Stillpoints and reference-level speakers

07-19-14: Psag
Agear, I kind of lost interest when Bo1972 hijacked the thread with his usual nonsense. I tried the Ultra 5's under my TAD Reference Ones with questionable benefit. Some increase in resolution, at the expense of tonality. I couldn't justify the price of six Ultra 5's.

Hi Psag. I have others who feel the same way about the latest iteration from Stillpoints. In fact, one speaker manufacturer preferred the older generation of Stillpoints versus the new. The Ultra provided an excess of micro-detail with altered tonality. That being said, the speaker was designed around the original still points. There is something to be said for "voicing" equipment during the development phase. Adding whizbang grounding technology after the fact is not always a panacea. It can reveal or accentuate deficiencies. I have noticed the same thing with electronics.

Thanks for the update and provide us with a little more detail.....

Well I got tired of looking at and worrying about the spikes and their bases on my wood floors. I had a set of four Stillpoints ultra 5's under my turntable. So I removed and placed them under one of my magico q5's. Besides the fact that they look great and the speakers finally look finished there is NO diminishment of sound quality. They still have a strong solid bottom end, clear and complete mid and high ranges. In short, still sound fantastic! Contrary to magico warnings. But now, look fantastic as well, finished! No more concerns over floor damage. Easy to move for any adjustment or cleaning. Looking to replace on the other speaker and back under tt. Enough said.

Agear, it is just my opinion but I couldn't stand the original StillPoints. They used a less developed version of the ceramic ball technology and were not of stainless steel.

I don't know what you guys mean by altered tonality or whether there can be an "excess" of micro-detail. Can please explain what you are talking about here?

In other words, there was an apparent increase in clarity, at the expense of warmth and fullness. More analytical, less musical. This could be an advantage for some speakers, but not for the TADs in my system. I do have thick carpet with a heavy liner underneath, and I also wonder what the results would be like on an uncovered floor. Maybe better, maybe worse.

TBG, I forgot to mention that the Stillpoints can work for you if you have the threaded inserts shortened so that the body of the footer is flush with the base of the speaker. I had this done by the seller, in this case The Cable Company. I'm told it wasn't easy, as they are aircraft-grade stainless steel.