The Isolator: the latest rip-off?

Nice analysis by NDoshi.

Like Raul we have tried a DIY version of the Isolator on our TriPlanar/ZYX Universe. The UNIverse is a very well damped cartridge and it seems to mate especially well with the TriPlanar.

For these reasons, what we heard was mostly the negative effects predicted by NDoshi: a softening of transients and muddying of bass allowed by introducing a lossy coupling between cartridge and headshell.

Results will vary depending on arm and cartridge. Whether you like it or not will depend on what you want your music to sound like. In our system and to our ears it killed dynamics and muffled the life out of the music. We hated it.

In your system? That's up to you.

Doug,because I like you so much,and have just had two glasses of a nice Merlot(my limit),I must admit that it is a similar device that the "late,great"(really great guy)Herb Papier made for me,when I owned the Triplanear.I HAD to have this device,as you know,because my previous "lousy" dealer did not give a damn about component matching.
In all honesty(the wine talking,but true)I NEVER got the performance from the Triplanar,that I paid for.Thusly,(still,the wine letting me drop my guard)I have NO real idea how good the Triplanar could have been.For me!!At the time,my pal had a 2.2 that I had set up,for him.It was consistently consistent,in his system(I was the set-up man,and unfortunately still am),so I had had enough,with doubting I could get what I paid for.Hence,more money spent.Yet well spent,for me,but I did love the look,and hidden potential of "my current accountant's" Triplanar.
Yes it is in the hands of the guy who does my taxes!Who says bartering has no advantages.

Hiccup!!

So,though I really like my 2.2,and am absolutely enamored by the Schroeder Ref(the only arm that can get my juices flowing,as of now,and I think I hate Cello for owning "it" and the 2.2),I am ABSOLUTELY in the dark when it comes to how good the Triplanar REALLY is!!

"Hiccup! Hiccup!"---just thought you should know!

Best!

Well, I think:

Skol

I exchanged e-mails with Helmut Rohrwild of HiFi&Records in Germany, who is as experienced in analogue as Michael Fremer in the US. He tried the Isolator with a SME V, his Schroeder Reference, and, as far as I remember, with at least half a dozen of his cartridges (e.g. London Reference, Music Maker III, Denon DL 103), both MM and MC. The result was exactly the same as described in US-reviews: "The sound, in all combinations, is like liberetaed, more precise, better defined, more fluid".He wrote me: "I now use the Isolator which every system - it´s that good".
Agreed, the cost for actual production may be minimal, but you pay for the idea, and the improvement you get seems to be much larger then what you get elsewhere in this hobby for 150 dollars. Maybe the ´goners who cry "snake oil", without having even seen it, should try it first.

Hi SirSloshed,

Please offer my thanks to the Merlot! Hic!

I always wondered what sort of widget Herb supplied to work around your table/arm incompatibility. (And yes, that dealer did behave like an idiot.)

It was easy enough to imagine risers beneath the TP's mounting plate to raise the arm above the plinth, but of course that would totally boggle your VTA. It never occured to me that Herb would go so far as to machine a fat spacer for beneath the headshell.

Now that I know, I confess I'm surprised that he did it. Aside from the unpredictable effects on cartridge/arm resonance transmission and the potential degradation of mounting rigidity, a fat spacer and extra long mounting screws would substantially increase effective mass. No arm set up so would perform like it does normally. Hic!

I guess if you hand a problem to a mechanic you'll get a mechanical solution, but I think Herb should have just acknowledged the fundamental incompatibility. The dealer f%$&#@ up and that's that. I did the same thing when I bought our TP without realizing it was incompatible with our overly large periphery clamp. That was my own fault. Fortunately I was able to sell the clamp for what it cost me. Hic!

Herb might have pressured the dealer into giving you a full refund. Having his arm mis-sold and creating an unhappy owner was not a good outcome for TriPlanar.

Thanks for sharing that,
Doug

P.S. Did you consider enlarging the plinth cutout? Maybe painful on a brand new table, but probably a genuine solution with no sonic downside.