[cdacosta]

Both of mine are the gold color aluminum body type, with ceramic beads, those should also come with extra steel beads, the link was on my post on the last page. There's three price ranges, it's the middle one. Set of four for me.

In the link you provided I see SS and Aluminum bodied units. I know the originals are SS with ceramic beads. Which combinations have you tried? And what where the differences in your opinion?

I am trying to figure out which to try. Many moons ago I have tried and still have somewhere rollerball footers from Stillpoint I think.

 

[DecentLevi]

In the link you provided I see SS and Aluminum bodied units. I know the originals are SS with ceramic beads. Which combinations have you tried? And what where the differences in your opinion?

I am trying to figure out which to try. Many moons ago I have tried and still have somewhere rollerball footers from Stillpoint I think.

The link I posted for "speaker stands" from Hi IC Store is the fifth option from the left. It shows as $32.85 for 4 or $25.02 for 3., Silver, black and gold are all the same amount except for the color; all aluminum body. That's the only type I've tried, with both orders the same but it would definitely be an interesting comparison between their aluminum and solid steel types. As mentioned, the ones with the ceramic beads should also come with free steel beads to compare. There is no one size fits all answer to difference in sound with these beads, the difference varies from one component to another.

If you're feeling generous maybe you can do a solid for the team and get both to let us know how the aluminum compares to solid steel.

 

[HiFiRobot]

So yesterday I got my 2nd set of these footer beauties.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832725412366.html
(gold colored aluminum body, 4-pack, ceramic bead type that come with free steel beads from Hi IC Store)

Having received great sound trying the first set under both my power conditioner and amp, I thought it would sound good just like what I heard before when adding this 2nd set under the amp to compliment the other one.

WRONG! This sounded downright spectacular, not just good. These things are no joke, the full monty. Imaging, bass weight, high detail & focus snapped into place like I never knew they could on my meager system, and just like my subconscious seems to have been begging for. It seems multiple sets of these these things play very nicely together - not just geling well but each set expands the benefits of the other. For me it was just 'set & forget', and I didn't even bother trying the spare set of beads (yet). And these sound better to me than 2-3 other types of rubber dome shaped feet, sorbothane sheets of different types, & plastic / rubber pucks I've tried as well.

Also I've read something here about coupling & de-coupling footers. What does that mean, and which do these happen to be?

There it is folks, there are more than just cables & tubes when it comes to upgrading a system.

Hi, I have these aswell. But haven't played around much yet, currently on my SMSL VMV D1Se DAC which is connected to my 2 channel stereo amp Rega Aethos. Did you place them under your headphone amp or full-size stereo amp ?

 

[DecentLevi]

@HiFiRobot I used these under my integrated speaker / headphone amp; Kenwood VR - 406. I also left on the previous rubber coupling type pucks, not making contact with the ground, which are probably adding some dampening. After the second day I noticed it sounds a tad bit bright, will do more experimenting later.

 

[kingoftown1]

@DecentLevi usually the recommendation for aftermarket feet is to mate them with the component chassis instead of the existing feet -- have you tried that?

 

[Jake2]

@DecentLevi usually the recommendation for aftermarket feet is to mate them with the component chassis instead of the existing feet -- have you tried that?

I was about to say I'd just read the same thing yesterday, by Isoacoustics in their FAQs for their OREA footers:

Whenever possible, we recommend positioning the OREA’s directly underneath the chassis or cabinet of the component or speaker. If the existing feet cannot be avoided, then the OREA’s can be positioned underneath the existing feet. The challenge with positioning the OREA’s underneath the existing feet is that often the weight is concentrated on the center of the OREA. It is best if the weight is applied evenly to the top of the OREA isolator.

Another reason they don't mention is direct chassis positioning bypasses the existing footers and whatever overdamping or other suboptimal vibration handling they may do.

 

[DecentLevi]

Actually the feet of my amp are a part of the chassis and the padding is worn off so it's just hard plastic. I just tried these metal coupling feetin different areas and under the original feet sounded almost indescribably different, if not a nuance better than directly to the metal part of the chassis underneath; also compared steel vs. ceramic beads and I preferred steel under my amp and ceramic beads under my power conditioner. Also tried it without the huge rubber decoupling feet attached underneath, and it seems they were actually doing something very special with frequency absorption. After all my amp sounds the best exactly the same as pictured above, and the brightness is coming from elsewhere in my complex system.

