"Sistrum SP-101 or SRA V 3.0"

Shaizada, please post back when you get your SRA's. I welcome your comments because I too have a number of Sistrum stands, speaker stands and points, and have found them to be outstanding.

I too am considering SRA's for some of my gear, but my system and some of the individual pieces are in too much flux right now to commit to SRA.

I think the ultimate would be to use both - the very fast brass Sistrum to conduct the vibration away from the chassis, and the SRA to sink the energy and to buffer vibration from the outside world.

Shaizada,

Can you share your findings on the Sistrum/SRA platforms?

Buffering energy on top of Sistrum defeats the whole system and the entire transfer function on which it is based. Think of it as a collection device in which resonance is channeled and then passed to ground. If you put a giant storage capacitor {a so called isolation device} in the way or between then you slowed down the pass thru and increased the transfer time by alot. I would not mix these devices. You will change the sound, but you will not have better sound. I'm a dealer. Tom

Also, has anyone tried the Ultra shelf from Symposium usa? I am curious how this would compare?

I've played around with the following vibration control productsin my system now:

1) SRA Ohio XL Plus (squared) under preamp
2) Sistrum SP-101, SP1, SP-004
3) Symposium Ultra Shelf
4) Stillpoints ESS Rack

Sistrum stands really liven up the sound and give you the "you are there" feeling. They take about 2-3 days to settle down (I don't know why but I do hear the system change sound character for the better over time). Note delineation is very articulate and there is a nice tone to the sound as a result of absent vibrations. I would buy Sistrum stuff for tube equipment without a doubt.

SR Ohio Class XL Plus (squared) are phenomenal sounding. Soundstage expansion was very obvious to me. Noise floor dropped quite a few more notches and the unfettered tone of my preamp (Ray Samuels B-52) just seemed to come through. This platform seemed to just let the component be all it can be without making its own sonic changes known. Sistrum does very deliberate things to the sonic character of the sound. Silent Running Audio just extrapolates the most out of the component without adding or taking away. Naturalness and massive soundstage expansion were very obvious things that stand out with the SRA platform.

Symposium Ultra shelf is something that increases resolution or extracts so much detail from anything it is placed under. Need to be careful here because it can throw off a very well balanced system. If you're system needs speed, detail extraction and fast transients, I would look at the Symposium / Sistrum camp. Seems like metals have a sonic character that matches their color. Sistrum brass has a beautified tone and the Symposium aluminum has an extravagant detail and speed like no other. Somewhat like cousins of the same family :) I will use the Symposium Ultra shelf for a future turntable purchase, but right now it is under a power conditioner.

I settled on a Stillpoints ESS rack which seemed to belong to the SRA type of sound family. Naturalness and note decay are just outstanding. This rack adds nothing of its own and just lets individual components do their thing. This rack seems to allow for a massive soundstage, precise instrument placement and articulation. I preferred this rack to the Sistrum SP-6 I was auditioning.

In the end, I think all these vibration control mechanisms bring something different to the table and if you can match them up to your taste, the final result can get you much closer to that ethereal sound in our heads. I have to say, this "path" requires much dedication, experimentation and willingness to learn and adapt. Thats right up my alley :)

Hope my comments help shed some light on these things.