Vibrapods are inexpensive, many other isolation products are not and I think the pods do the same damn thing as the expensive stuff…had to note that…and one use that actually works is to place them under my speakers (mains, not subs) as I have wood floors and the pods are excellent for keeping the vibes out of the floor. Note also that there are more and more powered speakers systems…are those amps decoupled? They’re in the speaker box so that would be a resounding No. And they can sound fabulous. Concert "phased array" speaker systems contain super powerful Class D amps…seem to work fine. I use 2 amazing sounding REL subs which also force the amp to suffer…*sniff*…it's a cruel world for internal amplification. My "combo" tube guitar and bass amps? HA…another bass amp sitting on top of a 500 watt 15" speaker? Again…well…you get it. Vibration seems to be everywhere, and leave it to audio geeks to be afraid of it…very afraid…or some are simply smart enough to market bits of metal and goo of some sort as "feet for the fearful."
Isolation footers for amps
I'm looking for advice/recommendations for isolation footers for my amp -- an Audio Research D300 (solid state). Currently I have it mounted on a free-standing 4" thick maple block, with spiked-tipped brass footers anchoring the base to the carpet on top of a basement (cement) floor. Would I obtain any additional sonic benefits by placing after-market isolation devices between the amp and the maple stand? I should add here that I'm not looking to spend a great deal of money on this... something more in the range of $100-200. Options in roughly that range I've found on line include Audio Prism Isobearings, Herbie's Tender Footers, and Mapleshape's brass footers. My (perhaps imperfect) understanding is that the first two are meant to isolate a component from vibrations in the room (including those from other components), while the third is supposed to help 'drain" vibrations from the component in question itself, thereby minimizing their transference to the audio chain..
I'd welcome advice from fellow Audiogoners more experienced than I on the extent to which these devices confer audible sonic improvements and, if so, which ones they'd recommend. Thanks
Michael
I'd welcome advice from fellow Audiogoners more experienced than I on the extent to which these devices confer audible sonic improvements and, if so, which ones they'd recommend. Thanks
Michael