. So I’m looking for suggestions like, gliders or dots with or without spikes on wood / stone plinths spiked to the floor. My goal is to try some sort decoupling (Gliders / Springs / Dots) AND eliminate the need of having to rely on the carpet being compressed. And yes I have cheap speakers and seek a cheap solution, so I get that limitation. Unfortunately I can’t afford Tannoy’s or Fynes to compliment my 180 watt tube mono blocs for at least a year. Cheers , Mike B.
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@bugredmachine , Thanks , its the Hera II, I bought it from the original owner for $2k. It was sent to Rogue for a full service and a retube with Sovtek’s then stored . The M-180’s were free from the same friend. One had an issue and needed repair. So I sent them to Rogue and decided on the full Dark upgrade and full retube. I have a stash of nos tubes for them. Rogue supply’s Psvane KT -88’s over Tung Sol KT-120’s due to quality issues. I did a 100 hr break in for the gear and then boxed it up. After the dust clears I’ll set it up. I wanted some Tannoy’s but I’m not that well funded. I bought the Tektons as a budget compromise and am Very surprised at how much I like them. I considered the MoFi 888’s too, I wanted a FUN SPEAKER over an exacting audiophile speaker. My goal for this whole thing is to have a big full off axis wall of sound. I have a Had Inspire and some ZU’s for that small late night experience. My wife will inherit that for her own system. Once I offered to set her up with her own rig to steam het stuff she was all in. I’ve always tried to get her interested in my system with moderate results. I guess it’s like her having her own car. I should have realized this long ago. Cheers , Mike. |
I’ve spent the last 25+ years evaluating various isolation/decoupling approaches. I’m a big Townshend user and proponent. Have discovered some of the latest more scientific approaches in a plyable material designed well, can be superior to expensive ball/n" cup devices. HRS for example. I have a lot of interest in Stack Audio. |
@slaw Having had my first Venture into improving the local environment for the Cartridge Stylus to function in back in the 90's, by having a Platter Bearing redesigned as a Build, I was now on the road to learning about Isolation through Separation. This Journey headed into Materials and especially materials that have a positive impact on reducing Amplitude (reduction in migration of energies through materials). Today I have a self produced Supporting System built up from a multiple of materials as Tiers for my Audio System, especially for the Analogue. The Power Amp's have an alternative Multi Tier assembly of materials, which is very very weighty. The Digital Source has been sufficiently looked after on a Bespoke Built Wall Shelf, which again has a decoupling from the Wall and has Multi Tier Supports. Cabinet Speakers also have their own Multi Tier Assembly to support them. These assemblies in use at the present have evolved over the years, where different materials and separators are adopted, along with different configurations for selected materials>separators. The set up in use is very very effective from a Subjective Evaluation, the tidiness of the End Sound is very attractive. Occasionally I return a Source to a simple Sturdy Table Support as a retro set up and am shocked at the Crud that is captured within the End Sound. Today my main interest as Material is Resin Impregnated Densified Wood Board, I am swapping out Materials once valued and am getting benefits worthwhile maintaining. |
@buellrider97, It seems you're having way too much fun. I have the Oppo 103 without mods other than the Townshend platform, better power cable and interconnects which it responds well to. With the large number of tubes you have perhaps a simple DIY solution may help. I made some like Herbie's Tube Dampers using spring steel with cassette tape deck pinch rollers which is what I think he used with his early production units. I bought a packet of them online many years ago for peanuts and they help clean up by lowering the noise floor. A friend with a Manley Labs Stingray which uses 12 x 9-pin tubes improved nicely. |
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