2. digital
  3. 130287-7805

WHAT HAS WORKED FOR YOU? ISOLATION PLATFORMS, FOOTERS, ETC. for a DAC?

What is reasonable to expect in SQ gain with respect to a DAC, since there are no actively moving parts?

Footers only? Platforms only? Or is a combination of both best?

Keeping this open ended (as well as budget wise) to see what Audiogon Members recommend and advise.

However, thoughts on Gains v.s. Spend with the specific products you are recommending are welcome and will be very helpful.

The only footers I have used in the past are those from Herbie's Audio Lab.  I have used two different 'audio' racks (which have been dismantled) and I am using their shelves as isolation platforms for my speakers and other components (but not the DACs).

The DACs in use are a Schiit Yggdrasil and an Exogal Comet Plus. The stock rubber footers with the Yggdrasil are as basic as they come; The Comet has an acrylic plate with rounded metal screws.

THANK YOU!
david_ten
czarivey
5,946 posts
 

One day, I picked up left-over dry wall $free off the curb side that I needed for small projects. Some of it I used for my StandDesign equipment stand that I cut precisely to fit tight within shelf racks (compared to original wood composite shelves that just lay down loose). To give aesthetic and good WAF look, I stained them in black. The rack apparently became heavier and it does have hollow tubes to fill them up with sand ( which I did not do ).

  That resulted

1. substantial decrease of background noise and

2. gave substantially better look of dry wall panels blending with metal rack just like one solid piece.

3. and finally, I salvaged original wood composite panels for casual home shelving.

After having so many benefits, I decided to cut dry wall panels for to place under Aerial 10T speakers and that I believe revolutionized the meaning of speaker stands. For speakers I decided to use salvaged wood composite panels that I sandwiched between same sized dry wall panels and secured them with floor glue.


geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Old discarded dry wall would be my first choice for trying to get that special designer look to any superior audio system. And It really sets off the room. 


czarivey
5,946 posts
 

@geoffkait ,

Is the new left-over dry wall a compromise to old discarded? Please share your 'tweaky' expertise :-)

miner42
709 posts
 
I had a bad feedback problem through my turntable until I removed the spike feet under my platform and replaced them with isoblocks.  YMMV.
agriculturist
177 posts
 
You could also try Herbie's grungebuster + PTFE washer pairs to isolate the PCBs in your DAC as I have done to good effect.  You have to unscrew the PCBs to put them in but this needn't be complicated depending on how your DAC is laid out.

Also, the Synergistic Research ECTs are very helpful for reducing high frequency noise in digital equipment - such as in DACs, USB converters and also in power supplies/conditioners/etc.  But for the ECTs to work at their best you may also need to have the SR FEQs in the room.  I'm not sure about this last point, but I do have the FEQs running all the time, and I can say that the ECTs do something for digital components and power supplies that other tweaks don't attempt and they do work.
More to discover