[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

 
Hi Steve,  Track Audio do isolation spikes to which the cups come with them but the cups can be bought separately.

 
What's in the cups appears to be a mystery.
 
I would love to show you photos of a disassembled Isolator or even an exploded diagram of an Isolator, which contains many individual parts (16 in total), but sadly I am not permitted to do so. Nor am I allowed to tell you about other design aspects of the system.
 
So no idea exactly what they're doing.
 
se

 

[David1961]

I was going  to use wood for the shelves in the audio rack I'm having made, but black granite I think will look better with the audio equipment I have and what I'm getting. As headfiers know the BHSE + Aristaeus have spiked feet [ which I prefer ] and I've read spiked feet and granite cause vibration. I've written in some of my posts that looks in audio equipment are very important to me and the silver Track Audio cups under the silver BHSE + Aristaeus feet [ I asked Justin if I could have silver feet on the Aristaeus I've ordered ]  will look IMO like they were meant to be together.

 

[Clarkmc2]

If you care enough about sound to obtain a BHSE, I have to comment that making an audio purchase (shelving) based upon appearance - how good it looks - is not in the same ballpark as the first decision. Especially when it causes collateral sound quality damage that has to be remedially repaired. Plus, the Isolator reeks of snake oil. Reputable manufactures in audio are not hesitant to show you the insides of their goods. Unless they have something to hide that is not a trade secret, like charging a fortune for something that doesn't do much/anything or is very cheaply made. Most tweaks are based on fairy dust. Tinkerbell can buy that stuff; I'll pass.
 

 

[David1961]

From what I've seen, the shelves on a lot of high end audio racks have either Glass or Granite so there must be a reason why they're using those two.  The most important thing for me in audio equipment is the SQ it or they produce but I also want it to look good. When my audio equipment is complete there'll be six units which all will be positioned on this rack I'm having made, when that's done I'll post a photo to which I'll be happy for headfiers to post their thoughts good or bad.

 

[Clarkmc2]

Glass and Granite are used for looks. They do not dampen vibrations like most woods do. To tell the truth, I use a glass shelved rack and don't notice any problems. If I heard anything I would switch to something else. Glass is not all bad. It is very dense, very heavy, very uniform and very stiff. It is used in some very nice turntable platters. A heavy audio rack is a good thing.
 
Granite has its uses. Back when vinyl was all there was, the serious commercial operations - radio stations, studios, etc - used it a lot. And I mean a lot of stone. Turntables were the day to day Gerrards which look so cheap now. But they were mounted on huge granite bases. Not slabs, I mean hundreds and hundreds of pounds of monolithic rock. Today's approach, high tech turntable materials, are more compact, more convenient and more portable, but do no better in the vibration and isolation departments. And they cost so much that they are far less cost efficient.
 
I am pretty sure the cutting lathes and associated equipment were sometimes similarly mounted. So granite is a great material for high fidelity. We just aren't using it right.
 

 

[David1961]

I've decided to take the advice given by choosing wood for my shelves, the wood that I've chosen is Wenge which is quite dark.  IMO the BHSE and the Aristaeus are very nice looking amps so I want the audio rack to be the same. This wood will be 1-5/8th thick, however I'm still planning on screwing flat bar steel on the underside to prevent the possibility of warping.

 

[ericohgb]

Here's a shot of the next 8 BHSEs undergoing burn-in

Great work, Justin.
Arranged a car to pick mine up on the 5th or 7th of June.
Everything is set.
Look forward to my BHSE.

 

[daveDerek]

Dave, since you are re-examining your decision, wisely i think given the ringing resonant nature of granite, let me reiterate that various synthetic products, both synthetic stone (which is often some sort of a polymer) and synthetic wood can be molded or finished to give you the desired aesthetic quality, but either tend to be more inert than a slab of granite or a given solid wood.  butcher block is probably deader than a solid hardwood.  even then some of the isolation products that have been mentioned may prove beneficial.  another thing to look into are some of the air bladder or sand box isolation shelves (eg. by townshend, arcici, bright star). silent running audio, black diamond racing, and harmonic resolution are other manufacturer of excellent bases. for the ultimate in isolation there are what amount to electron microscope isolation bases that are used by audiophiles (sounds of silence, newport). a while back i heard a very good one (by sounds of silence) used under a tube amp as well as a turntable and it made a significant difference!
 
here are a few links if you care to learn more about some of these devices and some folks take on them. there are a bunch of others out there too.:
 
http://www.soundsofsilence.com/vibraplane-platform/
http://www.newport.com/Vibration-Control/988043/1033/content.aspx
http://search.newport.com/i/1/x1/pageType/q1/Products/q2/Vibration%20Control/q3/Optical%20Breadboards/x2/section/x3/chapter/nav/1/
http://www.avisolation.com/
http://www.silentrunningaudio.com
http://www.townshendaudio.com/hi-fi-vibration-isolation/seismic-sink-stand
http://www.townshendaudio.com/hi-fi-vibration-isolation/seismic-sink-platform
http://www.townshendaudio.com/hi-fi-vibration-isolation/stella-stand
http://www.brightstaraudio.com/
http://aphroditecu29.com/Arcici/Arcici.aspx
http://www.fdbnetwork.com/ArciciAirSuspensionStands
 
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue16/silentrunning.htm
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/hrs_m3.htm
http://www.silentrunningaudio.com/AudioIsolationReviews/sra_Audiophiles-speak.htm

 

[David1961]

Hi Dave,
Thank you for doing this list, however the audio rack I'm having made is being done now from a drawing I've done. Regarding the wood, I've sent off for two samples, Black American Walnut and Wenge. This place that's sending me these samples deal in kitchen tops to which they do solid wood and veneered, Solid wood is what I'm going for because I don't like the idea of having  veneered. On the photo Justin's done of the 8 BHSE's I can't make out whether one's mine, I'm 15th on the list and mine has silver faceplates + black rings, obviously the rings can be seen but not the faceplates. If Justin sees this post could he enlighten me.

 

[justin w.]

next 8 BHSEs done testing, ready to go in the boxes for shipping
 

 

[mwilson]

^ pretty sight. Congrats to the happy new owners!

 

[sridhar3]

Hi Justin, given the fact that there have been some cancellations, would it be possible to post a new updated list for Batch 2?

 

after i finish shipping the ones i mentioned above

 
Quote:

next 8 BHSEs done testing, ready to go in the boxes for shipping

 
Awesome.  Looking forward to the updated list.

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

 
 
Awesome.  Looking forward to the updated list.

 
Current shipments (in the box, ready to go)
 
Jason N
Aphichart P
Erico G
Urs N
Alex A
Andrew C
Ralph B
Paul D
 
Next 8, to be started this week:
Douglas K
David R
Young M
Kirill G
Eng L
Ben L
Chun P
Patrick P

 

[El_Doug]

My name is on that list zomg!!!  I can almost taste the BHSE already - and it tastes hot and metallic

 

[Elysian]

Thanks for updating on the build order, Justin   Have a great Memorial Day.