Footers/Shelf Material

Redkiwi; interesting observation re E.A.R. feet. As I think you know, I use a Sonic Frontiers Line 2 pre-amp that I am fond of and that has the E.A.R. feet you mention. All of my equipment sits on a very heavy steel stand that is spiked and damped and has MDF shelves. Awhile ago I got two Townshend Seismic sinks for transport and DAC-- tremendous detail, but they sucked the life right out of the music, not good, not good. So I put a "sink" under my Line 2, and viola', music clarity increased significantly, and musicality if anything, improved. The "sink" has found a home. BTW, Madrigal equipment has a unique type of foot that I haven't been able to improve upon when on MDF. The feet are hollow, about an inch in dia. and are an accordian pleated, somewhat hard rubber of sorts. I Didn't know what to do with the other sink, so I put it under the Line 2 power supply-- could'nt hear any difference(s), but it looks good there:>). One more BTW, I've enjoyed and learned from all the above posts. Thanks. Craig

......should have mentioned that transport is Levinson 37, and DAC Levinson 360S-- strange looking feet. I'll have to contact them re: the foot design. I'm guessing that you are familiar with Levinsons feet-- not Marks', but the components.

Hi Caterhaml, I am beginning to think that all these materials and what ever feet, spikes or whatever can tailor the sound much like ICs and speaker cable. Granite gives a harder sound than maple. MDF was bland and gave the bass a rubbery sound. Glass was similar to granite but not as presice or incisive but was not as hard sounding. I am still experimenting but I keep coming back to spikeing amps to the concrete floor and maple for CD and granite for the preamp. Then you have all the different sounds that pucks, cone, spikes, ballbearings or whatever make. I am beginning to get snow blind. With the different sounds these materials produce, I can't help think that it will be very system dependant. What do you think?

Brulee: I think that it really does depend on the individual piece of gear and many other obvious factors as well (the platform, the footers, the cabinet and how it meets the floor and the floor itself). The one thing that I find has the most impact on any of the isolation combinations that I am currently experimenting with is the "power cord" and how the weight of it drags or pulls on the component. The weight and pull of a heavy power cord is actually working against all that I am trying to achieve with isolation components. To see the difference that the PC can make, just reposition it as the source is playing and you will hear that the balance of the system changes drastically just as if you had changed something in the isolation component sandwich. I have noticed this both on my 18lb CAL player and my light weight Bel Canto DAC. The change in sound is more prominent with the lighter DAC, but is very noticeable on both components. I am now experimenting with the Mapleshade Surefoot cones and am getting some nice results on the source gear. I currently have 3/4" Persimmon (the cabinet shelf)/Vibrapods (4)/3 quarter inch Maple/Surefoot (3)/CD player. I now need to try weighting the top of the player at this point, but have run out of vertical space until I reconfigure the cabinet. I have lost some of the woolly bass sound with this setup (which I kind of like to some extent) but the mids and highs are the best that I have yet achieved. I notice with this setup that some passages seem to be a little "hot" sounding in regard to the HF's, bur have come to the conclusion that I am just hearing what the recording tech did to those certain notes or beats. Otherwise strings and brass on a whole would not sound so good, which they do. I am now hearing small stringed instruments in a much more life like manner than before and for example can distinctly hear the stiff flat pick used on a mandolin. It makes a clicking noise when you play one yourself. I am also hearing "fingers on the strings" in a much more realistic manner as well and if I close my eyes it sounds like the acoustic instruments are in the room, and this is on a pair of $800.00 Reynaud speakers. Vocals with this setup are scary in that I am getting goosebumps more often, they also sound more 3D. I have supported the PC feeding the player with an old wooden clothespin (placed 3" back from the IEC and being supported by the cabinet shelf, not the platform) as to take some of its weight off of the player. I have tried porcelain ramekins, marble and other wood for this support, but the clothespin seems to work best. The DAC is suspended 1" MDF shelf/Surefoot cones (3)/Bel Canto DAC. The PC on the DAC is also supported with a wooden clothespin that is then supported by the MDF shelf. This is also the best sound so far that I have achieved with the DAC. I realize that I should try running the clothespin off of the Maple platform itself for the player, but the maple shelf is not deep enough to allow me this option. What I have decided to do after proving (to myself) how much the heavy PC's are mucking up the sound is to replace the PC's on my source components with very light weight cords. I will order the Mapleshade PC ($150.00) and give it a try on both components. I will also check into the Silver Audio PC and see how massive it is. Are there any other light weight PC's that are not expensive that I should look into? Even if these are not the "best" sounding PC's that are around, I suspect that their reduced mass will do wonders for the front end gear and assist the isolation components in doing their job. My Musical Fidelity X amp's sound is not as drastically changed by isolation components, the separate power supply seems to be more finicky than the amp itself. I am using Persimmon/dried sea sponge on the power supply and Pods/MDF on the amp unit which seems to sound better than the complex sandwiches do. Anyway, what I would like to try now is a thicker Maple platform (perhaps 1 1/2") and a weight on top of both the player and the DAC. Any takers on the PC (and it's mass) theory?

PS: I downloaded the Parts Connection catalog, but am out of paper and cannot read it on screen. It would be cheaper paper and ink wise to just order the catalog for $5.00. I may give then a call and see if I can just order over the phone in regard to the E.A.R. pods.