Is it best to isolate??

"Theres so many times I wondered in our effort for the holy grail if we might be making it worse..."

All components are isolated out of the box to some extent. I think further isolation can only help, not hurt, but in many cases it may make no discernable difference, so you have to be level headed about how to go about it. Its just a safe thing to do.

IS there an an example out there of where more isolation is worse?

Looking at the posters system pics, the thing that catches my attention from an isolation perspective are those monster amps. Amps with high power transformers emit EM fields that can induce noise in other low level electronics, so the physical separation of power amp from other components is key.

Also, I prefer to keep my components low to the floor rather than high up on elevated stands to minimize impact of vinrations trans mitted through the floor. MY stuff sits on a $30 (second hand) 80 pound heavy solid oak coffee table/bench that itself sits on a solid concrete floor/foundation. The phono step up device is wrapped in mu-metal for needed additional EM isolation. Pre-amp and step up device are located as far away from the power amp and other nearby transformers as my setup allows. I"ve found these simple cost-effective precautions to be very effective!

"Also, I prefer to keep my components low to the floor rather than high up on elevated stands to minimize impact of vinrations trans mitted through the floor. MY stuff sits on a $30 (second hand) 80 pound heavy solid oak coffee table/bench that itself sits on a solid concrete floor/foundation. "

Bingo!

All my main components are on a wood floor or very close to wood floor placed on high mass wood cabinet/bases. All my power supplies and components are at least 4 ft away from each other not to have EM field interaction. Especially pre-amps/phonos away from DAC/power supplies. It may not look pretty stuff spread out or impressive but gets the job done.

I use or have used Symposium shelves, couplers and rollerballs under CD players. The shelf provides both isolation from external vibration and dampening of self generated vibration. The shelf dissipates any energy transmitted to the shelf in its soft foam core. The couplers are made of aluminum and are brick shaped. They are designed to couple the bottom of the equipment to their shelves. The rollerblocs work on a different principle. With roller blocks vibrational energy is dissipated by the work required to roll the piece of gear uphill against gravity. These are very effective at reducing self generated vibration, such as from the mechanical moving parts in a cd player or from the power transformer vibrating.

I have heard the couplers, shelves, and rollerblocs under several different players. These are essentially tuning devices, so the result will be a change in sound, though not necessarily a favorable change. For example, in my system, the rollerblocs improved clarity a bit under a Sony SCD-1 player. Either the rollerblocs or the couplers under a friend's Aero Capitole player made his system sound too dry and analytical (a surprisingly big change). Either the rollerblocs or couplers under my current player, a Naim CD555, seem to make very little difference (the player sits on Symposium shelf).

Because they reduce what is supposedly unwanted vibrational energy, one might be inclined to think that isolation/dampening must be beneficial. I don't think that is necessarily the case. They can change the sound signficantly, but only a trial can determine if that change is positive or not.

Spaz

Thanks for the tip on the granite.

All my equipment is removed from the speakers into an adjacent room. Meaning, lengthy speaker cables are used.

I've found that combinations of or with, wood and compliant materials keep the color in the music. Don't dry it out, over emphasize portions of it, nor make it too soft or listless sounding.

All spinning gear resides on one rack, while processors, preamp, and amps reside on another or on their own stands.

I like Mahogany & Ebony wood blocks as footer or as shelves/platforms. Also cups with large Ebony balls yield super results... in my own circumstance.

I prefer Bright Star Nodes over pods or other sorts of compliant soft rubbery junk.

Given all the comments from others here about isolating components, especially spinning ones, results will indeed vary, and therre's more than one way to achieve a better end.... otherwise everone would say the same thing wouldn't they?

I use the Nimbus couplers and spacers from HRS under my ARC CD7 and think they do a great job in reducing airborne and floor based vibrations. I found that my bass tightened up somewhat, and the resolution as well as image focus tightened up a bit. If you have an HRS dealer locally I would ask for some loaners to test out.
http://www.avisolation.com/nimbus.html