Was the nail made of a steel alloy or something more musically satisfying like a brass screw. Was the screw head then painted over and filled in with Total Contact. My choice. Tom
>>>>Not sure I go along with your detective work. Brass is rather low on my list of preferred materials for audio applications. Notice the correlation of preferrability to hardness.
from best to worst,
Diamonds
NASA grade diamond hardness ceramics
Tempered High Carbon steel
Aluminum
Carbon Fiber
Brass
This is not to say other materials can be very good when used as platforms, Top plates for isolation stands, that sort of thing, but the key characteristic is usually hardness. Hardness on the Moh scale of hardness. So, this is where we kind of agree, since very hard materials allow the energy to escape the bounds of the system, especially in isolation systems.
What I propose is a comprehensive approach using BOTH energy management employing damping plus hard materials along with vibration isolation. For example the circuit boards must be isolated from the transformer and the CD transport must be damped. Just to name two. The transformer can also be removed and relocated elesewhere which is what I think MG does sometimes. This comprehensive plan of attack will ALWAYS produce the very best results. And doesn’t require constant attention and Tuning.