What isolation feet under your amp with great result?

The EVPs by A/V RoomService Ltd. seem to have a strong following by those seeking a decoupling alternative.  The primary isolation appears to come from an "air spring" resulting from Owens Corning 703 or 705 one-inch thick rigid fiberglass board, which is then faced with #4 brushed Stainless Steel sheet and either felt or rubber.   I have considered making these and believe you could probably get most of the way there by simply installing the board.  I would also be curious to try using the board to make equipment platforms but since I already have platforms and am using springs under my speakers I have not yet been motivated enough to spend the time to make the stuff.

I have only used one isolation vibration product and that’s the EVP’s. I used these under my speakers. I placed them under the speakers for about a week a just let the music play. I then set aside several hours where I played music I was very family with and would play the music w the EVP’s then remove them and play the music over again. The EVP’s definitely have a positive affect on the sound. When I removed them it sounded as if the life was sucked out of the music. With them the music sounded cleaner(more transparency), more dynamic, just overall more musical. I still would like to experiment with more isolation systems bf making a purchase, EVP’s made me a believer that concept of controlling vibration and its affect on the music isn’t just selling snake oil.

I like the feet these guys are making,  Turntable Phonograph Vinyl Record Player lsolation Feet – Mnpctech

@tweak1 , Geoff has been saying "mass on springs" for years, and after the past two months of trial and error I have ended up with springs under my heavy speakers and amps.  The spring stiffness (i.e., spring rate), load capacity, diameter, and height are all important considerations.  I have used heat shrink to damp the single springs and even that was a learning experience wrt the size and thickness of the heat shrink used and how those factors affect the performance of the spring, as well as the need to put a hole in the heat shrink to prevent an air lock.  The heat shrink also improves the look (pics on my system page) and prevents scratching on the bottom of your components or the tops of your rack shelves.  I also have a bunch of Herbie's products here (Giant Fat Dots and Gliders) and based on my experience so far I would have a hard time deciding whether springs or Herbie's footers sound better. 

All my components rest on Machina Dynamica Springs. The science is sound, the result is amazing, and the price is right

3/4"MDF and casters.  My amps weight 85Lbs each.  The great results are not hearing me groan or pull a muscle while cleaning.
 

@ericsch I don’t remove the feet. I place the component directly on top of the EVA pad, feet and all.

@whitestix  
@rlb61 
When using the EVA pads, do you remove the stock feet?

Oh, a further thought.  I initially used these pads nude and they left permanent blemishes on my audio rack so I clad them with self-adhering felt, which is also inexpensive and allows one to move the components more easily.  

Good to know, thank you. 

@whitestix I used the cork ones for a long time. However, I have found that the EVA pads work a bit better than the cork. Either way, you’ll likely achieve the results you want at a fraction of the price of the "audiophile" sanctioned isolation footers.

rlb61,
Great suggestion trying these EVA's.  I am using them under some components and the 4"X4" cork-laminated ones under my heavy amps.  I can't honest attest to greater SQ, but the cost is a trifling so it is a sensible place to start on the quest for component isolation.

I put the GAIA Orea's under my Spatial Audio speakers and they perform exactly as advertised.  Frankly, they outperformed many component upgrades I have done in the past.  

Try these, which are one of the dirty little secrets in audio. They work perfectly, won’t break the bank, and don’t soften the sound. I use them under all of my components.

https://www.supplyhouse.com/DiversiTech-MP-2E-EVA-Anti-Vibration-Pad-2-x-2-x-7-8

Absolute Sound just gave the Isoacoustic Orea and Gaia a Golden Ear Award. 80% of the performance of the really high end stuff at 20% of the price.
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/2020-golden-ear-awards-matt-clott/

All the best,
Nonoise

I had very slight woofer pumping when I was using my Manley Chinook phono stage playing over 80 decibels. I bought a Pass Labs XP-17 phonostage & the woofer pumping was out of control even at mid volume levels.  The floor to ceiling drapes behind the speakers were moving. I tried everything to contain the pumping because I liked the XP-17, but with no success. I then purchased a T+A phono stage (amp is T+A) and have no woofer pumping from playing vinyl. Sound is also even better. System synergy between matching components prevails. 

facten1

The puck is signed by a buddy of mine that played in a local adult recreational hockey league in Denver.  He scored a hat trick and I asked him to sign and send me the puck.  He never played organized hockey beyond high school.

After all of my experimenting, I found the best place for the Oreas under the footers of my integrated and SACD player. I was told by Isoacousitcs and musicdirect that directly under the chassis was the best place to start.

