Vibration Isolators

I beleive from my experience that they do help. I can't tell you which ones are best as I have not tried them all. I get great results using a Bright Star Air Mass 3. It is an iflaitable air bladder type of base. I have used cone feet between the player and the Air Mass as well, and will experiment further with this. Different cone feet can be used as a tuning device. I am eventually going to add the Bright Star Big Rock(sand dampening and added mass)on top of the Air Mass. I do have friends that are using Vibrapods under their CD players with good results vs. cash outlay. These can be a good way to start to experiment for about $25. I have quite a bit of bass energy when I play the system at higher volumes.I'm using a sub that has pretty flat respose in my room below 40hz and my results may be more dramatic than if you are just using small monitors at low levels. I have a fairly solidly built CD player as well and I still find isolating it a must. With more budget minded machines I think it's even more critical to do so since they won't have the attention to vibration dampening or the heavy chassis that a 2 or 3 thousand dollar machine might have. Try different combinations of things until it sounds best to you. I would take into consideration the recomendations of the manufacturer of the isolation device,for example,the maker of Vibrapods does not feel they will give you good results in combination with an air type device like I have.
I get improved overall clarity,ambient decay,transient attack, both improved bass texture and weight,and re-creation of space using isolation products under everything in my system. I even have my woofer on a Billy Bags amp stand with spiked feet, with vibrapods in between the woofer and the stand. Give it a try. I like the sound of Vibrapods under my speakers as well. I need to experiment further and work out a better way of using the pods under the speakers later, but my initial results were pretty good. Hope this helps.

Vibration isolaters come in a variety of sizes, shapes and materials. They will all change the sound. If it is better or not can only be judged by you. I only have experience with mid level cones and less expensive rubber footers, sorbothane, etc. Of the cones I have tried I prefer the Soler points. They have much more detail and speed than Black Diamond Racing or Mapleshade cones. And to me sorbothane sounds muddy or slow and veiled. Not even in the same league. It all depends what your tastes are and what you system sounds like now. But to answer your question, YES. In my system, to me, they make a huge improvement.- John

I had a local cabinet shop make some sand boxes which I put my cd player on top with the aide of BDR #3/4 cones. Plus put a ziplock baggy with sand on top of the unit to stablize. It does help smooth out the sound and expand the sound stage. Total cost for the box $35 sand $8 BDR cones $50. Not bad for the results.

The best I have heard is the Symposium Rollerblocks and Ultra Shelf. check out symposiumusa.com
Amazing stuff that is easy to point to when you do an A/B with the shel in and with the shelf out. I dare anyone else to do a similair test with their favorite isolation product. I nailed the symposium difference every time. The stuff is expensive but its the best in my mind. I have and do own Vibrapods, DH COnes (Jumbo and Large and Medium) and DH squares. Thes cheapes result that added the most improvemt was a DIY sand box. MDF box with sand inside. Easy to make even for somebody like me. I urge you to try out Symposium. It works especially well under anything tube and front end gear. I have stopped fooling around with cheap tweaks that get me almost there and now know that Symposium is where I want to be. Maybe it will work for you as well. Happy listening