What is vibration isolation for?

You cannot fight mother nature so the best thing to do, is to let it vibrate. I will be happy to tell you why.. later, but for now I have to meet a client. Great discussion...Tom

Tom.

We are not fighting mother nature, we are fighting one man made invention with another. If we could hear human powered music exclusively and not have to deal with electronics, the vibrations would be fun.

My experience before and after adding an isolation platform under my CD player: originally had very "impressive" and clear sound. After trying an Ariel Osiris isolation platform: low level details became much clearer. Third and fourth background singers could be heard accurately, orchestral instruments occupied their own space, yet blended perfectly without any "etching". The emotion of the performers now comes through consistently. I haven't had as much fun listening to music for a decade. Conclusion: Isolation works for me.
Audiofile9, " What is rather UNUSUAL about the audio hobby is that it seems to attract so many NON-hobbyists, who receive so much satisfaction from constantly telling hobbyists they are barking up the wrong tree." Couldn't agree more.

Must say that debating the obvious is getting to be so tedious that I don't spend as much time here as I used to. If we can't help each other enjoy music more by trading experience and information what are we here for? It always seems to become a pissing contest. To those too skeptical to even try what they enjoy repudiating, get real for a change. I'd rather hear Miles blow his horn then continue to read another boring blowhard's rant. I think that one of the difficulties in internet forums is that it tends to equalize all participants, since it offers a high degree of anonymity. If these conversations were held one to one, or in a small group, I could use my sense of the person speaking to help evaluate their statements. I think we all have a 5 million year old, refined by evolution, highly accurate "bull***" detector that is not fully operational in print only. Why does it seem so hard for some people to simply trust their ears?
In case someone says that if I am bored here, why bother? My answer is that for over four years I have enjoyed the company of some highly articulate, well informed, intelligent and good humored people here at Audiogon. I don't care to see the time invested in getting to know some of the people here undermined, so I am attempting to offer some much needed perspective. Can't say if I have succeeded or not. I've never been one to quote song lyrics but, It's a beautiful day, don't let it slip away" says it best for me at this moment. Or perhaps I should quote the silly commercial "try it, you'll like it". Later.

Reading the above, I notice a resurgence of, "deductive logic vs. experience". "It cannot be so, give me proof (numbers)" vs. "I tried it and experienced (heard) differences"
I respectfully submit that deductive logic, well intentioned (as I wish to believe pbb's to be) when not based on knowledge, can be simple extrapolation at best, sophistic at worst. An ancient example: "All Cretans are liars. I am Cretan." Based on this premise, are Cretans liars or not? Similarly here: "all audiophiles using (so called) isolation devices to affect sound reproduction contend these are beneficial, and they are liars. I am an audiophile using sound reproduction devices."

The earth looking and thereby being flat, by deductive logic we can walk (drive, etc) far enough to reach the end of the world -- and drop off (somewhere south of N Zealand in fact! -- where's Redkiwi of old to refute...:)).

BTW, there is vibration not only from ambient energy from speakers that move air after all, but also (allegedly) from components in the electronics as current passes.

Finally, we can add CAT, YBA and Symphonic Line to the list of manufacturers playing with isolation inside & outside their products. Cheers!

Circling the wagons, closing ranks. Nothing that I wrote previously in this thread has been seriously challenged. The debate is fundamentally the same as in most if not all previous threads. The only added twist is the hobby aspect, which, as far as I can tell, is a rehash of the "you don't belong here, you are bothering the good people in this town and you should leave" diatribe. My position is quite reasonable and can be summed up by saying that the ends vs. means reversal that is high end audio à la Audiogon crowd, TAS, Stereophile etc is incurable. Worst yet, it is perceived as being the gist of the hobby. To me the hobby is about listening to reproduced music that brings enjoyment and sounds like a very good facsimile of the real thing. Maybe, just maybe, some advancement will come from the more leading edge, no holds barred fanatics. That it would come from uncontrolled, haphazard listening sessions is a stretch as far as I can tell, but great discoveries have come from chance. The subjective side in high end audio has won. That is obvious. The arguments are very repetitive by now (and I surely include mine in that comment). The only problem is the person new to the pursuit, asking questions that are honest, sometimes simple, sometimes not, having only one side responding. And then you have threads asking why people are not attracted to audio. High end audio is a faith based pursuit with a tip of the hat to pseudo scientific mumbo jumbo and bafflegab. No one is arguing your right to isolate your solid state equipment as you see fit. I am simply unconvinced of the benefits on solid state equipment that can be derived thereform and any resultant improvement in the quality of reproduced music in a home system. I will refrain from any argument on the burden of proof for any such benefit, the quality of evidence to be put forward and so on. That someone would argue the additive benefits of numerous tweaks and upgrades would be a change and a better argument, I think, but no, every tweak or just about, is said to produce HUGE improvements even when no plausible explanation exists. Albertporter, I admire, in a way, your single minded purpose. I simply do not have the time, the financial resources nor the unflinching belief in my ear/brain processor you have in yours. Ultra high end audio of the subjective, any fleeting perceived improvement is worth it at any cost, stripe is, as you people have so well realised, pearls to swine, in my case.