stacked equipment isolation?

Mapleshade makes some relatively inexpensive composite squares that offer isolation and still provide enough space for good ventilation.

Hockey pucks. Don't laugh. And, they're cheap.

Hi Uncertainsmile,

Any rigid material or device will not provide isolation. The result of using a rigid material or device is to allow unwanted floor-borne vibration to travel up through the rack and directly into the equipment. In addition, chassis resonances due to air-borne and internally-generated vibration will be able to travel from component to component within the stack.

The only way to effectively and comprehensively address this problem is to decouple your stack of components from the floor-borne vibration and from each other. In addition, you must also provide a method to convert the destructive mechanical energy into benign thermal energy.

Some companies claim to "drain" vibration away from the equipment through some type of coupling but they have never provided any independent laboratory measurements to prove that claim. They also ignore the fact that a rigid device allows vibration to travel not only in one direction, but also in BOTH directions - up from the floor and down out of the equipment. In addition, any device that allows vibration to affect the signal flowing through the component and then attempts to drain the vibration after the fact can never restore the signal to its original, pristine condition.

We manufacture many highly effective and very affordable products that will suit your needs. You can see them at: LINK

Best Regards,
Barry Kohan
President
Bright Star Audio

Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products.

Also check if you get any hum from the amp and player stacked first.

I recommend using a vertical rack which is a "designed system" to deal with the situation. I feel that this is a better approach than a "hodge-podge" method.

Disclaimer: I work for the company which makes Sistrum Platforms and racks. Therefore, anything I say could be used against me. :^)

thanks all! the thing is, i have all my electronics actually inside the fireplace to keep as many wires and cables out of view as possible. my system is in the living room and also used for HT, i've got over 25 cables running. i'm not sure a stand would fit in there is why i was asking. all great answers, thanks.

Hi I have the same situation. I had tried various tweaks to isolate my cdp from the tuner, on wich it is placed on. None of them worked really. Finally, I found a solution which seems to work: maple platform, bought in Ikea, on the tuner. 4 nordost pulsar points on which there is an another maple platform. This platform is relatively small: about 6inch x 1 12 inch. The base of the cdp is on this small platform in between the feets of the cdp. It seems to me that layered solution finally bought some positive impact: more focused soundstage, better bass definition, more treble energe, nicer midrange.

http://www.geocities.com/controlsoftware/RIPPAD.HTM

Great product and service, and very fair pricing. Maybe all you need. Good luck.

I guess sometimes it seems that one could spend a very large amout on isolation and such. Then these posts are full of vendors;giving input and suggestions;and sometimes they argue with each other. Once you have big-buck stuff;spend big-buck for isolation. There are some amp stands that cost more than many amps being used. I do understand a cd player spins; some of the other things can wait.--Don't let the tail wag the dog.

i agree george, but i'd still like to build a solid foundation for quality audio reproduction. barry and TWL, could you suggest specific item(s) that would perform decent isolation? maybe one budget set-up and one ideal? (maybe they'd be the same??;))i have a digital cable box on a dvdp on an int. amp. thanks again everyone.

barry and TWL, EDIT: "decent" isolation for my PARTICULAR situation. i'm sure all your products perform very well. i didn't mean to imply your goods were merely decent. thanks again, d.

Hi D, our company has some smaller devices which might work in your unusual application, such as Audiopoints and Sistrum platforms.

Barry is correct, solid and rigid stands do not provide "isolation".

Our products are designed to manage vibrations, and not "isolate". Our whole company is built on "not isolating".

Barry and I often differ on this issue, and offer different solutions. We both have many reviews and user testimonials over the years. Just different ways of doing things.

Tom Lyons
Starsound Technologies

I once placed some styrofoam squares under my speakers. Really works.
Best of all is you can find this product in most trash bins.

Way to go Jeff--- and no paypal fee. Sorry Jeff you're not the only guy doing this. I bought some platforms and they came packed with thick dense styro. The styro is the same size as the platform; I'm using it, now.

