Vibration is everywhere and comes from various sources. It could be from the ground, it could be airborne, it could be from the components themselves. I used to work for a high tech company and every single piece of equipment in every lab sits on some type of vibration table. It could be a 300lb slab of rock, a sand box, or it could be a air-based or mechanical-based vibration table.
I had a similar experience as Don s described. A friend of mine had tried several platforms and ended up with a 300lb slab under his tube amp. He purchased some Grand Prix Audio stands last year. They were made of some light carbon fiber material with stell tube legs. When I held one in my hand, I was thinking how something like that could be good for an amp. Well, after we put the amp on the stand, all of our eyes were ready to pop out. There were 4 of us in the room, and we went back and forth several times.
I would also echo Don s' point that different devices have different effects. I've always placed my SS amp on a BrightStar base, which is essentially a sandbox. After my recent amp change, I noticed the sound was slightly "lifeless". I think the sand was actually draining some of that top energy. The problem was solved after I swapped out the sandbox for a SolidTech amp stand.
As for racks, don't underestimate the effect. I've been using sand-filled SolidSteel and Lovan Sovereign modular stands, which I had considered doing a good job with vibration. Recently I switched over to a SolidTech Reference component stand after hearing what the Grand Prix stand was doing for my friend's system. I had always thought that my big projection TV was the culprit for my "flat" 2-dimensional soundstage. But with the new stand, I now have a 3-dimensional soundstage despite the TV sitting somewhat in between the speakers. (I'm sure if I remove the TV, it would sound even better.)
FrankC
I had a similar experience as Don s described. A friend of mine had tried several platforms and ended up with a 300lb slab under his tube amp. He purchased some Grand Prix Audio stands last year. They were made of some light carbon fiber material with stell tube legs. When I held one in my hand, I was thinking how something like that could be good for an amp. Well, after we put the amp on the stand, all of our eyes were ready to pop out. There were 4 of us in the room, and we went back and forth several times.
I would also echo Don s' point that different devices have different effects. I've always placed my SS amp on a BrightStar base, which is essentially a sandbox. After my recent amp change, I noticed the sound was slightly "lifeless". I think the sand was actually draining some of that top energy. The problem was solved after I swapped out the sandbox for a SolidTech amp stand.
As for racks, don't underestimate the effect. I've been using sand-filled SolidSteel and Lovan Sovereign modular stands, which I had considered doing a good job with vibration. Recently I switched over to a SolidTech Reference component stand after hearing what the Grand Prix stand was doing for my friend's system. I had always thought that my big projection TV was the culprit for my "flat" 2-dimensional soundstage. But with the new stand, I now have a 3-dimensional soundstage despite the TV sitting somewhat in between the speakers. (I'm sure if I remove the TV, it would sound even better.)
FrankC