Isolation stands: snakeoil?

My SOTA Cosmos table has a pretty good suspended set up for isolating it from the stand/environment.  But when I was able to buy an active vibration canceling table (a Herzan, pinched off of Ebay for peanuts), I was rather astonished at the improvement in sound quality once placed upon that table.  Every aspect of the music got cleaner, sharper, and less colored - - it just sounded much truer to live music with that one change.

I'm guessing that SOTA's are less prone to issues than most tables, so I'm also guessing that the platform supporting just about any table is going to matter, maybe even a lot.

Some isolation products and turntable footers, primarily those using soft materials, can be very effective at eliminating vibrations entering the component from the rack/stand, but they also trap the vibrations generated inside the component with no path for dissipation. 

That is where Symposium’s approach is different. Using a firm layer of absorption material constrained on each side by a SS layer, they address the external vibrations while also dissipating internal vibrations away from the component when coupled to their platform using their aluminum footers or roller blocks. This can be very meaningful sonically, especially with transports and turntables.

Dave

I am unwilling to issue an opinion until we all agree that snake oil is two words.

If they’re based on mass-on-spring you’re good. Or negative stiffness. That’s what the big boys use. Everything else is a big compromise. There is no harm in using damping for the top plate and isolation.