Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Thanks for the update Matt, keep that system burning!

WARNING, this post is GOING to piss people off!!! I am sorry. The opinions I am about to state are mine and mine alone. Please don’t tear me a new you’know’what or start flaming. I am just stating my opinion heard in my room, with my related accessories, on my system....

You have been warned!

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My friend came over today. We listened again; just compared Symposium shelf/footers and HRS shelf/footers . Used many different styles of music, spent quite a bit of time. Switched between the two several times (what a PITA, but worth it!). The combo shelf/footer has clearly proven to surpass the performance gains of any footer only system.

I definitely prefer the Symposium system (Ultra Platform and double stack roller blocks). It’s clean, neutral, fast, gives amazing attack and decay and the soundstage and imaging are holographic. And I’m not sure how, but it significantly lowers the noise floor. The HRS does not lower the noise floor, in fact I think it’s adding to it. It didn’t strike me until we switched back from HRS to Symposium for like the 4th time.

I think that’s what makes the HRS sound like it’s giving “more” in comparison, I think it’s coloring the sound. It’s “more” because it’s adding “more” to the reproduction. I think that the HRS footers, on their own, are a better solution then with the shelf. I think there is too much rubber if you add footers and shelves, to be quite honest. The sound HRS gives is big, bold, dynamic, MORE!!! Sounds awesome with anything punchy and dynamic. HRS sounds great on everything to be honest (the rack/shelf/footer equivalent of really good horns), but the purity and neutrality in combination with the blackest background I have ever heard, from the Symposium, was what finally uncovered what I hear the HRS was doing. I think Peter from Symposium may be right (he hates any rubber in a rack/footer/shelf system). A touch of rubber may be ok, but HRS REALLY relies on it heavily. The Symposium makes my system sound the best it ever has, and my friend today was the one who said it.

I juts ordered a set of elusive ShunMook Giant footers, touted by many to be the best of the best. I am also trying to arrange to audition a set of Magico Qpods. Of course, both would be implemented on the Symposium Ultra shelf or on the Osiris rack, as I’m leaning heavily in that direction. I will play with a few footers on that shelf to see what’s best, but the combo of Symposium Ultra shelf and double sandwich rollerblocks has impressed me most thus far.

On the inexpensive, holy cow are they good and they are only HOW MUCH, category is the IsoAcoustics Gaia and Orea. If you are looking for 95# of the performance for practically nickels on the dollar compared to the expensive stuff, you can NOT do better then IsoAcoustics!!!

Hello Matt,

I have to say I am not surprised by the HRS vs the Symposisum.

We did a shoot out of the HRS Damping plate $1,800.00 which is the actual shelf of the HRS stands vs a Stillpoints spider platfom which cost $800 and we had the exact same experience. The Stillpoints seemed to make everything more in focus and improved the micro dynamics over the HRS.

So for years we were working with the Stillpoints products, now it seems that there racks have gone up in price so much we are looking at alternatives

We are looking to add an Osris rack to our reference room as it seems to be one of the best designed racks out there and the price seems reasonable compared with some of the other reference racks so we should talk.

Just got our Davinci 2 and are burning it in, wow, is it incredible.

Love to catch up.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

Also totally agree with you on the Isoacoutics stuff, just amazing for the money. 

Did an initial test of three pucks at $60 for the entire set vs a set of the older Stillpoints which were over $300 and we thought the Isoacoustics were just as good if not better.

We were telling people about these findings months ago. 

The pucks under a set of bookshelf speakers too a set of ATC and Elac to another level.