 

[Jake2]

Update on my fo.Q TA-102 application.

The short version is it is amazingly potent stuff.

So far have just been applying externally in small strips (2-4cm long x 0.5-1cm wide) mainly focusing on AC power side of things... on or just above IEC inlets on my components and the sockets on my Puritan power conditioner, and in some cases power cords plugs. I AB'd each one as I went along, they each brought generally subtle but nice improvements without any downsides, the cumulative effect of which was a great lift to my system.

The most dramatic effect involved my OCK-1 - added strips on the exterior below the IEC socket and directly above the BNC outputs with a strip above my R26's 10mhz BNC input. Wow - bass tightened up a lot, got more punchy and weighty, high notes ring more pure, the midrange got a tad leaner but I think it was losing a bit of extra warmth and smoothness the OCK-1 is known for. A seriously impressive performance boost.

Toggling the R26's clock on and off now toggles a three dimensional soundstage that almost reaches behind me with Felix Laband's mental multilayered electronica + recorded samples on his album Dark Days Exit album especially the track Minka and the Notes After.

Finally I added a 4x2cm strip between the speaker cable terminals on each of my Focals. It nicely calmed and removed grain from the treble so their ruthlessly transparent beryllium tweeters are very close now to singing with the purity and ease I've been seeking in the 8 months I've had em. It's been a journey! This alone is worth the price of fo.Q admission and then some. Will try different amounts in different spots on the speakers in due course.

What I've observed firsthand is proximity is key... a small piece very close to a sensitive input etc is much more potent than a large piece just stuck to the chassis.

I expect this holds even more true for internal direct-to component level placement which I'll do next.

 

[cdacosta]

Update on my fo.Q TA-102 application.

The short version is it is amazingly potent stuff.

So far have just been applying externally in small strips (2-4cm long x 0.5-1cm wide) mainly focusing on AC power side of things... on or just above IEC inlets on my components and the sockets on my Puritan power conditioner, and in some cases power cords plugs. I AB'd each one as I went along, they each brought generally subtle but nice improvements without any downsides, the cumulative effect of which was a great lift to my system.

The most dramatic effect involved my OCK-1 - added strips on the exterior below the IEC socket and directly above the BNC outputs with a strip above my R26's 10mhz BNC input. Wow - bass tightened up a lot, got more punchy and weighty, high notes ring more pure, the midrange got a tad leaner but I think it was losing a bit of extra warmth and smoothness the OCK-1 is known for. A seriously impressive performance boost.

Toggling the R26's clock on and off now toggles a three dimensional soundstage that almost reaches behind me with Felix Laband's mental multilayered electronica + recorded samples on his album Dark Days Exit album especially the track Minka and the Notes After.

Finally I added a 4x2cm strip between the speaker cable terminals on each of my Focals. It nicely calmed and removed grain from the treble so their ruthlessly transparent beryllium tweeters are very close now to singing with the purity and ease I've been seeking in the 8 months I've had em. It's been a journey! This alone is worth the price of fo.Q admission and then some. Will try different amounts in different spots on the speakers in due course.

What I've observed firsthand is proximity is key... a small piece very close to a sensitive input etc is much more potent than a large piece just stuck to the chassis.

I expect this holds even more true for internal direct-to component level placement which I'll do next.

Yep, best micro vibration control material for audio I have experienced. Uses are only limited by ones imagination. Approximately 80% of effect upon installation, takes about three days for adhesive to cure.

Which Focal speaker model do you have?

 

[Rick_B]

Oh, so you have the originals of those, right? Do you have any opinion on a difference between the ones with steel versus aluminum body? Just curious. Those are somewhat different, Maybe larger and the entire surface area of mine is rubber on both sides, and yours are about $550 for four.