No matter where I placed them, using direct contact with the chassis, the highs were affected. I had some wonderful mids and lows having an almost 3D effect but I missed that last bit of air and reach.

Now I have the best of both worlds with just a minor shift back in that 3D effect but all the air, extension and realism that the highs add to the mix. The isolation offers a lot of that see-through into the recording that all the spinning and whatnot of the SACD player masks. The focus just from the integrated is appreciated as well.

On the Black Keys Brothers CD, on one track a guitar is now playing about 5’ to the right of the right speaker, which places it outside my apartment. I have to close my eyes to complete the soundstage image as it’s kind of jarring to just look at it.

On Jacintha’s Jacintha Is Her Name, on the Light My Fire track, the bongos, instead of coming from one point, are coming from three distinct places. Close together, but distinctly separate. I think I’m done tinkering for awhile.
And, like someone else said about their footers, it looks cool to see the gear situated up off the media top shelf, adding a kind of elegance to the whole affair.

All the best,
Nonoise

I replaced my Rega turntable feet with Symposiums Rollerback jr+, almost reasonably priced at a nice 20 percent discount, and I do think it changed the sound to the better, more clarity overall, but it also could all be in my head, but who cares it sounds better to my brain which translates into more happiness for me !

Regardless they upped the coolness factor of a really oddly designed TT. The owner lives 15 minutes from me so I can vouch for him amd his product. He's very approachable. And I think they have a return policy. 

Next I was advised to look at decoupling the speakers from their stands with Ansuz DARKZ but they are Uber expensive. Anyone familiar with that product?

My 72 pound Aragon 8008 BB amplifier has four tennis Balls under at the bottom a solid oak cabinet with plenty air circulation sounds great.

Symposium rollerblocks

the Herbies tube dampers are well known, his tall tender feet work very well at absorbing vibration and firm up the imaging 
for under $60 for 4 they are a $$ excellent buy.
i have used comes and bearing type in my system too analytical
sounding ,  they have cup bearing type also made of wood,and stone .

My recent decoupling experience has improved the sound of my system.  Although there were no glaring issues with the sound before, after decoupling my amps, speakers, and subs, I would describe the subtle, positive changes as enhanced clarity and coherence, particularly throughout the midrange, and perhaps less edginess that is most noticeable on poorly recorded material.   I have not noticed a loss of bass but if I do with further listening, I can adjust for that with my dual subs.

The options for decoupling are many and except for EVPs, really not that expensive.

• Springs - Basically what Geoff at Machina Dynamica has been recommending for years.  There are several good sources and the trick is getting the right size and stiffness for your application.  Even stiff springs for higher loads should be less than about $10 each.  I have posted some pictures on my system page showing the use of cups on the top, bottom, or both when using springs.
• Herbie's - Their dBNeutralizer based products seem to be working well under my subs and main speakers.
• EVPs - Equipment Vibration Protectors by A/V RoomService - many have reported excellent results.
• DIY EVPs - May be possible to make from Owens Corning 703 or 705 material, although I have not yet tried it.  If I were to make these, I would sandwich a 4x4 inch square of one-inch thick 705 between thin square steel or aluminum sheet, paint that black, and then use very thin (70 Duro) 4x4 inch Sorbothane sheets on the outsides over the sheet steel or aluminum.  After considering, I have concluded the DIY version may save some money if you need many of them but for a few, it may be better to purchase these directly from A/V RoomService. 
• Sorbothane - Many write this material off as unsuitable for audio purposes but, after looking into it, I wonder if they were using incorrect sizes or Durometer values.  The material seems to have a good reputation as a vibration isolator outside of the high-end audiophile community.  Below is a link that provides some guidance on selecting the appropriate size and durometer values for different applications.  A set of eight for my two main speakers would only be $100.
• https://www.sorbothane.com/Data/Sites/31/pdfs/product-guides/Sorbothane-SPG.pdf
  
• Air Bladders - Many believe these to be very effective and you can read posts about folks DIY'ing them in the late 90's and 2000's.  I used them under electronics for years.
• Hockey Pucks - These are hard vulcanized rubber and I cannot comment on how they sound but more than a few use them for decoupling speakers.

@mitch2 
That's very expensive to decouple your speakers. The Owens Corning sounds like an interesting project. Maybe you'll discover the secret sauce inside the EVPs.

@lowrider57, glad to hear the EVPs are working.  I certainly considered them and have not ruled them out for support under my speakers but the cost would be about $800.

