Kana: I forgot to mention that i have also "mass loaded" the top of the SACD 1000. Thanks for bringing that up and reminding me.
I'm using a zip-loc freezer sized bag that is partially filled with sand and spread out on the top of the player. As to removing the bottom plate, i prefer to leave it on for shielding purposes. Not only is gear susceptible to picking up RFI, digital gear also radiates RFI. As such, i chose to leave the "vibrating shield" in place and use Mod Squad Soft Shoes as footers. These have a larger contact area and will help to damp the plate from vibrating. At the same time, this also helps to uncouple the player from the shelf that it is resting on to a small degree, which is a "lowly" Sanus model.
Since the shelf is rigidly coupled to the rack ( which i don't like, but...), my past experience is that external floor vibrations can easily work their way back up into the gear. Since i am trying to somewhat "uncouple" the cd player adding a large amount of weight to the top of the player would be counter productive. As such, i've got just enough sand in the bag to cover the lid and keep it from rattling / vibrating. If i can recall correctly, this equates to about 7 lbs or so.
Vibrapods would work in this situation also, but i've found the Soft shoes to offer a combination of coupling ( due to their slightly stiff compliance ) and damping ( due to the small amount of "give" that they have ) that is a good compromise. The Vibrapods don't offer as much support due to their limited contact area and tend to introduce a slighlty different sonic characteristic into the system. An air bladder would be a step closer to the Soft shoes but is still "mushy". Something along the lines of a Bright Star Air Mass might also work in my specific situation, since it offers both support and isolation, much like the Soft Shoes. I've got a Bright Star and may give this a try also just for kicks. These are easy enough to build if someone wanted to try duplicating the effects.
So that you folks know exactly where i'm coming from while reading all of my comments on this player, my SACD 1000 is being used in my HT system as mentioned. I've strictly been listening to this player in 2 channel mode, so that is what my comments are based on. After listening to this system and making a few changes to it last night, it sounds the best that it ever has.
The SACD 1000 is connected to the
Sunfire Theater Grand II via
Magnan Type IV interconnects. Power to the Philips is fed via one of
Chris VH's power cables. The TG II is being fed AC by one of
Bob Crump's TG Audio HSRi Generation II cables. The TG II feeds signal to the 2 channel Sunfire Signature via
Goertz Copper Micropurls being run in balanced mode. The Sunfire Signature is being fed AC via another one of Chris VH's power cables, but a different version that is also listed on the above link. These are some of the same power cords that Ernie aka "Subaruguru" is offering kits for.
Speakers are highly modified AR 9's (the original 9's, not the newer versions ). Speaker cables are Kimber 4TC to the top section ( 200 Hz and up, which uses an 8" mid-woofer, 1.5" upper mid treated dome and .75" dome tweeter ). Kimber 8TC is used to feed the dual 12" woofers that are mounted in each cabinet. All of the capacitors, wiring and binding posts have been upgraded in the speakers with further modifications in terms of cabinet damping and woofer tuning / damping.
While some of you are probably thinking that these speakers are "ancient", they are quite capable of excellent performance, especially with the upgrades and modifications that have been done to them. Much of the research that went into designing these speakers has been copied by more than a few well respected speaker manufacturers. Reading the 48 page owner's manual for these speakers can give one a good basic education in speaker design. You can also see exactly where designers such as John Dunlavy and Bill Duddleston ( Legacy ) definitely "lifted" more than a few of their ideas and design concepts from. Bill Duddleston literally di-sected a pair of large AR's ( the smaller yet almost identical version of the 9's, the 90's ) just to see how they worked. I know this because i bought the very 90's that Duddleston "inspected" from a fellow Audiogon member a few years back. Those 90's have been modified in the same manner as my 9's and serve as the rears of my HT system driven by a Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature. This amp also drives the center channel and two subs. Sean
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