Where to use Isolation devices

Sean34 - I also heard a demo using Focal Utopia speakers (I think it was the Scala). It wasn't a perfect setup because it was during an event where there were a lot of people in the store, but I could convince myself that there was a difference. What I told the salesman was that I could hear the A/B difference, but I doubted that I'd ever notice if they were not installed and nobody let me in on the secret.

When I did some A/B stuff at home I can easily describe the difference that I hear. On one particular CD there are areas about half way to the center from each speaker where I can almost hear things overlapping without the kones, but with them installed everything has air around it. It sounds like snake oil to me when I say it out loud, but it's my placebo and I'm sticking with it.

Ironically, I installed foam corn pads (i.e. donuts) on the bottom of the SACD player to prevent it from sliding off of the kones and I swear it sounded worse than without. That's an even harder setup to A/B, but I took them out. My theory is that the foam pads were providing a level of damping that was directing the vibrations around the kones.

Have a question that runs a bit tangent to the above, but assuming specified weight limits are not surpassed, is it preferable to use as few isolation feet as possible? i.e. the logical arrangement is to put four feet under a piece of equipment for solid balance, but if going by specs, two is sufficient for the gear in terms of weight, on paper is that the way to go?

In real world of course such balancing acts on pricy gear may not be for the faint of heart, but I have been given the impression previously that if you could you should. Not sure if this is true or not. Would like to experiment myself at some point, but was just curious if anyone has any opinions on this, real world or theoretically.

I wouldn't call it an opinion but I always use three feet. It is stable and sounds better or the same as with four. One foot always goes under power supply or turntable motor if it is not totally separated. With cd player/transport or cassette deck I just move the feet under the component and listen.
I would see no reason to use only two feet and I doubt it would sound best.

Inna, when I purchased my Nordost Sort Kones I found it interesting that the Nordost website/white paper indicated that improvemetns could come from using a single Kone. They said that wine bottle corks could be used for the other two feet. This could be marketing hype to get people to at least purchase one or two of the Kones if three was too expensive, but it was an interesting concept. I can't see myself sitting my equipment on corks.

With your indulgence, a rant:
If I walk into a familiar room, full of knickknacks, I’m much more likely to notice a newly acquired knickknack, than I am to notice the removal of one. That’s because, over time, we all become consciously blind to details that are very familiar to us; or at least, we lose some awareness. Okay, where am I going with this? There is no element of audio that I find more agonizing than the struggle with isolation devices. Chief among woes, is that there is usually a give and take factor; and I notice what they add to the music long before I notice what was subtracted. Here’s the rub: since I can find no science to help me determine their proper usage - not to mention the outrages prices and snake-oil factor - I feel trapped. If I don’t use them, then what am I missing? And if I do use them, then what am I missing? Thank you for your indulgence.