Multi Chassis Isolation?

Tobias, Thanks for sharing your experiences. Yes I do mean Vibration Isolation.

I am trying Black Diamond Racing Cones and Pucks under the Transport chassis (Opus 21), and on a different shelf, I have Sorbothane feet under the PS.

Now I am curious, about the Resolution Audio Opus 21... Is the DAC in the Transport Chassis or is it in the Display/PS chassis.

I wonder if it would be worth it to buy some more BDR cones and pucks for the PS chssis??? ...or better yet what particular isolation devices have you found most effective?

I have been using BDR cones (a mix of Types 3 and 4) under my transport for a few years. I found them more effective than Isobearings or nothing. Recently, though, I've tried a set of FIM 305 bearings. The 305 is a pair of discs, each with a concave depression in one surface. You place a bearing (steel, which is standard, with tungsten and ceramic available) between the two discs and rest the transport on the top of the assembly, three of which are needed. The effect was to open up the soundstage even more, better bass articulation, cleaner music generally.

I have not heard BDR cones with pucks, so your current setup may (or may not) be giving you everything the 305s can give already. The 305s made my transport do the shimmy when I pushed a button, by the way, but this didn't seem to affect playback, and the improved sound was worth the minor inconvenience.

I kept the Isobearings for my DAC, where antivibration measures made a very much smaller improvement than they did on the transport.

Tobias, Thank you again. The FIM 305 Bearings look very attractive. Both stylistically and price! I may very well give them a try.

For now I have the BDR cones and thin pucks under the transport chassis and Sorbothane feet under the power supply.

I am still curious which box the DAC itself is in...? I dont really want to bother Jeff (at RA) again. He is a great guy to talk with and very gracious, but alas, I have consumed enough of his time already. So if someone knows this I would really appreciate if you shared your knowledge with me.

I have been considering some maple blocks to place under the components. You guys think its worth it?

Distortion, I currently own a RA Opus 21. I have the units sitting beside each other and I use three BDR cones under each chassis which makes a considerable improvement. I also "mass load" the chassis by placing a 20 lb. sandbox on top to dampen the setup. This also yields some very noticeable results. To answer your question about the different chassis functions. I believe Jeff used a different approach than other manufacturers. The heavier chassis contains the power supply and logic circuitry and the other chassis contains the Transport mechanism and dac. Both benefit greatly from mechanical isolation thru the use of cones and the drive chassis benefits considerably from the mass loading. One other note on a huge upgrade for that player is the Kubala Sosna Emotion power cord. It works wonders. I hope this helps.

Happy listening