[phergus_25]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The improvement from isolating the transformers with Magix was so huge that I stopped writing into my logs, the improvement from wrapping them in ERS Paper made me want to write into my logs again but I couldn't because I was paralyzed from shock! Magix and ERS Paper are that good!

I thought you were to smart to strech out your feet

 

[Patrick82]

1) My P300 and amp were the only ones that used Solid-tech Feet of Silence, everything else had Magix. I switched the feet under P300 and computer and heard a big improvement.

Magix under the P300 makes a bigger difference than under the computer, probably because the P300 is powering both the amp and DAC.


2) I removed the Magix under my headphone cable, didn't hear a difference.


3) My UO (PS Audio Ultimate Outlet) used to be on top of P300 without anything in between. I didn't think it would matter since P300 had Magix under it.
I moved the UO and placed it beside the P300 on top of one Magix. I heard a bigger improvement than I expected!


4) I switched from cheap yellow rca video cable into Nordost Valhalla. The improvement was smaller than Magix under UO. It just made everything smoother which made vocals a little more realistic.


5) I bought another 7 Magix, now I have 18.

I replaced the Feet of Silence under my computer into Magix. The improvement was many times bigger than the difference between digital cables.

People who are thinking of buying Valhalla digital cable, think again! Magix is amazing, it gives similar improvements as ERS Paper!
With Magix + ERS Paper I don't think power conditioning is a requirement anymore. I plugged my Cary 303/300 transport into the wall and there was no brightness. The last time I tried it the brightness made my ears hurt after 5 mins. But after I put Magix into my system I don't have that problem.

 

[Patrick82]

I removed the Solid-tech Rack of Silence and put the amp on floor on top of Magix.


floor -> Disc of Silence -> suspension shelf -> Feet of Silence -> amp

vs

floor -> Magix -> amp


First impressions Magix under amp: Everything I complained about the sound was gone, before the bass was too heavy and solid, it was fatiguing. But now with Magix I don't need to switch the track anymore, I can keep listening to the whole track. Everything sounds more neutral and relaxing, but it doesn't sound dull like I expected it to. Nothing is emphasized in the music, it is the closest to perfection I have had so far. I can keep listening without complaining about the sound.

I'm hearing little more vocal information and it's smoother. The Feet of Silence used to emphasize the bass which made the midrange less apparent.

The improvement in low-level detail was almost as big as for the computer. Keeping the Rack of Silence under Magix might have made a little bigger improvement, but I only care about night and day differences. It seems like I'm going to sell the Rack so I can buy Nordost apartment wiring. With the Rack it was a nightmare to tweak my system, but with Magix on floor I don't have that problem because the pillars aren't in the way anymore.

I have realized that to get the best synergy all the components need to have the same isolation feet and cables.

 

[Patrick82]

 

[kin0kin]

wow.....I'm totally speechless

 

[*645-k701]

O dub fuf kuk cen yu nun tut

 

[*645-k701]

tutnan.. figure it out ill give you a dollar to buy a 0.00064516 m2 of paper.. (tup)

 

[colonelkernel8]

Patrick, can you send me two sheets of ERS paper? I want to try them in my CD player.

 

[colonelkernel8]

Ill make you something custom too.

 

[Patrick82]

I don't know which is better, ERS Paper or Magix. They do similar things, they change the brightness into transients. Magix does something else also, it makes the frequency response flat, smooth and open.






I have my main transport (Cary 303/300) on top of Magix levitation feet, and my computer on top of Feet of Silence. I was hoping to replace the Magix with Feet, so that I could try mass damping my amp.

Changed Magix to Feet under Cary: White and edgy transients. Bigger and boomier bass that is muddy. More oomph in the bass but it is fake and fatiguing. Darker and whiter, fake dynamics. Doesn't sound clean, flat or open. Low-level details are covered up with muddiness and darkness. Attack and decay is missing, transients sound sharper and brighter.

Added 3 books on top of DAC1: Bass is bigger. More clarity and blackness. Everything is bigger, the sound signature of Feet for transport is more apparent now.

9 books on top of DAC1: I'm not sure it made a further improvement. Maybe bigger and fuller bass with less boominess apparent.
Went back to 3 books.






Added 6 books on top of Premier Power Plant: Subtle improvement at best. Maybe smoother with more detail.

Removed Feet from Cary and used the built in cones: More open. Less whiteness and blackness. Empty, dull and flat. Brightness is masking openness and detail. Brightness is very fatiguing.

Added Feet + metal plate + Feet for Cary (bottom Feet in different positions): Boomier bass and more oomph than single set of Feet. Maybe little whiter also. Metal plate was bent in many positions, see picture below.






Bottom Feet in same position as top Feet: Less bass. Duller and flatter.

Removed 2nd set of Feet: Same as above, maybe little worse.