In my searching around, I came across Owens Corning 703 and 705, which are rigid fiberglass boards that are commonly used for acoustical damping purposes.  The data sheets for the 703/705 materials (particularly compressive strength and associated deformation) seem quite similar to the technical information reported for the EVP material and the photos of the material look similar, except the EVPs have been painted black.  I am thinking about a DIY project using 705 pads under my speakers and including the metal plates and rubber, similar to those used for the EVPs.  I have not heard of anybody else trying this as a DIY project.  It will probably be a bit of work, but fun.  If successful, I could do my two subs too and I suspect the DIY cost would be quite a bit less than the $1,600 it would cost me to do my main speakers and two subs. 

When using Herbies Tenderfeet, do not use them under the existing factory feet. Either remove the factory feet or place next to them (provided you have enough clearance). Make sure they are in contact with the bottom plate and I have found that 3 sound marginally better than 4.

As an update, the EVP's are working well under my Audio Note preamp. Music is more transparent and uncolored than with Herbies Tenderfeet.
Bass is now tight as well. An affordable way to decouple a component.

Just thought I'd chime in to let you know I got the Isoacoustic Oreas today (FedEx must have read this). I had an inkling they'd work better for my SACD player what with all the spinning going on so I tried them with integrated first, to see just how little it would improve things.

I was wrong.

The result wasn't earth shattering but the focus is much better. My Marantz/JBL combo always had a nice, full and easy sound. Now it's like it went on a diet. I thought it was more midrange centric but after lots of listening, it's across the board improvement with no area sacrificing for another. 

Inner detail or insight, if you will is everywhere to be heard. Vocals are much more intelligible and natural sounding. Highs have a bit more air and sparkle, but just a bit. I'd say more coherent would sum it up best. 

It got better when used under the SACD player. I'm going to experiment with the front two footers and see if just one sounds better tomorrow. I was told that having just one resonance point working under the CD transport might sound better than having two. This is starting to be fun again,

All the best,
Nonoise

Thank you everyone for sharing. I really appreciate. I will look into some of your recommendations especially ones leaning to improving inner details or resolutions. Meanwhile, I happen to find in my closet an extra set of 3 called “a floating balls design” that I bought years ago from Custom Isolation dot Net- great and nearly identical result that I’m getting from my CDP. I’m sharing the link here: http://customisolation.net/detail.asp?IDA=157Anywho, just like cables, diff isolation feet designs do make vary impact to audio system ... to my ears at the least, unfortunately. 

@sjeesjie 

Noob question perhaps, but how can isolated feet contribute to better sound quality?

Search couple vs decouple here and over on audioasylum and you will find as much information as you will care to read.  IMO, the answer is - it depends....on so many things that there is no one size fits all answer.  In the end, the result is subjective.
In  my system, the amps are decoupled by sitting on springs over Silent Running Audio platforms, but the platforms are coupled to heavy Sound Anchor stands that are spiked (i.e., coupled) to the concrete floor.  My speakers are bolted to heavy (I.e., 70 pound) Sound Anchor stands that are spiked to the floor.  Next week, I am going to try decoupling them using Herbie’s products. I will find out then which sounds better to me.

https://www.frys.com/product/5921064?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG&requestComingFromSearch=true

I, too, found the Herbie's products to make things sound a bit mushier as well, and I've tried 3 different types of their products. I'm still waiting for my Isoacoustic Oreas to arrive and just found out it took 4 days to go 14.5 miles, from Niles, Ill. to Chicago, Illl. and now they seem to be on the way via FedEx ground and pound to the Los Angeles area.

Original delivery was supposed to be yesterday. Go figure. By their track record, I should get them by the end of next week, if not the week after.

All the best,
Nonoise

Noob question perhaps, but how can isolated feet contribute to better sound quality?

Tried Isopods, & Herbies Tenderfeet under two different integrated amps I own - Audio Note Meishu Tonmeister and an old AN Soro. Found that the sound became mushy and much less interesting to my ears. I've had the best results under each with some old Mapleshade brass footers (the heavier the better) that I've had forever. The approach that worked best for me was anchoring the music makers (amp, dac, etc) and floating the noise makers (TT power supply). For floating the TT power supply, I'm currently using a thermal isolation silicon foam pad from an surplus space-grade test setup (-58°C to +128°C at the time) we had at work with 3 Isopods on top of that. Hope you get to where you want to go.

Indeed. Everyone shopping for these solutions should use that to tool. Good recommendation.

@tweak1 I can feel the low frequency isolation with my hand. My speakers have separate cabinets for the bass and mid-range/tweeter pair, and the head units sit on top of the bass cabinets. With the isoacoustic pucks under the head unit, I could still feel bass frequencies when I put my hand on top of the head unit cabinet. With the springs I cannot.

