Which cone's or platforms have helped?

Thanks for the post Bob. Sean posted a great thread in shelves and recommended Lack coffee and end tables for cheap shelves. Here is the end table - only $9.95 in black / blue / etc.
lack end table

Hi Chuck I neglected to answer your question above:
Actually the design differences are significant - not even close to the same shape at all. Regarding hardness, I do not know. Get on the Nordost website to see a picture of the Pulsar Points; very different approach. They are also available in a less costly aluminum version (doubtful the performance is equivelant, but I guess that's possible) however I wanted to compare titanum with titanium. The Orchard Bay's are shaped like a Hershey's Kiss with a very sharp point, & are best used with O.B.'s large brass pucks beneath them. They were/are available through Stewart at Sanctuary of Sound, a highly recommended Audiogion dealership. He has photo's on his website. I say "were" because I think he discontinued the titanium, but still has Orchard Bay brass cones etc. available which are said to be very good as well. Stewart also gives some very good advice based upon his substantial experiences with tweaks & he has never steered me wrong.

Cdc: That was Ken ( Caterham1700 ) of Neuance fame that suggested the Ikea "Lack" end tables. I did end up doing a lot of talking to Ken in that thread, so it might be easy to get us confused. It's either that or your memory is starting to go : ) Sean
>

Silent Running Ohio XL platforms for mono blocks and a
Mana-Neuance shelf combination for digital or analogue.

All this talk about resonance transfer. Has anyone taken the time to think about it? If you're transferring the ever so slight resonance out, what about the big vibrations that you're transferring in? Footsteps or subwoofer vibrations are alot more than any resonance you're trying to transfer out. It's not real difficult. There are no one-way valves on resonance or virbration transfer.

Well designed platforms take care of the internal and external vibrations, since they do NOT work like a valve.
His platforms do not distinguish between the two forms of vibrations, but efficiently rid the component of internal as well as external vibrations.

Read what Kevin of Silent Running has to say about it:


A movement or vibration creates friction in the module and this produces heat. Heat is used to effect and change the darometer of the compound, in a pre-calculated manner dependent on weight. As vibrations pass through module after module, their amplitude gradually decreases until it is dissipated entirely. This is what makes the isoBASE such a highly effective isolation device.

Ken's NEUANCE shelves are an attractive, very affordable, easy-to-use system to isolate CDPs, especially. No change in spectral tilt, but trememdous improvement in clarity and coherence of low-midlevel source components. After the dramatic improvements on an old Rotel I had to get a pair for my EMC-1 (44 lbs) and Aleph P pre (35 lbs). These massively built components may not benefit as dramatically from the Neuane, but then again their resolving abilities should allow perception of even subtle improvements, so I use 'em there, too!

Get one of these racks and be done with it. You don't need any cones or other isolation devices under your components. Just place them on the shelf of the rack. It is also the best looking rack on the market. Alvin at Grand Prix is a pleasure to speak to. http://www.grandprixaudio.com/

Hi, Sean, I was trying to say that you posted the thread. Neglected to say that it was Ken who did the actual recommendation. It was great to have Ken take the time to post and good to give credit where credit is due.
Maybe Tekunda is right about the "one-way" effect of spikes. When my washing machine comes on, the floors shake and so does the rack, even through the spikes.
I would says spikes are used to provide RIGID coupling of speakers to the floor. It would take an accelerometer to measure vibrations with and without spikes to really know if they are being attenuated by spikes.
The Lack and Neuance concept appears to be to stop vibration transfer through the platform. So vibrations from the CDP go into the shelf and stop. Vibrations from the floor go into the shelf and stop. That's how I understand the concept. Whether is works or not should be easy to measure with an accelerometer.

Symposium! Their rollerblocks and shelves make a dramatic difference, especially under CD players. Buy the best of their series you can afford, but even the entry level products work well.

I have a Neunce shelf under my AA cap (which made a big improvement) wondering what type of cones/footers are reommended? Ken likes the DH labs but I'd prefer something with a sharper point (less slippery) and is threaded for my cdp..thanks.