Removed all 3 books from DAC1. Removed 3 books from Premier, kept 3: Boomier, muddier, duller, smoother. Less detail. Brighter with less clarity. Everything is thinner.

Changed Feet to Magix under Cary: Quieter background. Smoother and more open, easy to get lost into music. Muddiness is gone, it sounds cleaner and flatter with more detail and true dynamics. The whiteness has been replaced with sharper and smoother transients, there are more of them, they are hairy. There is much longer attack and decay, it sounds very full and smooth.

 

[Patrick82]

I was hearing resonance of my table when Cary CD transport was turned on, it sounded like the resonance came from everywhere, when I turned Cary off the resonance went away. Magix doesn't stop sideways vibrations. So I put Feet of Silence under the Magix, problem solved! I don't hear any resonance of the table anymore!

Impressions: The openness is gone, it sounds blacker and whiter with more dynamics. Transients have more decay and blackness surrounding them. Everything sounds clearer and more distinct. I don't hear any boominess or muddiness. It sounds better in every way. Low-level detail is better than Magix on its own.


Feet of Silence reduce the vibrations in all directions, that's why having multiple sets of Feet gives a further improvement. Magix only removes vertical vibrations, that's why the background isn't as black as Feet of Silence. But Magix still has more low-level detail because the frequency response is flatter. Using Feet of Silence under Magix gives the best of both worlds.

 

[naamanf]

How often do they let you out of the straight jacket?

 

[Patrick82]

When I touch Cary I don't feel anything, but when I touch the metal plate I feel as much vibration as a harddrive! What is going on? The metal plate is very thin so maybe the resonance is just more apparent there. The metal plate gives a little humming sound but it's not as bad as the whole table humming.

My Premier Power Plant also has resonance problems, the sound changes when I touch the top of chassis. It's the same with Cary, I touch and squeeze and the humming is reduced.

The resonance doesn't come from the spinning disc, the humming sound is there right after I turn on Cary. I think it's from the transformer! Same with Premier Power Plant, huge Toroid inside, horrible vibrations.

Now it makes sense why I got so huge improvements when I moved the two P300 Power Plant transformers out from the chassis. The same with Toroid of DAC1, huge improvement in low-level detail. The transformers are vibrating like crazy! How can this be good for audio? I'm not going to do the transformer isolation tweak with my Cary transport because I like a little edgier sound.

Does anyone know if Toroidal transformers vibrate horizontally or vertically? The transformer inside Cary looks to be C-Core transformer that is similar to Toroid, they both go around in a horizontal ring. So it seems like they make horizontal vibrations?
Or maybe circular vibrations? It's great for Magix then, the disc of Magix rotates around smoothly. If the transformer is screwed into chassis, maybe the circular vibrations change into horizontal vibrations of the chassis, and then Magix isn't useful. So it seems like a nude Toroid on top of Magix works the best then.

 

[Patrick82]

I was laying in bed thinking about isolation feet.

With Feet of Silence each foot dampens the vibrations in all directions. Each foot works alone. So the component on top doesn't have any "grip" anywhere, it just keeps constantly floating in all directions. This is probably why it sounds muddy and boomy, it can't grip the resolution.

With Magix each foot has horizontal grip on the component and they all work together. Horizontal vibrations of the component affects all of the Magix equally.

So if you put Feet of Silence under Magix the horizontal grip vibrations get transferred into the metal plate, and the metal plate makes horizontal movements on top of the Feet of Silence. So the end result is horizontal floating with horizontal grip of the component, the best of both worlds! It reduces ground vibrations in all directions without the weakness of boominess from lack of grip.


Magix has the disc floatíng up and down so it doesn't have any vertical grip of the component, so that's why mass damping the chassis gives further improvements. I did it with my DAC and it worked.
So the best combo is: Feet of Silence -> metal plate -> Magix -> component -> books on top

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif When I touch Cary I don't feel anything, but when I touch the metal plate I feel as much vibration as a harddrive! What is going on? The metal plate is very thin so maybe the resonance is just more apparent there. The metal plate gives a little humming sound but it's not as bad as the whole table humming.

I turned the metal plate upside down and it stopped the humming, I almost can't feel any vibrations on the metal plate anymore. But if I bend the metal plate a little I can hear humming again. I need some kind of wooden board instead.

I looked inside Cary again and 100% of the vibrations come from the C-Core transformer, it gives off more vibrations than harddrives do!! I don't know what the manufacturer was thinking. I would be ashamed to put a vibrating transformer inside the same chassis, it's like urinating into fresh drinking water. I guess it's cheaper for the manufacturer just to jam everything inside, they might as well put a vibrator pressing against the diaphragm of the speakers while they're are it. Deaf manufacturers call it hi-fi but it's really low-fi.