Sorry, but no, I do not have the original FE parts...the rubber portions on mine were supplied separately as were cork and clear plastic films.
When I used these on my ModWright KWA100SE I used the thread adapters and screwed them directly into the amp and had the bare base side directly on the shelf.
I preferred these to the cones and metal pads supplied with the MW from the factory.

I have a set of the SS Ceraball types under my Audible Illusions Modulus 3A preamp:
Footers

.

 

[Jake2]

Yep, best micro vibration control material for audio I have experienced. Uses are only limited by ones imagination. Approximately 80% of effect upon installation, takes about three days for adhesive to cure.

Which Focal speaker model do you have?

Sopra No.1s. I got a v good deal due to change of the NZ distributor (but still got totally carried away blowing my budget and then some) upgrading from KEF LS50 wireless which I'd had for 4 years which were technically good but were ultimately unsatisfying. I initially got a Topping E50 DAC highly recommended by a certain measurement-centric forum to tide me over with the Sopras and my 20yo but still quality LFD amp. Boy that was a brittle and paper thin sound for a few months with some serious buyers remorse on the Sopras till the R26 and SMSL VMV D2 arrived from Audiophonics and I finally heard some of they were capable of. I kept the R26. (Edit - the OCK-1 actually arrived before the latter two DACs so I've used it with the R26 the whole time)

Still had some heat and glare in the upper midrange that is now gone after progressive improvements initially in the upstream digital chain (switches x 2), but lately also grounding, power conditioning, and most recently vibration damping. My system's sound is now unrecognisable from when I first got the R26. I still have the E50 somewhere which I'll have to take out for a rather unfair A-B one of these days. I had an objectivist on an R26 thread on another forum telling me just the other day my preferring the R26 to the high measuring Topping made no sense at all. I managed to resist engaging on this occasion, there's just no point.

 

[agisthos]

Sorry, but no, I do not have the original FE parts...the rubber portions on mine were supplied separately as were cork and clear plastic films.
When I used these on my ModWright KWA100SE I used the thread adapters and screwed them directly into the amp and had the bare base side directly on the shelf.
I preferred these to the cones and metal pads supplied with the MW from the factory.

I have a set of the SS Ceraball types under my Audible Illusions Modulus 3A preamp:
Footers

.

I have tried a bunch of different footers from from Aliexpress. Let me give some advice to those reading, forget getting any aluminium body ones, pay the extra few dollars to get stainless steel. The aluminium footers are no good, too light, and often have a negative effect. The stainless steel footers with ceramic beads work the best.

As well as the Finite Elemente Ceraball copies, Aliexpress also has Stillpoints Ultra SS clones. They are nowhere near as good as the originals, I know because I have original Ultra SS and have directly compared, but they are great for 1/8th the cost.

 

[zikarus]

The NiceHCK trendspotting sale has begun... Quite many interesting cables reduced...

Trendspotting

 

[Jake2]

I have tried a bunch of different footers from from Aliexpress. Let me give some advice to those reading, forget getting any aluminium body ones, pay the extra few dollars to get stainless steel. The aluminium footers are no good, too light, and often have a negative effect. The stainless steel footers with ceramic beads work the best.

As well as the Finite Elemente Ceraball copies, Aliexpress also has Stillpoints Ultra SS clones. They are nowhere near as good as the originals, I know because I have original Ultra SS and have directly compared, but they are great for 1/8th the cost.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I definitely get worthwhile improvements from the lower profile aluminium + ceramic Ceraball clone and tbh I didn’t realise at the time of ordering there was a stainless steel option.

I’ve ordered a set of the taller Cerabase clone in SS + ceramic so see how we go.

Not on AliX as far as I can tell, but I like the look of this spike and shoe and dual tri-layer ceramic ball isolator from Nasotec. Read a positive comparison of the older single layer version of the Nasotec to the Stillpoint SS. And yes I note it’s alloy but given the price presume this is a design choice rather than a materials cost constraint.

https://jaguaraudio.com/product/spike-and-shoe-isolation-footers-set-of-4-by-nasotec/

 

[MattSPL]

Really enjoying this thread, although my wallet isn’t.

Has anybody tried the Audioquest Thunderbird, Firebird or Dragon interconnects on AliExpress?