It amazes us how some people on these forums think vibration isolation doesn't or can't make a difference on anything other than a turntable. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

Ok. Here’s my vibration treatment theory. It’s deducted from observation, logic, quit a bit of research (I have an undergraduate degree in physics) and what I have heard:

Symposium posts on its web site that it is imperative for their shelf system to properly function to have a high transmission efficiency connection between the components chassis and the shelf. This is to allow the system to simultaneously isolate from outside while draining vibratory energy from the component. Symposium relies on foam in the shelf, not rubber. And then wants no rubber elsewhere because it NEEDS to get the energy to the foam to dissipate it. Makes sense. It's a total system design. Use metal footers of some kind, bearing footer devices, or thick solid metal discs to couple the chassis to the shelf so it can do its job. It makes sense. I now realize that THIS is how Critical Mass works as well; and this is why Critical mass recommends you just put the equipment directly on the shelf or use their simple cone footer to couple the chassis to the shelf. Same exact concept. The magic is in the shelf so get ALL the vibrations to the shelf to do its job.

HRS and IsoAcoustics rely on rubber to dissipate the energy. But IsoAcoustics counts of the footers doing it alone. HRS has developed their own system integrated rubber in their footers and their shelves to dissipate the vibrational energy. I think that with rubber there is less thermal distribution. And that with too much rubber it actually seals the vibrational energy in the component as opposed to allowing it to come out and dissipate.

I think that you either should use the HRS footers alone or IsoAcoustics footers alone, unless external vibration is a bigger problem then internal vibration. I think the HRS shelf is a brick wall and doesn't allow vibrational energy IN or OUT. So in a big city, it probably makes a HUGE improvement since the vibration coming from outside is smearing everything and it gets blocked. But it also blocks any internal energy from getting OUT. The HRS footers help to attenuate the energy and relies on the (not HRS) shelf to absorb or diffuse the remaining energy. With the HRS shelf in place it just bounces that energy right back through the footer and into the component, doing more harm then good.

I any rubber based product like Sorbothane and all the other rubber products out there do the same thing. They attenuate and allow the remaining energy to PSS through and dissipate into the shelf below. So the footer alone, depending on the design, can do a really good job of improving isolation and designing vibrational energy from the component. I like using the IsoAcoustics and HRS footers, they work.

Footers like the Magico Qpods (I have a set inbound to audition) and Shunmook footers (also have a set inbound) work similarly. But the Qpod takes an extra step and have a thin layer of (probably) Sorbothane and a Cooper disc which overcomes the poor thermal dissipation of the rubber. The copper theoretically dissipates the heat and makes the aluminum, steel, copper, Sorbothane design more effective at attenuating the vibrational energy then rubber alone. It’s suppsoed to offer a bit of what the Symposium/Critical Mass style shelves do but built right into the footer. I’ll let you know how big a difference that little disc of copper makes. I’m not convinced but ill
let my ears do the judging. Regarding the Shunmook footers, they are a super dense wood and a commercial grade diamond spike. Scientifically, it’s a conundrum. But maybe the density of the ebony they use is perfect to attenuate vibration and dissipate that energy more efficiently then what the other guys use. We shall see....

Footers like standard points and cones, fancy points and cones, StillPoints, Ansuz Darkz, Symposium Rollerblocks, etc all do a great job of coupling the vibrational energy from the rack to the shelf underneath. But by focusing that energy into smaller area it permits some thermal release as the vibrational energy is forced into a volume that can’t contain the vibrational energy without forcing some out as heat. Different companies have come up with different geometric solutions to this and some work VERY well! I have gotten the best results with StillPoints, the Darkz (although I liked the StillPoints more) and Symposium Rollerblocks (but only tried also using their matching shelf). I do honestly think that you probably get more isolation and vibrational attenuation by using this last type of footer and then a shelf from Symposium, Critica Mass, Silent Running, etc.

Then there are designs like Star Sound and Artesani (and the StillPoints rack) where the entire system is built as a single whole with no real shelf. The component is coupled directly to the rack to dissapate heat and vibration, and to isolate. I have heard all three and they work, and work well. Probably amongst the best overall bang for the buck if your looking to replace your whole rack.

Im not sure if that confused you or helped. But it helped me to formulate my thoughts and opinions. As always, thanks for coming along for the ride. Lol.

Dont ask ask me what I decided on yet please. I still need to hear the Qpods and Shunmook footers. And more importantly, I need to decide if I can move my rack to the front of my room without deleterious effects. But I feel like I’m getting closer!!!!