Stillpoints Ultra 6 vs Critical Mass Center Stage 2

I haven't compared CMS footers with the Townsend pawns but looking at the physics of both to me the pods would do a better job because you're now floating everything on a cushion of air and the component is riding on the spring which makes it move freely so no vibration will get into it that's just my opinion though and the critical mass stuff are ridiculously priced big ripoff.

Magnuman, i would’ve thought the same thing - until I got the Center Stage 2M in my system and let them "settle" for 10 days.

As good as the Townshend isolation pods/Sesmic Isolation Platforms are (and I have both the iso pods and the Seismic Isolation platform), they do not perform at the level of the Center Stage 2ms. What the 2m does, is to "liberate’ instruments and voices so that they "move" the way they in life (and the symphony hall or jazz clubs).

Most recorded/digitized media (CDs, vinyl, streaming) make music sound "slow" compared to how astoundingly dynamic music is in real life (without microphones and amps). The Center Stage moves you much further closer to that real-world experience.

I was surprised at the magnitude of the improvement. It really was more akin to getting much better electronics. But more than just better "sound", the lifelike quality of human voices is startling to hear. Hearing Cleo Laine Live at Carnegie Hall on songs I’ve heard for 50 years was astonishing. Ditto some pretty mediocre CDs, where the recording itself sounded fresher as though there had been an alternate recording made the same day as the original, but it was on voices that one notices it instantly. I find the effects easiest to hear on human voice, although symphonic music, jazz and even vintage r & B all sound equally great; more "live" (by far) and the dynamics less "reproduced" or "bland," no matter what I play. It reminds me of my Antique Sound Lab Hurricanes, which - to this day - remain the most "real-sounding" component I’ve ever owned, even among the Goldmund/Jadis/Audio Research/VAC components. Only the Hurricane - less than 30 seconds into listening - sounded convincingly "real." The Center Stages don’t do that, but they sure allow one’s electronics to perform free of vibration, no matter that we do not hear it. With these devices, you realize that with vibration removed, it’s a whole new ballgame, and supposedly the footers remove internal vibration (from whatever component it’s under) as well as vibration from the room itself.

It would be unlikely that I would buy another set of electronics until I had at least one more set of these for the integrated amplifier, so that I can hear what it "really" sounds like when vibration - both internal and external - are removed from it. The musical experience with these in the system is far more engaging. I can listen to my system and not be moved unless I love the music (sentimental memories), but with the footers, I find ’60s rock (which is usually poorly recorded) and ’50 jazz singers (who were minimally miked) waayyyyy more involving. Singers  liked, I now still just "like," but i find their voices more "complete" as though an electronic haze as removed, and I have dedicated circuits, Furutech outlets, and quite good power regenerator, so I know it's not my electricity getting better as the evening wears on.

I got the 0.8 footers, and they were dazzling enough. It’s said the bigger sizes yield more of what you get from the smaller one, but that is hardly a reason to buy the bigger sizes unless you need them. The 0.8 is more than enough to reveal the accomplishments of the Center Stage 2M footers.

Now to decide what to do with the Stillpoints and the Townshend isolation devices...

recently received Ultra TT and TC footers.  an amazing product.  it actually works pretty much straight away these days.  that said, there is definitely settling and changes that occur from that first moment.  firstly they work very well for vibration management.  you hear that instantly.  things sound relaxed.  for me i noted too that instead of parts of frequency range going missing it felt like i had everything being delivered.

over time the other changes occur which is more about sound stage and coherence.  i am on day 12 and more and more it is like all the equipment has disappeared.  the sound stage does get wider, deeper and starts to wrap the room a bit.  i must admit i don't really care.  for me what is more important is the sound.  as someone else said voices is where you hear it the most.  the tone, the timbre, the actual words they say.  it brings you closer to hearing that artist record the song.  consequently, stuff you have heard so many times it is hard to listen to (as in even if you play it your brain isn't interested), is suddenly very fresh.  i've been listening to desire by Dylan for 36 years and last night was easily the first time i've noticed a whole band with Dylan making the song as an intrinsic part of the sound.

anyway not even two weeks in.  if i did my audio setup from scratch i would buy these straight after the power cables.  any system could benefit, at any price point.  

it honestly feels like CMS solved a problem that was a foundational issue in audio reproduction.  i know that sounds mad but what i am listening to is the type of thing we get into audio for.  a sound so detailed and yet simultaneously the most musical.

the maddest bit i leave here for last.  i use an Audio Note Tomei integrated amplifier.  I pay close attention to its temperature.  Because why not when you are in Australia's summer and you have a big heater in your room but also because it is just in front of and below my expensive TV and i am worried the amp could cook the TV and ruin it.  

of late i have noted that the amp is very hot.  i put my hands on top of the transformer covers.  it would not be comfortable to leave your hand there for long.  but it was not "stove" hot. i'm guessing in order of 50-55 celcius.

last night it wasn't cold but it wasn't hot.  it was a much lower temperature than i expected (closer to body temp or cooler).  i had read that the Footers might reduce equipment temp but I mean c'mon?  anyway they have done exactly that - reduced the operating temperature of my big investment (in listening pleasure) SET amp.  

i have no idea how they work and i am not totally sure anyone does to be frank.  the creator seems like a great person to work with but i cannot say his explanations for how they work (and it might be inaccurate to say he has even tried to explain it) have benefitted my comprehension.

instead my sense of it is as follows:

1.  we (users) don't really understand what vibration (at very tiny scale and amplitudes) means for our equipment.  my brain gets a person stomping creates vibration that can make a TT skip. "resonance" is a word i use alot but i'm not sure what it means for an appliance trying to do it's job 

2.  my conceptualisations then of what should help (foam/inner tubes) aren't insightful (in this regard i bought EVP and used it and it sounds terrible - i have also used many other kinds of footers - never happy - some sound "hard" and so work in a coarser system but then fail as the system improves)

3.  as soon as the footers are installed they immediately solve some problem re: vibration.  i say this because there was an instant ease to the music.  if it had been a car it would have been coughing and spluttering and then suddenly it is revving free.  chalk and cheese.

4.  over time the footers somehow seem to optimise that initial solution  - with an intense feeling of the system being integrated into the room and seamless.  somehow no component is heard but the music is.  honestly sounds like what @mahgister describes sometimes

5.  the owner specifically celebrates how the footers don't have a signature sound.  he couldn't be more right.  truly this is one of the most amazing things about them.  perhaps that's the key to understanding them.  they somehow integrate with the equipment they support such that they aren't there anymore.

anyway highly recommended.  apparently speaker versions are even more profound in impact.  i am not an employee of CMS nor do i stand to gain in any way for any statements made.