Thoughts on Equarack,
I couldnt get enough of the sound. Sea changes were obvious from the first disc, Solo/Quartet, a multitracked solo-vibes outing from Bobby Hutcherson. Its just a routine Fantasy OJC CD [OJCCD 425], digitally recorded in 1982, but with vibraphone, marimba, gongs, bells, and drums, its a percussion feast. Although my tube amp usually gave the proceedings a nice, warm glow, highlighting the beautiful sustain of the vibes, I always preferred the disc played through my backup amp, a powerful solid-state model. With the VAC-EquaRack combination, however, the sustain remained, but the tonk-tonk-tonk of the wooden marimba was more startling, more insistent, and the actual striking of the gong was now just as pronounced as its ringing always had been. I was getting ahead of myself, but after that first session I began to hope that Id lucked into a harmonious combination of solid-state attack and tube decay.
After a few more sessions, it became evident that bass -- not deep bass (my Audio Physic Virgos dont really go there), but electric and acoustic bass -- had lifted itself out of the mud that now permeated my living room; no spikes allowed on this carpet, just the plinths that came with the Virgos. Still, the bass was cleaner and sharper, or as sharp as bass can be and still be bass. All instruments in the lower midrange began to separate -- basses from cellos, bass guitar from the guitars lowest string -- just enough to define them in the way a solid-state amp will. But this was through my tube amp, with all the inherent advantages of tubes (the VAC is inarguably superior to my SS amp).
Ive heard cones and shelves in my system that did this, too, but always at the expense of making the sound leaner. Everything would be tipped up slightly, making things in the middle sound thin, and things up top bright and etched. Not here. The EquaRacks didnt give me the trumpets dipped in honey that you can hear through some euphonic tube systems (and which I got with my old rack in my old room), but I wasnt diving for the volume knob, either. If youve ever heard someone play a trumpet right near you, you know the experience isnt 100% pleasant. With the amp sitting directly on the maple shelf, high horn notes made me grind my teeth. With the EquaRack footers in place, Miles Davis could still make me wince a bit (which probably would have made him happy), but Chet Baker and Art Farmer now sounded sweet again -- not "buttery" or "golden," but brassy, as they should.
It wasnt until I got around to concentrating on vocal harmonies that I realized I was missing something: smearing. I was listening for the syrupy blend of voices Id gotten to know and love from my 300Bs, especially the "Ooooohs" and "Aaaaahs" from the Eagles and Beach Boys, but it was virtually gone -- the syrup, that is. The resulting sound wasnt unpleasant, just a touch drier. I heard the five voices more as distinct individuals, with less studio echo -- a closer seat, if you will. Or maybe its just the way its supposed to sound. I wouldnt know.
With instrumental music, which I listen to 90% of the time, the overall effect was a kind of stiffening or, more accurately, stability -- like the difference between riding in a Lincoln Town Car and riding in a Porsche. I felt the road more with the EquaRacks in place -- every pit, so to speak -- rather than happily but numbly gliding over them. Consequently, hard-edged music could sometimes get a bit uncomfortable. (You gonna drive that thing through the Baja? Ha!) On the other hand, because I listen much more often to jazz than to metal or late-1970s punk, the nimble ride is exactly what Im looking for. For those of you who have trouble with the concept of pace, rhythm, and timing (PRaT), one session with these footers should finally raise that curtain. Im not kidding.
Im also pretty much convinced that this unusual stability or lack of euphonic smearing (Im talking tube amp here, not SS) contributed to the solidity of the imaging and the origin of sounds. The soundstage Im used to with the VAC-Virgo combination has always been kind of huge and billowy, even now that the speakers are firing the length of the room instead of sitting along the long wall. The images, while very full-bodied -- meaty, even -- werent, however, snapped into place the way the way they are with solid-state. (That, by the way, is a very nice thing about solid-state that few tube addicts will admit.) Even the images out on the flanks behind the speakers were more solid, more convincing, giving the impression of a wider stage even if it wasnt actually expanded. More effective stage area? I was very happy that I could now enjoy this kind of image focus while retaining the Virgos panoramic sound spread.
One last thing: My earlier hissy-fit aside, the precision of these finicky little pellets has not been overstated. I tried adding or subtracting just one pellet from each footer (not the ones under the amp -- those are permanent, believe me), and the change was equivalent to using different cables, or substituting squishy Sorbothane pucks (verboten) for the EquaRacks, or using no footers at all. Adding (underloading) made the sound harder and cleaner, in general, while subtracting (overloading) seemed to make things softer, duller, and, yes, more smeary. These are very general impressions, but I was never able to take the sound for long with purposely misloaded footers. Just do as I say, not as I do, and mind the instruction manual. Joe Ciulla hasnt gone through the obvious trouble for nothing.
Conclusions
So -- with the headaches and backaches now receding into the distant past, was it worth the effort? Duh. Is the EquaRack Multi-Mount still the most annoying product Ive ever used? Only turntables are worse. Maybe the pellet holes could be a bit deeper, or maybe the caps depressions should match those of the base. Maybe perfectly sized blocks could be provided (what would they cost -- a nickel apiece?).
But the gains are hard to argue with, especially with transports and tube amps, although a sampling of EquaRacks sonic signature (theyll hate that -- there should be no sonic signature) was available after Id mounted only my digital preamp. Proceed carefully, trying three or four Multi-Mounts at a time: first under the transport, then the amp, especially if its a tube job. The results will vary, as it always does, with the makeup of your system, the room it occupies, the construction of your floor, where you live in relation to fault lines, the humidity, how your stock portfolio is performing, etc.
But most important, Im using the Multi-Mounts in conjunction with solid maple shelves that Im pretty much stuck with, and nothing aside from levitation can truly isolate a component from the shelf it sits on. The moment you decouple something from a shelf, it falls down. Nonetheless, three Multi-Mounts cost $300. That may be a bit high for those contemplating a one-size-fits-all platform, but the result will make you glad you gave up that dinner out on Saturday night to make up the difference.
EquaRack Multi-Mount footers are unique. The niche Joe Ciulla has created -- of viscoelastic-based footers that can be easily adjusted to accommodate components of any weight -- is a conceptual A+. Ingenious.
