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Feet/ footers: Cones, pads, rubber gizmos, fancy gizmos, roller gizmos

Aside from the shelving stuff, what do you add under your equipment feet?  
Nothing?  
Hard cones.. metal. wood.. with under disc, right into shelf?  
Soft footers. pads, half domes.. sorbothane...    ?  
fancy aftermarket footers?   Brass...    ? 
Roller devices?  
Added butcher block rests...  thck thin, IKEA... ?Other?   
I have used all sorts of stuff under my equipment. My favorite go to are size ten butyl rubber bottle stoppers, then under really heavy stuff, old Tip Toes, and under some things sorbothane half domes. But no expensive doodads.   
I have recently tried some home made rollers, no improvement to negative results. 
Mostly I like some vibration dampening.. hard connections seem to go negative on quality of the sound   
So I am just thinking about feet. footers. What are your experiences with them?
elizabeth

Showing 7 responses by roxy54

roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,652 posts
 
Elizabeth,
I have always had a thing for different isolation devices, like some people have for power cords. I have tried all sorts of things over the years from exotic and expensive to affordable and as is often said, they all have a "sound". Having said that, when I found Starsound products, that was it. The speaker supports make speakers disappear and the equipment stands make amps and CD players perform better, and it's not subtle. I waited until 2 years ago to put an Apprentice rack under my DAC, and I regret that, because when I did, the music which I thought was just fine snapped into focus. 
Call me a shill or a fanboy, but if you're serious, spend the money and you'll get your money's worth.
   http://starsoundtechnologies.com/CMS/uploads/apprentice-(4)_001.jpg
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,652 posts
 
Elizabeth,
If you want to try something good that member stevecham recommended in January, try these. They're almost free, and they are better sounding than many more expensive alternatives. (but not the Starsound racks of course.)


https://www.supplyhouse.com/DiversiTech-MP-2E-EVA-Anti-Vibration-Pad-2-x-2-x-7-8
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,652 posts
 
I’m not sure that I understand your comment Elizabeth. What does it matter if they’re "too stiff"? Aluminum tip-toes are pretty "stiff" too. What matters is how they perform. I can understand that you may or may not like that, although I find it surprising that someone with your experience has any use for sorbothane, which I find terrible sounding under anything.
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,652 posts
 

Agree with Geoff Elizabeth. I would be very surprised if you didn't see improved sound from your amp by placing the stiff squares you have that we spoke about underneath it in place of the sorbothane.

 I used sorbothane for a few years a long time ago, and the idea made sense to me then, but after I had tried other things, I realized that it was worse than stock component feet (to my ears).

roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,652 posts
 
You seem to be very set in your beliefs about footers Elizabeth, so I wonder why you solicited other opinions.
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,652 posts
 

Elizabeth asked: Some folks like a lot of added harmonics?

There is actual science in some of these products Elizabeth, and it is born out in their performance. I wish that I lived near you so that I could let you try a Starsound Apprentice rack, and be truly surprised by what happens when these microvibrations are quickly brought to ground. I know from past posts that you’re not foolish with money, but you will spend it if there’s a good reason.

I’ll bet that you would spend it if you tried one of these. The difference on amp and CD player is easy to hear, but on my DAC, I was shocked by the improvement. It brought a blurry picture into focus...and I didn’t think that it was blurry to begin with. I understand though. It was really hard for me to pull the trigger on it too; but I’m a believer now. I think of it as a necessity, not a luxury.

roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,652 posts
 

  Elizabeth,

Try using brass cones with the butcher blocks like Mapleshade does. It's a good sounding combination too. Or maybe Nasa grade ceramic cones that Geoff recommends, but I have no experience with that.

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