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Please help me choose CD isolation

I am suffering from a mild case of Audiophile burnout this week and need advice in choosing effective CD isolation relatively inexpensively (under $150 ). I put my CD player on top of my rack in order to make room for a new tuner. I have some Vibrapods underneath, and they are doing a nice job, but honestly want something more appealing visually that doesn't change the tonal balance too much, and maybe adds a touch more detail. I am listing my system in order to get the best advice possible, THANKS in advance for taking the time to read this and helping me out. Martin Butler.

* Musical Fidelity HT600 5 channel amp w/ Acoustic Zen Silver Reference interconnects,Yamamura Quantum power cord.

* B&K AVP3090 pre-amp w/ Harmonic Technology Pro-11 AC power cord)

* Sony DVP-9000ES SACD/DVD player (w/ Acoustic Zen Silver Reference interconnects, and an Acoustic Zen Tsunami pc)

* B&W Nautilus 805 speakers w/ matching stands, HTM-2 center, LM-1 surrounds (w/ H. Tech Pro-9 plus bi-wire cables)

* REL Strata III subwoofer , XLO custom Neutrik Speakon conector and DH Labs BL-1 for 5.1 out, and H. Tech Pro-11AC pc)

* Denon MD-1000 Minidisc recorder (H. Technology Truthlink interconnects, and Audio One "Reference" toslink cable )

*Musical Fidelity A3 Tuner

* Toshiba 40X81 Widescreen HDTV (Monster component cables)

* Monster HTS-3500 power center

* Salamander Synergy Systems rack

* Hubble 8300i outlets

* Cardas RCA caps
bmpnyc
albertporter's avatar
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albertporter
4,949 posts
 
I have the Sony 9000 as well, and have tried Black Diamond Racing, Iso bearings, Vibrapods, Walker Valid Points and Sorbothane. Settled on Mod Squad Soft Shoes, by McCormack audio. They retail for about $12.00 each, with three being the magic number.
rmml's avatar
rmml
204 posts
 
Mapleshade Tripple Points will give you the tough more detail that your looking for, and they look great to boot.
rcprince
3,070 posts
 
Bmpnyc: In response to your last question, I found that the inner tube base appeared to have the effect of making the player seem like it sounded about 2 db louder; essentially, it lowered the noise floor and made the soundstaging much better, as you could hear the small ambient cues better. The Sink had a similar effect, not as pronounced. The pon-tunes (which are small cylinders made of some hard compound) focused the sound and images better than the stock feet, and gave a little more sparkle in the high frequencies than either the inner tube or the Sink, but didn't present the soundstage as well. I'm always vacillating back and forth between isolation (as with the Sink and the inner tube base) and channeling vibrations elsewhere (like cones, or the Combak stuff); I am ultimately coming around to the view, since most of my equipment is tubed, that isolation from underneath, perhaps with mass damping above (if practical, as with a front-loading CD player), is the best road for me. Other supports change the sound, perhaps in a way you like better, but they are still not working as well to isolate the unit from vibrations, and with tubes I think that isolation is most important. Just my view from my experience; others will give you their's, I hope.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Try as bunch tweakings as you know one after another for a certain period of time of experimenting to find out what's the best for the rack/room and platforms. Try to surf over DIY examples first. Different setups/racks/rooms require different experiments and it might take most of your time! The first thing if your component is standing higher from the surface you already win with heat dissipation! Try not to go with tweaks that will affect heat dissipation. It's kind of same thing if you place components one onto another. You could try to construct your own rack rather than using rich-audiofile-oriented ones with even better performance just by going into the home depot!
phild
603 posts
 
I have #3 & #4 Black Diamond Racing cones and I don't prefer them on their own. They do some amazing things to the sound as far as soundstage and details go, but I've found that they also have some disadvantages that come with the benefits. Everything seems to be more detailed, but that includes the vocals too. They become too detailed, and they lose their warmth. Sibilance and micing problems really stick out. That's just my opinion. I put some sorbothane underneath the cones (at the tip), and that seems to be a good compromise (for now).

Like I said, they definitely make a difference, but they seem to require a lot of experimentation. Just a warning...they may drive you mad.
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