VR4 JR and VIBRAPODS... Good or bad match up?

I actually use the Herbie's under my DVD player with excellent results, but also use vibrapods under full range floorstanding speakers (with laminated or "security" glass between the carpet and the pods, which the speakers sit on) with excellent results. Please note, however, that this setup is all sitting on a hardwood over wood subfloor suspended floor. If you do searches at Audioasylum, for example, you will actually find a great number of audiophiles who prefer isolating as opposed to coupling with respect to speakers on suspended floors, and I am certainly one of them. I used to have the speakers spiked to the floor and isolating with vibrapods is a huge improvement. If you are on a concrete floor, things may be very different; the only way you can find out is to experiment. You may up utilizing both systems (isolation and coupling) as Driver has to obtain the best results, but it is certainly not surprising to me the isolating the high fequency module from the low frequency one has positve results with the VR4's. And in the overall scheme of things, experimenting with pods or Herbies footers is relatively inexpensive compared with most aspects of this hobby even if the results are less than satisfactory for you.

I've used vibrapods on my VR4JRs and while they sounded OK spikes were significantly better. However, I have a suspended wood floor with a thick carpet and did not feel that the supplied spikes from VS were adequate -- the first ones bent easily and the steel replacement spikes, while adequate were nothing special; especially since I've read that brass is superior to steel at dissapating vibrational energy as well as anchoring the speakers. I ended up buying inexpensive aftermarket brass spikes. Since they did not penetrate the carpet very well, for each speaker I put 6 #5 Vibrapods on the carpeted floor, placed a maple cutting board (@ $15 at Bed, Bath and Beyond)on top of the Vibrapods and the brass-spiked VR4JRs on top of that. This achieved isolation from the resiliant floor while still offering a firm base to anchor the VR4JRs. The resulting sound is outstanding. Don't forget to load each VR4JR with 40-50 lbs of lead shot which you can get at a gun shop for about $15/25lbs.

I havent tried V-pods between the lower and upper units but it sounds worth experimenting.

One tweak which also improves on an already fantastic speaker is to apply Walker SST electrical contact enhancer to each of the terminals of the bass, mid and tweeter driver terminals. You have to inscrew the speaker drivers to do this - you'll have to get the specialized screwdriver at an auto parts store - but it brings a significant improvement in transparency and speed.

The VSA rep put some ceramic pucks under the VR4SR's and it made a surprising improvement. THe shot inside the speaker will make a bigger difference though.

Spikes are for carpet piercing and iso pads for all else...I'm using Quest for Sound Iso Pads....have used Nordost Pulsar point and vibrapods

Gee, thanks a lot. I've also got a 'suspended floor' - not concrete. Padded and carpeted. Oversized brass spikes. Never did try the OEM spikes. Also ordered and received another set of plinths from VSA. No shot in there yet, though. Near $90 aroudn here for four 25lb bags of #7.5. Was hoping to do that for Xmas but not likely with all the power cords & conditioning stuff I've just bought it'll have to wait a while.

I'm thinking to use both plinths with the pods inbetween them... VSA had recommended using either some granite slabs, or even making a box filled with sand as an improvement to isolating the units when on a hollow foor.

So, OK. Using the pods improves things... but in what fashion? Any trade offs?

I've just got a couple sets of the Vibrapods & their cones. Trying them under the tubed pre. Pods alone made an incremental improvement... together, far more than marginally. . . BUT, and this is a big BUT for me, the vocals seem a bit more recessed than they were before.... apart from that aspect, and that attenuation but a slight one, all is well and considerably more detailed, yet still very much and easily listenable... a good deal more body to the images, extremely musical

*Note - Don't have $56 for cones & pods to iso a preamp or CD player... some 2" styrofoam platforms cut out to fit the items area will improve most everything... one trade offf, though, some small loss of bottom end impact and/or resolution will occur... but $1.00 for the 'tweak' ain't bad if things are hard on the uppre ranges, It will open up things dramatically, and smooth up the entire audible range... reduce the boomy bass notes too. looks a little funky, but sounds much more natural... on the whole. Doesn't seem to change the harmonics at all. Just softer... bright system owners with shallow pockets, pay heed.