Great post Aball - very cool DIY ideas!
FWIW in my experience I have found that platter players (CD, DVD, BD) usually benefit most from tweaks - and respond to the broadest range. So the first comments are specific to that
As Aball points out, the issue here is internal vibration caused by the motor. Things that I have found helpful include:
Foundation/Isolation - in the form of a heavy platform for the unit to sit on. This is the single most important tweak for me. Products to consider include Black Diamond Racings "The Shelf" a massive solid piece of carbon fiber. Granite with the right footers (I don't care for the sound of metal with granite or glass). For cost, aesthetics, and compatibility I have settle on 2" or thicker maple or myrtle. See the Mapleshade site for a lot of the original thinking on this
Mass loading - ie putting some weight on the top - can as Aball suggest make a nice difference - take a look at the Mapleshade site for some rationale.
Vibration absorption - never ceases to amaze me how tinny the cases are. Depending on the unit (value mostly) I will pop the top and damp the interior with any number of products. Close it up and thuds instead of rings...
Vibration absorbing footers - by this I mean things like Aurios, Ganymedes and some of Herbies products. The unit will feel like its on ice and a delicate touch is required. (Can be quite problematic if the unit is very light or the cables very stiff.) I have also used MiniClouds to good effect. BTW one generally uses three feet (not four) in a triangle and it pays to experiment with placement of the feet under the unit.
Do check the Herbies site as he has a lot of good information about these issues. Also if you have tubes consider his tube dampers for incremental effect.
As for the preamp and often more importantly the amp its again a solid base followed by a broader range of footers.
This is kind of like seasoning your dinner - buy a few things used, keep what you like and sell the rest. Because of all the variables its pretty much impossible to get it all right the first time around - though most of these things will make an audible difference.
Last note - there can be too much of a good thing - sometimes you will find the sound becomes lifeless - start over...
FWIW in my experience I have found that platter players (CD, DVD, BD) usually benefit most from tweaks - and respond to the broadest range. So the first comments are specific to that
As Aball points out, the issue here is internal vibration caused by the motor. Things that I have found helpful include:
Foundation/Isolation - in the form of a heavy platform for the unit to sit on. This is the single most important tweak for me. Products to consider include Black Diamond Racings "The Shelf" a massive solid piece of carbon fiber. Granite with the right footers (I don't care for the sound of metal with granite or glass). For cost, aesthetics, and compatibility I have settle on 2" or thicker maple or myrtle. See the Mapleshade site for a lot of the original thinking on this
Mass loading - ie putting some weight on the top - can as Aball suggest make a nice difference - take a look at the Mapleshade site for some rationale.
Vibration absorption - never ceases to amaze me how tinny the cases are. Depending on the unit (value mostly) I will pop the top and damp the interior with any number of products. Close it up and thuds instead of rings...
Vibration absorbing footers - by this I mean things like Aurios, Ganymedes and some of Herbies products. The unit will feel like its on ice and a delicate touch is required. (Can be quite problematic if the unit is very light or the cables very stiff.) I have also used MiniClouds to good effect. BTW one generally uses three feet (not four) in a triangle and it pays to experiment with placement of the feet under the unit.
Do check the Herbies site as he has a lot of good information about these issues. Also if you have tubes consider his tube dampers for incremental effect.
As for the preamp and often more importantly the amp its again a solid base followed by a broader range of footers.
This is kind of like seasoning your dinner - buy a few things used, keep what you like and sell the rest. Because of all the variables its pretty much impossible to get it all right the first time around - though most of these things will make an audible difference.
Last note - there can be too much of a good thing - sometimes you will find the sound becomes lifeless - start over...