Dekay: I understand what you mean about not having space. With the Isoblocks, Surepoints, and Heavyhats my CD Player now requires at least 9" of vertical rack space. I will probably have to remove the DVD Player just to get enough space to put the Preamp on Isoblocks. Brulee: Did you try any self material other than Maple Butcherblock? When I talked to Pierre (?) at Mapleshade he suggested that I use 2" thick Maple. Given that I am already having problems fitting everything into my rack I am curious if anything else might come close to Maple but less thick.
Mapleshade Vibration Control
Since Mapleshade has appeared in several recent threads on interconnects I thought I'd add their vibration control products to the table. Keep in mind that I've only had these devices for about four days. Also, I have not compared them to other commercial products. So, I will give my impressions based on the product itself. Under review are the Surepoint and Triplepoint Heavyfeet brass cones, Isoblocks, and Triplepoint Heavyhats (weights). The affect on my system was not subtle. Brass instruments become less metallic, violins had more body and weight, upper registers become more liquid and less harsh, and the air/space around instruments became more pronounced. I don't mean to imply that they magically transformed a poor system into sonic bliss. I've spent the last two years building this system; and will probably spend another two refining it. But, I was absolutely amazed at the difference they made. I have only tried one "configuration". Currently, my CD player is supported by the Surepoint cones on a shelf supported by Isoblocks. One 1.5 lb weight in sitting on top of the CD player. My preamp is supported by the Triplepoint Heavyfeet and has 2 0.75 lb weights on top. The next question I want to answer is if the Triplepoint Heavyfeet offer enough sonic improvement to justify the extra cost over their smaller brethen the Surepoints. I would be interested to learn what products you have used, their effect on your system, and if you have compared them to the Mapleshade products.