What do you use for equipment feet, and do you notice any audio enhancements from the mods.

[NBPK402]

I just converted some hockypuck feet for my rack, and my K402s. I cannot make any comments on how they improve anything audio as my speakers are not tuned yet, and my rack is disassembled. I will also be using them for my AV Rack. The only things I can say is they are easy to drill through and are pretty solid. For me it was better than using a bathroom floor mat under the speakers, and also protected my speakers from water damage (The speakers sit a couple of feet from 2 windows, and a door, and when it rains hard we can get some water on the floor...never has went as far as where the new speakers are, but better same than sorry IMO.).

 

[highstream]

Speaking generally, that is, not directly to your water situation and not having seen your rack, I’ve used a number of isolation types from eBay cheapie foam blocks to SVS elastomer subwoofer feet, Stillpoints, Isoacoustics Iso-Pucks and Gaias, and more. Easily the best I've come across on the relatively lower end of the price range are the AV Roomservice Equipment Vibration Protectors (EVP 2” block style). They go for $135/3 and there are sometimes discounts for new and returning customers (not posted on the site). At the suggestion of its developer, Norman Varney, I got three High Density ones for under a low weight preamp on the bottom shelf and four low density for under an Oppo 203 on the middle shelf. I was impressed enough with the results that I ordered 6 more HD for under a dac and the preamp’s PSU. However, before putting them there I decided to try them under my 68 lb ATC active floorstanders, where I’ve had Gaia IIIs for some time (medium berber carpet over wood/concrete, hence sensitive). Varney says the place to start and greatest impact is with speakers, but I was very skeptical, given the degree of improvement the Gaias had made for me and many others, including pro reviewers and Paul McGowen of PS Audio. Well, I was shocked at the difference the EVPs made. Take long, fast piano runs, which are a good test of clarity and articulation. With the Gaias, piano runs were often a little smudged in part, but with the EVPs I could/can hear every note bottom to top. Extrapolate that out to other instruments, orchestras and singers, and it’s very big deal.

I will qualify this by saying that inserting the EVPs changed — elevated a little — the lovely tone and pitch I had worked hard to find with the Gaias, and not for the better re my tastes (although I know many people would have been wholly satisfied with the result). Changing one thing often either changes system synergy or exposes a weakness elsewhere. In my case, changing the preamp’s rectifier tube to something warmer and with a better bass restored the kind of sound I like and can listen to for hours. So I would suggest the EVPs are definitely worth an audition if your rack and floor allow.

 

[dkulmacz]

I bought four Sorbothane feet from the website isolateit.com. They're supposedly engineered specifically to absorb vibration; they sell lots of different products in different sizes, and you need to choose the correct one for your speaker weight. I doubled up on the feet, and they seem to be working great.

I started with a pair of JBL LSR305s on standard Amazon speaker stands, with a 3" layer of dense poly foam beneath them. When performing the REW frequency sweeps, in the lower midrange, the speaker vibration caused the speaker stands to resonate, and they introduced a very loud buzz from the upright poles. Four Sorbothane half-hemispheres beneath each speaker (in lieu of the 3" poly foam) fixed this pretty well.

In the end -- because the speaker stands sucked for many reasons -- I ditched them and replaced them with two small, solid bookcases that were desk height. I then built two stands to raise the speakers to ear level . . . thin MDF base, 9" block of poly foam, and a patio paver slab on top. I put a set of significantly larger Sorbothane feet on these stands, and have no vibration problems anymore. So in total, I have 1) four large sorbothane 'pucks'; 2) solid stand made from MDF, foam, and concrete; 3) four Sorbothane half-hemisphere feet; and 4) speakers.

 

[NBPK402]

I used Sorbathane, Navcom, and tip toes years ago...worked great for me then, but I was in an apartment at the time. Now I am on a concrete slab with marble floors so not as much of a problem. I just put some stick on felt to the bottom of the hockey pucks and it moves a bit easier. My rack is 75% full now, and it moves a lot easier, but it is still going to be a bear once it is full. I am anticipating the rack being over 500lbs. The speakers are already 150lb+ in my guesstimates. Cabinets if I go that route will push them to the high 200lbs each too.

 

[ddude003]

Sun dried Amish Maple blocks and felt... Suspended or dampened mass reduces microphonics in tubed and clocked devices... Read tubed amps and preamps as well as DACs... Probably works for turntables too...

 

[Grayson Dere]

Sun dried Amish Maple blocks and felt... Suspended or dampened mass reduces microphonics in tubed and clocked devices... Read tubed amps and preamps as well as DACs... Probably works for turntables too...

I love those Amish Maple Slabs that come from Mapleshade Records online. My turntable currently sits on one.

 

[Grayson Dere]

For some odd reason I always find that my speakers with spikes directly on a hardwood plank over my medium pile carpet sounds better than spiked
through the carpet as most manufacturers recommend.

 

[NBPK402]

Sun dried Amish Maple blocks and felt... Suspended or dampened mass reduces microphonics in tubed and clocked devices... Read tubed amps and preamps as well as DACs... Probably works for turntables too...

I know what you mean with tubes. Do you use those tube rings for dampening your tubes too? I remember they were a hot item back in the 80s for tube preamps and power amps. I had 4 different Audible Illusions preamps back in the day, and a friend of mine I believe is still using 1 that I sold him. I never tried anything but stock feet on my old Gyrodecs. I might give it a try on the ProJect RPM when I finish tuning the new horns..

 

[NBPK402]

For some odd reason I always find that my speakers with spikes directly on a hardwood plank over my medium pile carpet sounds better than spiked
through the carpet as most manufacturers recommend.

I am to scared to try spikes on my horns...to much weight on Cantera marble. I do run spikes on my rp160m speaker stands though as they are pretty light.

 

[highstream]

Spikes in carpet may not be as fixed as you surmise, or perhaps are picking up something via the carpet. The latter hints at their limitation. Used in an appropriate situation, spikes fix a speaker's position. However, users typically assume they are also an isolation device, the isolation achieved by limiting contact area with the surface underneath, typically a floor directly. The assumed idea is that speaker energy is sent downward and not returned. However, even on solid concrete the energy downward through the spikes causes the surface below to resonate at certain frequencies. That energy is then carried back up through the spikes into the speakers, causing some kinds of distortion of the signal. The louder the volume setting, the more energy transferred, the greater the potential effect. This is not to say that spikes don't sound better than putting speakers directly on the floor or some other alternatives, or that one can't tune their system to their liking using spikes. However, the idea that spikes alone are a true isolation device is mistaken. What's needed instead, or in addition, for isolation is a something that itself dissipates the bi-directional energy. The EVPs I mentioned earlier allegedly dissipate 80%+ of the energy from 5 Hz on up, according to the tests posted on the company's website. Compared to the much reputed Gaia feet (III's in my case), which are a dissipation device, it was night and day. Some stands and feet do a lot better, at a much steeper price of course.

 

[highstream]

I know what you mean with tubes. Do you use those tube rings for dampening your tubes too? I remember they were a hot item back in the 80s for tube preamps and power amps. I had 4 different Audible Illusions preamps back in the day, and a friend of mine I believe is still using 1 that I sold him. I never tried anything but stock feet on my old Gyrodecs. I might give it a try on the ProJect RPM when I finish tuning the new horns..

I picked up a number of used Herbie's tube dampers a few months back. On a Lampi TRP dac, output tubes and rectifier, they seemed to overly deaden the sound. I don't know if that means I was liking the supposed distortion or, like perhaps a minority of others, just didn't like the results. Since then I've changed preamps and upgraded component isolation, but haven't gotten around to trying again.

 

[ddude003]

I love those Amish Maple Slabs that come from Mapleshade Records online. My turntable currently sits on one.

From a local Amish mill... They think I am crazy to pay $50 for a solid chunk of sun dried maple...

 

[ddude003]

I know what you mean with tubes. Do you use those tube rings for dampening your tubes too? I remember they were a hot item back in the 80s for tube preamps and power amps. I had 4 different Audible Illusions preamps back in the day, and a friend of mine I believe is still using 1 that I sold him. I never tried anything but stock feet on my old Gyrodecs. I might give it a try on the ProJect RPM when I finish tuning the new horns..

Never tried the tube ring things... I try not to mess with the tubes themselves... Always have used cotton gloves to handle them... Yea, always loved the sound of Audible Illusions preamps in friends kits... Never actually owned one though... Put felt under anything (read DACs) that has clock crystals too guys...

 

[Grayson Dere]

From a local Amish mill... They think I am crazy to pay $50 for a solid chunk of sun dried maple...

Funny...I always thought they prized the sun dried maple like works of art : )