Live Vibe Audio

I have a Star Sound Sistrum 4 shelf rack for my analog front end. As you might know, Star Sound changed its name to Live Vibe. You can see my rack in my virtual system. I also have Apprentice platforms under my other stuff and speakers. I have been very happy with the sound.

As you might know, Live Vibe products are designed to drain vibration from your components. To give you an idea how this works, I once used a microscope and could see that the rack subtly vibrates when touching any component on the rack. The vibrations end within 15-20 seconds. Once music starts playing, all is great. After the microscope experiment, I was kind of freaking out about the vibration and what it was doing to the tracking of my cartridge, so I compared my turntable placed on my Sistrum rack versus on top of my Salamander Chameleon cabinet, which is pretty sturdy. My turntable has Stillpoints feet and potentially should have sounded just as good on the Chameleon, but it did not. The sound is obviously more muddy on the Chameleon, and obviously more in focus with the Sistrum. Easy to tell the difference.

@ricred1 - I only have experience with their audio points, which by the way, really worked in my system. My expectations were low, after having tried a few other products, but the audio points made a noticeable improvement. 
 

I am now also intrigued by their racks. If you do end up getting one, please report back. 

Thanks for the response. I'll post an update if I purchase them. It's between Live Vibe Audio and Solidsteel audio racks. 

I’ve been an owner of two Sistrum racks with 3 platforms on each for about 8 years now. I may also be the only one to have RTS couplers clamping each component to its platform. Just setting a component on a Sistrum platform will immediately make it sound better in all ways than most other racks. The RTS couplers in addition cause almost the same amount of improvement as the Sistrum rack. They also don’t allow the component to tip if leaned on because of the 3 points it sits on with the Sistrum platform only supporting it. Audio Horizon makes the couplers now. The combination of the two things is very nice looking and allows one to locate the rack(s) between the speakers as long as they are also mostly behind them at the same time. The Sistrums don’t have a location problem like Jim Smith mentions in his book. Their is so much space for air and vibrations to travel without getting trapped by the back of a typical rack. The technology that has a quick draining of vibrations to the ground is another great reason for the superior SQ.

I had Robert Maicks cut my longer rods that hold the platforms in two so that it would sit lower, and thus be even less likely to affect the sound in a detrimental way. It also makes the rack more stable. I love these racks, the look, and the sound that results from their use. I use them for my 120 lb. Lenco TT, Modwright 5400 CD player, TRL DUDE 75 lb. preamp, phono preamp, and my mono amps. It all sounds fantastic.  There are 8 tubes in use also.

Bob

Buying Live Vibe racks for all my components was one of the best audio decisions I've made. I have it under my heavy amp as well as separate racks with audio points for other components. I was not a believer at first, but let me tell you, the improvement in SQ is not subtle. The level of clarity, image depth, and solidity was almost immediately apparent after I started using Live Vibe stuff. Highly recommended! You can see the racks and platform in my virtual system.

"I use them for my 120 lb. Lenco TT..."

@dorkwad ,

Cast iron??

Anyone here ever been in a formula one car? Hows about heard a formula one car? They feel like they sound. Vibration off the charts. They have a lot of very sensitive electronic instruments in those cars and they seem to work just fine. Now you would never want to put your turntable in a formula one car for obvious reasons and IMHO the very best turntables are suspended at resonance frequencies below three Hz. You can put them on a coffee table and they will do fine.....as long as nobody bumps the table.

In addition to Live Vide, I'm now considering Norstone Como II audio stands.

Followed the Lenco Heaven thread on AC and have a 10-layered MDF & baltic birch plinth that weighs 100 lbs.  Sounds great.

Bob

Today I ordered Live Vibe Audio racks.

Live Vibe = Star Sound.... They work. They really do.

I received five Rhythm Platform Advantage JR-4 platforms and posted pictures under my virtual systems. Aesthetically I love the way the platforms look and their quality. Unfortunately due to the layout of my room and length of my power cords, I'm unable to use the fifth platform and had to stack my DAC on my preamp. I'm using Stillpoint Ultra minis under the DAC, but have already reached out to Live Vibe Audio to possibly purchase their RP-2, two level platform.

Stands make a difference...I swear by it!

I wonder how Live Vibe racks compare to Sound Anchors racks as they appear to be the same material. Matte Stainless Steel. Although Sound Anchors steel bars are hollow and filled with sand. 

I you bought Live Vibe decoupler sets and placed them to rest on the Sound Anchors matte SS, seems very similar to the Live Vibe RP Jr rack. 

Live Vibe does not use stainless steel but instead a low speed steel chosen for its sound quality. I know I was part of the listening panel. We had several of the same platforms cut from several grades of steel. The hardest one was the worst as the instruments and voices traveled up the wall towards the ceiling junction. Like sitting in the front row of a IMax theater wrong and uncomfortable. Aluminum and tungsten portray a similar perspective and sometimes painful. The platforms were listened to in several different systems and rooms all of us came to the same conclusion. TomD

Low speed steel??

Yes. TomD

@theaudiotweak ,

Perhaps you could elaborate on that...

All materials have a different velocity and all alloys of those same materials have their own transmission rate.In some cases the addition of 1/4 of 1 percent of an element to the alloy can be heard. TomD

Some speed of sound stats from the engineering toolbox: