And The Tweaks Continue

Oh god is there no stopping this man (aside from his wallet etc!!)


I have used the deoxit and it made some improvement, warning use it in an open space, preferably outside as for some reason when I used it to clean the back of my marantz amp it triggered an asthma attack

Talking about tweaks I have a set of three oak cone feet sitting underneath my cd player which cost £24.00, I felt they made the sound a bit smoother and not so upfront

Hmm... I have a Cyrus Isoplat... a platform with Sorbothane feet, and... well, it is very arguable if there is ANY difference with an A/B comparison... Maybe the sound clears up slightly, maybe the bass is a smidge deeper, and the treble a shade clearer... but, i'm really not that sure...

I suppose with it, if there IS a difference, well... I'm ahead of the game... but, its all very much... erm... personal opinion

Jude, with all those tweeks I'd be sure that you would have more tube gear! (I know I would)

I love them all. Keep them coming!

ACTUALLY... kinda disregard that post of mine up above...

The Isoplat does have a GOOD attribute or two... the bass IS definetly tighter (got the X-Cans on one too for good measure - had one for each component when I was speaker based)... and the soundstage is improved substantially... I know that that is a complete contradiction of the post above, but I just did a longer A/B comparison, like 2 tracks without, and then two tracks with

This is another of those... "is there REALLY a difference" threads I guess, but... well... as you can see, different circumstances from the same person bring different results...

Just make sure you let those sorbo feet break in.

I think anything by Barry Manilow played at very high volumes will do the trick.


Really brings out the umm.... highs. yeah, the highs...

Bah...

Duncan, why don't you do a double blind test? I'd bet its just your head...

And yes I am a disbeliever...

Jude (and others)

The isolation principle is a fairly sound concept <ugh, that was an awful pun!>. The idea is to reduce mechanical vibration interference from the environment and other components. It's greatest effect should be on your source as a lot of reading errors ("skipping") is the result of vibration. The theory is that the less vibration, the lower the error rate, the less error-correction you CDP has to do, and so the purer the sound.

WARNING: The following delves around the edges of the whole concept of "Psycho-acoustics" and should be taken as the author's own impressions and opinions only, and not the Gospel according to St Hamsta. The author takes no responsibility for, and actively discourages, the outlay of hard-earned dosh for isolation devices on the basis of this synopsis only without first hand listening experience!

My personal feeling is that different types of isolation as well as GENERALLY improving sound quality will probably impart subtle characteristics to the sound based on which areas they "clean up" better. This can appear as "deficiencies" or "colourations" because those areas less improved may stand out more. I have one mate who got a set of Vibrapods (see www.stoneaudio.co.uk ) and put them under his Cyrus CDP. Made his system sound slow and muddy, so he rapidly removed them and placed tham under his amp, effecting a modest improvement over the original set-up. Some feel that sorbothane feet give a more "laid back" feel while metal ones sound more "forward".

I use a Mission Isoplat (Duncan's MDF board with Sorbothane feet) under my CD63 and I agree it affects some improvement in the bass and soundstaging..... and for NZ$15 (about US$7) from a 2nd hand shop, who's complaining! My main hifi is in a dedicated tripod rack that is spiked to the floor with individually spiked MDF shelves. Here component seperation as well as isolation helps improve the sound.

There are lots of options - Sorbothane feet, Vibrapods, Metal spikes, Oak cone feet, Blu-tack!...... You can even make your own isoplat with a piece of MDF and two squash balls cut in half as feet. The best way is probably to experiment and find out what works for you and your gear. I'm going to be doing the same when Duncan's QED MB45 arrives as it'll have to sit on top of my CDP to conserve desk-space, and a little isolation probably won't go amiss. BTW, whichever system you use always make sure your components (and particularly your source) is LEVELED. Three points of contact is usually the easiest to sort out.

Anyway, enough waffle. You've probably heard it all before.

Have fun
Hamsta

PS - Remember, don't take my word for it - check it out and decide for yourself. Cheers, H.

I use the Caig deoxit pen and that thing works like a miracle on oxidized contacts. I can't say what effects it has on music but it cleans up dirty old RCA sockets and eliminated the switching noise on my Fender Squire Strat pickup selection switch. Highly recommended.

I use the Caig deoxit, progold and cailube all the time. Cleaning RCA sockets and pins, contacts, volume pots, etc. I just cleaned up my old Sony WM-F100 casseette walkman before I sent off to the guy who bought it. After the clean-up I gave it a listen and almost didn't send it. Very good stuff.

P.S. I also use the progold on the wires when I make IC's and speaker cables.

As far as the sorbothane feet I personally use the vibrapods, but only because I got a good deal on them. (I may be a tweaker, but at least I'm a cheap tweaker!). I may order some sorbothane feet from AA since they have a pretty good price on them. Even if they don't work out, the dogs will have fun.

I use SonicDesign damping feet (sort of a foam discs) under my Marantz CD6000OSE player and have to say that they made more improvement than I expected. Again, the bass got deeper and better resolved and there were some minor improvements in the focus and soundstage. For about 13 USD it was well worth.
The next thing was (I discovered this almost by mistake) isolating my amp. The Creek OBH11 was sitting directly on top of my CDP. While playing with my gear one day, I put it on a pair of Grado comfy pads which were laying on my CDP (I hear you laughing) and suddenly the midrange cleared up. I could clearly pick up the difference and stil thought this should be in my head. Next day i replaced this with a bath sponge (new one ofcourse) and it had the same effect. Still being suspicious (a sponge for COL) I got my girlfriend to help me do some blind testing (despite her protests) and guess what... 5 out of 5 I could tell the difference. The sponge is still under my amp, looks silly but works.

Now with a little investment capital you can make a bundle with the first audiophile sponges. That is if your components are sponge-worthy.

pucks

Hi,

You should really try SSC pucks. They are absolutely unbelievable. Unquestionably my best Audio purchase. They cost about $225 for 8, - which, - for what they do, - is incredible. I have 8 under my speaker stands and the improvement was amazing. They brought out tighter, crisper bass without brightening the system, the mids and highs became much more clear and in focus. Their isolation platforms for turntables and CD players are really cool as well.

I am using Aurios underneath my CD player with great results too.

I can't recommend the SSC pucks enough!