On the draining of resonance.....

ARC uses soft footers under their Reference Series preamps and phonostages, I assume for good sonic reason. One theory I've heard is that a drain-type metal footer works against the virtues of tube sound (warmth, fullness, etc.).

Nobody really knows why any particular type of footer will sound good with a particular piece of equipment.

Nobody really knows why any particular type of footer will sound good with a particular piece of equipment.

Good point, Psag, although some intuition may just help predict an outcome, e.g., your mention of a rigid, metal coupling of a tube amp would not be my first idea for damping tubes against mechanical vibration. A metal footer may be an effective supplement to a more cushioning layer, but not as a primary connection in all cases. I feel it important to employ at least two approaches to isolate a piece, e.g. sheer mass and soft isolation, or point loading over a big footprint of another material. I am developing a material that will allow for this rule.

Jafreeman, nice system! I would not recommend putting metal cones or spikes directly on a stone surface like the one depicted under your amp. In that case, the stock rubber feet would likely perform much better. My experience is that spikes or cones work much better in the conditions similar to those shown in these images, where they are used to couple gear to a large slab of wood, which is then in turn isolated from the room. http://www.mapleshadestore.com/galleries.php. YMMV.

kn

Wierd. That was not the link I intended. Trying again. http://www.mapleshadestore.com/galleries.php

kn

Tnanks, KN. Maple shade makes very nice looking stands and platforms, brass, etc. and look effective. Although I would not scrap my solid maple table/stands, the granite slabs I am using have turned out to be mostly a sonic bust. I now have prototype footers on the granite surface and under the ARC mono blocks, one footer under each of the seven rubber factory feet. I also have footers underneath the Wadia player's metal pucks that receive the factory points at each corner. My footers are my design, use two natural materials, and are still under development. So far, they have taken the massive granite slabs out of the chain of transmission, imparting a new plateau of clarity, so I know they are effective. I hope to release them to the audio community as a low-cost addition, to be used in conjunction with plinths, slabs, points, factory feet, etc. From the opinions here and industry approaches offered, a general isolation rule has emerged: At least two isolation methods using a variety of materials are necessary in an audio system.