Isolation vs. Absorbtion

Dan. Hope the previous post helps. But I thought I would add that if you do try the Neuance and want to put something between the Neuance and your MDF shelves, then use metal cones that are not too heavy and experiment with metal cups underneath the pointy end, and use the cones point-down. I used plain old tiptoes to good effect, and found it preferable to heavier brass cones, which in turn were better than cones like the BDR or Walker - just not the right application for them. A cone that is hard and light seems to work best if you put the Neuance over MDF - another being the Golden Sound ceramic cones.

Red, I thank you for taking the time to share your listening experiments with us. I (among many others here I am sure) am very greatful. - Dan

You are very welcome Dan. It was as a result of other posters here that I was able to learn about and get to try Maple, Neuance etc particularly through the generosity of Brulee and Caterham1700. With the results I am getting now, it is me that ought to be grateful (and I am) for the opportunity to get suggestions and learnings from others at Audiogon.

Thank-you for the fantastic posts regarding your experementing. I look forward to my Neuance shelves arrival (4 weeks, they had great success at CES). Question, and I realize it will require a guess. My equipment all sits on 6" of sandstone wich sits on a solid masonry foundation. Would you guess I'll want cones or EAR footers? Thanks again, and I hope you don't mind but I wrote Neuance and told them of your posts and that you have had great results! J.D.

I don't know Jadem6. Just today the sound improved yet again from just leaving the Neuance in place. But I have learnt the hard way that light/rigid/steel etc as described above, is the right way to support the Neuance. By the way, if you go to their site it kind of looks like they use Mana racks to voice the Neuance (?). This might explain why the light/rigid/steel etc works for me. I have tried sandstone and masonry before (but not with the Neuance), and found there was some lack of harmonic fullness and lack of life. I did try the Neuance on a heavy structure with some characteristics like stone for a few days and found using hard, light metal cones under the Neuance was best and that the cones sounded best with the pointy end down - even better sitting in metal cups. I have found that if you support the Neuance successfully then cones and Vibrapods between component and Neuance shelf have too hyped a sound, and that either the component's own feet or the E-A-R feet are best - with the E-A-R feet giving a more refined, less noisy result, but which can overdamp the sound in some situations. The problem, as I say, is that what ever you try first with the Neuance, you have to just leave it in place for a week and not play - very hard to do, but if you don't you will go mad (hard to type with the sleeves of this white coat tied behind my back). It is possible Jadem6 that you may (horrors, I know) be best to try a welded steel rack sometime.