I like the springs (just like those by M-D) that I put under my amps so far, but I wanted to maintain a lower profile under my speakers so just ordered Herbie’s Giant Fat Gliders to try in the place of the Sound Anchor spikes.

My mono blocks are sitting on Grand Prix amp stands. Under the stand spikes are Herbies sliders, so the amps can be moved easily on carpet. But, I recently added some of Geoff springs under the amps sitting on the stand, and son of a gun they do add further to an element of isolation  and results in a slightly more open soundstage. 

ozzy

As a long time user of Machina Dynamica Springs (various sizes for various weight components) I am curious. When I went to the Ali-X page I like that they have a top and bottom, but did not see how much weight they can support
IMO, the springs are too small to deal with lower vibrations

Anybody?

Depending on the product, some factory feet are excellent.For those components where after-market isolation is necessary try the new Les Davis Audio 3D-2 Constrained Layer Damping Devices.Cheap and effective.

@cal3713 ,
Your feedback is most appreciated. Knowing now what you did, I'm going to try the Oreas under my integrated first, thinking it may have the least effect, and then under my SACD player, where there's lots of motion that needs to be quelled, despite the robust build of it.

My speakers won't be touched as of now but after reading many positive reviews on use with speakers, I may entertain some other way of stand mounting my speakers. The problem is, I love the way they look on their low metal stands with that slight tilt back. It's so retro. 👍

All the best,
Nonoise

You might drop an additional $30 on the springs from that Amazon link Mitch posted, since you’ll be in demoing mode anyway. Based on my experience, I think they’ll outperform the oreas, and if not, it’s a cheap experiment.

@nonoise I should say that it's unclear what change adding under my equipment did.

I installed everything at once, noticed the change in speaker balance created by loss of bass response, moved the springs up under my head units, and then enjoyed the best sound I've had in my system.

I trust the science behind what I'm hearing on the speaker end and do believe that they're helping under my equipment.  I'll be leaving them in place, but don't feel motivated to do an A & B. It sounds great as is...

Interesting that you got great results with the speakers but not any improvement with your gear. I'll be getting my Isoacoustic Oreas for my integrated and SACD player tomorrow and will report back soon.

The nice part is: if I don't like them, they go back, with only postage to pay.

All the best,
Nonoise

Also @mitch2 those footers are the same ones I'm reporting on... They work great.

I just got my Chinese spring footers in yesterday ($40 for a set of 8: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32953238126.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.69914c4dryN2ld). They are a substantial upgrade over the iso acoustics pucks I'd had under my Coincident PRE head units. If you place your hand on top of the bass cabinets that the head units sit on, you can feel the vibration of the woofers. These units completely decouple the head units from this vibration, the pucks did not. Imaging precision has increased accordingly.

I first tried placing them under the bass cabinets instead, but got a pretty striking reduction in bass output. I'd forgotten that the same result happened when I tried out isoacoustic feet as well. I think the dual 12" woofers just benefit from having a more solid launching platform. So, a word of warning there. 

I also put my amps and preamps on springs at the same time.  Clearly the big effect is from isolating my mid-range & tweeters, so I don't know if much changed from doing the equipment as well (everything was already on cheap rubber & cork vibration dampening squares). That said, the effect was so dramatic for the speakers that I'll definitely do the entire system... Especially at $40 for 8 footers.

Been poking around a bit and these look even better visually since the springs are enclosed in black or silver CNC’d aluminum footers.  It seems the top stud could be rethreaded as needed so they could be connected/threaded directly to the speaker base or, in my case, to my Sound Anchor stands.  A little tall for my situation but inexpensive and might be worth a try.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000590928789.html?gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.14976.157518.0&scm_id=1007.14976.157518.0&scm-url=1007.14976.157518.0&pvid=11102f24-cd15-4a4e-ac19-de9b31b2c1e6&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.14976.157518.0,pvid:11102f24-cd15-4a4e-ac19-de9b31b2c1e6,tpp_buckets:668%230%23131923%230_668%23808%233772%23984_668%23888%233325%234_4976%230%23157518%230_4976%232711%237538%23214_4976%233104%239653%2310_4976%233141%239887%235_668%232846%238109%23246_668%232717%237565%23783_668%231000022185%231000066056%230_668%233422%2315392%2369

Any of you try these?https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-Aluminum-Speakers-Isolation-Amplifiers/dp/B07K9ZYP84/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

I'm using the Symposium Acoustics Ultra Platform under my integrated amplifier with very noticeable results.  The sound is more focused and the background though very good to begin with seems slightly darker and the tonal focus seems better.  

I also have Symposium footers underneath my CD transport and speakers.