Stillpoint Ultras anyone?

Hifial...When I first started down this road my priority was the speakers. At the time, I don't believe the Strange Attractors were available. As it turned out the Stillpoints did such a fantastic job and I didn't think twice about it.

It was only after I decided to tackle the rest of my system that the Strange Attractors appeared on the market (or, at least, that's when I became aware of them). And, as I've said, since the Attractors were (much) more cost-effective I gave them a shot, starting with my phono stage. They turned out to work really (sort of amazingly) well.

I would say, in my experience, the performance of each is very similar. And, from what I understand about their design and materials they operate under the similar principles.

So, I would definitely give the Strange Attractors a try with your B&Ws. I'd be interested to hear your impressions.

Just a thought, but can't you go through an online retailer to try them out? I know you probably have some loyalty to your local dealer, but if they can't accommodate you then maybe you could find an alternative.

Either way, I am going to guess that once you try them, you'll be a convert.

Again, I was really very, very pleased with both. I'm not saying one is better than the other. They're both great--and we're lucky to have options in this area.

Jpan, given your recommendation, I looked up the Strange Attractors. I understand how the StillPoint Ultras work, but I must say I don't have much of an understanding of how the Strange Attractors work. They say the resonant energy is "refract, dissipate, and reflect the vibrations off a sequence of boundaries." I know manufacturers have to have proprietary secrets but this is too vague. They also show a black cone which would seem to go into the aluminum top housing. The cone would seem to be a composite material.

Can you tell us more about where you compared the Strange Attractors with the StillPoints Ultras and what the shelves were under both?

Tbg...from the Music Direct web site for the Strange Attractors:

"In fact, Strange Attractors act very similarly to a diode, which allows energy to only pass one way and not return. Strange Attractors remove both internal and external sources of vibration, hold your components very, very still, allowing your components to finally deliver all the music in your recordings. The effect is absolutely stunning..."

There's more on the web page. Just wondering if that answers your question from a technical perspective.

Tbg, Sure...but just to be clear I didn't do a direct comparison. It is more of an inference based on my investigation and listening impressions. Everything was done at my home with my system.

First, I started with my speakers because this had always been an area I had wanted to improve since I knew I was losing something b/c of the carpet. I read a review of the Stillpoint Ultras and from what I learned about them they appeared to be a good option. After I received them it took about half-way through the first song I played to realize these were very special.

Then, after some time had passed (6 months or so), I decided that I wanted to look at additional components to treat, starting with my phono stage. And, that's when I learned about the Strange Attractors. I think I got a mini-catalog from Music Direct and saw them in there (I remember the red color, which was striking). The description--at least to me--sounded a lot like the Stillpoints. I liked the price point and decide to order a set.

As it turned out, I had a very similar experience in terms of overall performance with the Attractors that I had had with the Stillpoints.

At that juncture, I didn't feel like I needed to go through the added expense of the Stillpoints, so I stuck with the Attractors. Then, I moved on to the rest my components--line and amp.

Finally, I finished with adding the Attractors with the threaded screws for my rack/shelves, which is the Finite Elemente Pagode Signature. This was pretty critical because, again, the rack sits on carpet. The result, another nice, big improvement. And that lines up with what I had read about these treatments--they do appear to be cumulative. But, getting that rack off the carpet was really crucial to me. I knew I was losing a lot of energy using the basic spikes that came with the rack.

So, my inference between the two is based on using the Stillpoints for my speakers and the Attractors for my rack. Both are sitting on carpet and in both cases it's as if there's nothing there at all. I mean I have really, truly, been blown away by these products.

If I did it all over again, sure, I'd love to A-B the Stillpoints and the Attractors under my speakers. But, my guess is that there wouldn't be a whole lot of difference either way.

Sorry if this was a long-winded answer. It's been a long day.

If you have more questions or want me to focus on something more specific, just shout it out. I'll do my best to give you my impressions. I've learned a lot from the Audigon community and I'm happy to help others through my experience.

Jpan, your's is probably a more common path to assessing the benefits of isolation feet than mine. Initially, I had no interest in the original StillPoints and learned that the new Ultras were quite different. Then I had the chance to hear speakers with and without them under them. I bought eight. These were the Ultra SSs. I removed the spikes from my speakers and screwed on the StillPoints. I was really in disbelief about the improvement. Gradually, I got more and more of the Ultra SSs and each and everywhere I put them, I got a great improvement. Ultimate I had 32 of them! Yes, this represents a lot of money but together they gave me more improvement than even a $100,000 amp would give. I concluded that after listening to the Ultra SSs that no other isolation device was anything but a toy. I literally have boxes of other devices that no longer have any value to me.

Then came the Ultra Fives. Are they five times better for having five of the "technology" units versus one for the Ultra SSs? That is really hard to say, but if you were ever to hear them under your speakers where you previously had the Ultra SSs, you would do whatever you had to to be able to get the Ultra Fives. And under your turntable, wow!