Hi Yi.
Both but for different reasons. Wooden floors are prone to vibration which can feed through and smear imaging and even obscure small details. Obviously, a good carrier should isolate the cable from such an environment.
Carpeted floors are prone to hold some degree of static charge. this can, in my experience, change a cable's sonic signature to something other than the design criteria the designer had in mind. Getting the cable anywhere from 6" to 8" away from static influences should do the trick.
Lifting one's cables off a floor, even a concrete floor, will allow the cable to perform without introducing extraneous distortions and influences but know that this tweak is usually not a huge upgrade though sometimes it is as some, including myself, will report. It's another detail that's worth the investment and effort if you want to do all you can to dial in your system's performance.
Lowering the floor is a good solution if not expensive as is "flooding" your floor with a 6" level of a very high viscosity silicon fluid. But, that's not only expensive, it's also very difficult to wade through and if you have pets, they can get stuck in it and suffer dire consequences.
BTW, those glass insulators that some use are DANGEROUS!
If one breaks while dressing cables, you can sever an appendage and if one of your power cords rests atop of one and the cord develops a fault and shorts out, it can cause one of these isolators to explode sending glass shrapnel everywhere.
Even with our Risers we advise and give precaution measures on how not to use them. I suppose it wouldn't be too hard to get your head stuck in between the carrier poles or get tangled in the carrier line and choke to death.
Consumers Report has surveyed and reported a 42% increase in Cable Riser accidents since 2000 so, I guess hi-end audio is still growing.
Cheers!
Robert
RSAD