Hi Uncertainsmile,

The least expensive but still quite effective recommendation would be to use our IsoNode feet under the bottom component and between each successive component. The IsoNode feet are one of the most cost-effective upgrades you can make. They are extremely affordable. We manufacture them in two sizes:

The small size (3/4" by 3/8” high) are just $12.50 for a set of four feet! The set of four feet holds a maximum of 30 lbs and includes adhesive backing.

The large size (1 1/2” by 3/4” high) are just $19.99 for a set of four feet! The set of four feet holds a maximum of 42 lbs and includes adhesive backing.

We offer FREE SHIPPING to the United States or Canada for either size.

The IsoNode feet have been voted:

PRODUCT OF THE YEAR by Enjoy The Music

BEST OF CES by Audio/Video Forum

in the TOP FIVE by Mix Magazine

and were included in The Stereo Times’ and PC World’s Holiday Gift Guides.

We currently have a special promotion for Audiogon members: You can try the IsoNode feet in your own system FOR FREE. Please click HERE for details.

We have many of our other products available factory direct HERE

The next level I would recommend would be to use our IsoRock 4 platforms in the same manner. They are $139.00 each. If your component exceeds the maximum load weight for the platform you can easily add extra IsoNode feet as required to hold the weight. If your budget and space allow for it, I would recommend a Little Rock pod placed on the top component.

The best option is, of course, the most expensive and also requires the most vertical space within the rack. This would be one of our Ultimate Isolation Systems which consists of an Air Mass / Big Rock / Little Rock combination. The least expensive Ultimate Isolation System is $399 and the most expensive is our Reference Series at $2100.00. The Little Rock 2 can also be stacked between components.

Bright Star Audio has more products listed in Stereophile’s Recommended Components than any other accessories manufacturer. We have also received dozens of industry awards and nominations for our products from a large number of audio publications around the world including four times for "Accessory of the Year" by Sterophile, "Best of the Year", "Best Buy" and "Editor's Choice" by The Abso!ute Sound, five times "Component of Merit" award from Bound for Sound, three times "Golden Note Award" from The Academy, just to name a few!

Ours are the most comprehensive vibration control products available. They are designed to address ALL of the sources and forms of vibration: Floor-borne, air-borne, and internally generated. Our philosophy is to eliminate vibration BEFORE it contaminates the signal flowing through the component. Our products DO NOT try to manipulate the vibration or resonance after it has been allowed to contaminate the signal. Our products also DO NOT "tune" resonance (a very misguided concept). An audio system IS NOT a musical instrument. To faithfully reproduce the sound of the instrument as it has been captured in the recording, the playback system must be as free of unwanted extra contributions and artifacts as possible.

Please see our WEBSITE for full information.

Best Regards,

Barry

Barry Kohan
President
Bright Star Audio

Observing the couple kissing passionatley in public; as a passer-by you might say,---"Get A Room". ----Barry,pay for an add.

Hi George,

Our ad is in process but is not yet posted. It will be in the next few days.

Best,

Barry

i know, i know! i DID ask him, however. any future inquiry will be directed via email. sorry. thanks barry for your candor in a public forum.

Hope your fireplace isn't one of those remote control gas jobs (like mine :). In all seriousness I had a similar problem in my second system, well really my wife's system. I opted for the isonodes. One of the other things you'll need to be careful with is heat dissipation. If your digital cable box is a Motorola it likely generates a ridiculous amount of heat.

Cheers,

ha! no, no remote, it is an old condo apt. fireplace, unused. it is the motorola, i have it on top of everything. it does get hot!

I can't claim to be any kind of an expert and I've never heard the dramatic differences that vibration control can supposedly make but I've found that floating my components on bicycle inner tubes (and placing books on top if there aren't vents that would be blocked) seems to do a good job of isolation. If there are synergystic effects of adding vibrations at tuned frequencies, this would not help but if what you are looking for is the elimination of nasty coupling, this is a very cost effective way to proceed.