Just wanted to let everyone know that I have found two highly effective 'tweaks' to the Ulysses that work well separately but even better in combination.
Lou can make up a layered maple slab that sits between the speaker and the stand. (I also removed the plinth that came with the stand.) This is very effective at resonance control and in my system, lowered the noise floor and low level distortion. An additional benefit was improved low frequency extension. This costs ~$200-$250 and is a 'no brainer' upgrade.
After discussion with Lou, I ordered EquaRack low profile footers. I was already familiar with EquaRack's products as an extremely happy owner of two EquaRack equipment stands.
After trying multiple permutations, the best sound comes with the following combination: speaker-maple slab-footers-stand. This was another significant improvement, primarily in image focus and detail retrieval. I would ascribe the improvement more to improved isolation of the speaker. A buddy of mine commented that "the speakers have a better grip on the music" which is a good descriptor. And yes, there was definite synergy with both the footers and maple slab. Low frequency extension and authority was improved. The bass is now visceral. High frequency sibilance has been eliminated. The EquaRack system is not cheap (~$900) but well worth the expense. I have not tried other similar isolation products, so here's hoping someone else will try and report their results.
The improvements do not compromise the fundamental Daedalus 'house sound'. It sounds like a Daedalus, only better! Here's my rationalization for giving this a try (and as Woody Allen says, we all need one good rationalization to make it through the day), if I had auditioned the base Ulysses system and the 'tweaked' Ulysses, I would have happily paid the difference.
