[Anders]

Jim,
Diyuma, good name! I am sure it is possible to do DIY versions of these, especially if you have a metal lathe you can replicate them. There are other interesting variants too. An easy one should be to make a box of thin tree board and fill it with sand (2 inches high), like the Bright Star products.

DarkAngel
I see the Vibrapods under your speaker, and also that you have Atacama stands as me, although another model. I have now got an instant gratification by the Darumas, this will last for a while and I will accomodate me to the sound before experementing with speakers. Also, I have no appropiate soft shoes at the moment. A Revel M20 weights more than 30 pounds and is too heavy for those I have.
There is also another alternative, to do the spiking correctly. I now have cups that protects the floor, a slightly soft surface with a fiber board and a carpet over the concrete ground. When I have determined the best speaker position, I might drive the spikes through the carpet so they stand directly on the concrete ground.
Tree floors may also cause problems if they are not rigid enough and without close contact to the concrete layer.

I have a question to. You have tested many floating vibration dampers. The Daruma is a big step over nothing. How big is the step between Daruma and the more expensive Aurios and Rollerblocks?

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally posted by Anders I have a question to. You have tested many floating vibration dampers. The Daruma is a big step over nothing. How big is the step between Daruma and the more expensive Aurios and Rollerblocks?

The Darumas give you about 75% the improvement vs Aurios or Rollerblocks. Main difference is high tolerances and precision polished surfaces used in more expensive bearing systems.

Darumas are a great bargain!

 

[randytsuch]

I am new here, but I have a few comments on this subject.

First, if you want a good deal on Aurios, call audionut. I bought the 1.1 (self leveling version) from them for $150 a couple of weeks ago, and they were selling the original version 1.0’s for $100, a really good price. I do not know if they still have them, and the sale is not listed on their website, you need to call them to get the sale price. They also had the more expensive aurios on sale.

I also have a set of “hipjoints”, a sophisticated DIY version, which are similar to Symposium Rollerblocks. The main difference is while the Rollerblocks appear to be a piece of aluminum set into a wood block, the hipjoint is a piece of aluminum, with a shallow spherical hole machined in the middle. I am using a tungsten carbide ball for my hipjoints. The hipjoints were designed by a guy over at audio asylum.

Putting the hipjoints under my CDP, compared to nothing, made a big difference. I did it had more detail, blacker background, and other improvements, but I did this a while ago, so don’t remember all of them. Comparing hipjoints to vibrapods under the CDP, yielded the same type of improvements, just to a lesser degree.

I have not yet compared my hipjoints to the aurios, or even tried my aurios under the CDP, will have to try that soon. I actually bought the aurios in anticipation of using them under my new SACD player, which I should have next week. Hipjoints will not work if you have vent holes in the bottom of your device, but aurios will.

One other thing I have yet to try, that is supposed to help is mass loading the CDP. I am going to get some lead shot, and put it on top, and see what happens.

There are tons of posts at the tweak forum in AA written on aurios, Diyumas, darumas and rollerblocks, if you are interested.

And here is my ad. I have 100 one half inch diameter, high quality (grade25) chromium steel balls I bought from Mcmaster carr, because that was the minimum order. I will sell them for 50 cents each, plus shipping costs to anyone interested. If you want a bunch, I’ll give you a volume discount. You could use these to make diyamas, as describe above. Some people use marbles, and other lower quality balls, but these should give you better results.

Randy

 

[Vertigo-1]

While browsing Audiocubes I ran across these. Anybody see em before?

http://www.audiocubes.com/product_in...roducts_id=283

 

[Anders]

I have also seen them at Audiocubes and can't figure out if it is $29 each or for a set. Seems to be the same type of hybrid construction of rubber and metal that I have seen some other examples of. They may resemble Darumas and Aurios on the surface, but is quite different construcion that is not free-floating in the horisontal plane.
I searched through a number of different solutions from reviews etc. and found the Daruma most promising for a more than margninal improvement and reasonable price. Worst scenario is to get a box full of discarded shoes and cones.
My first attempt (except some soft shoes) was successfull. The improvement is substantial. I can't say what all other alternative would give. But I would happily give $500 for a similar improvement from a cable or power conditioner. I agree with DarkAngel that the Darumas for $85 is great bargain!

 

[randytsuch]

I have not tried the darumas, but from what I have read, the aurios are even better, so I think the aurios for $100 is a better bargain than the darumas at $85, IMHO. Also, I think the aurio deal is for a limited time.

Randy

 

[Anders]

Of course, if you can get the Aurios for $100. The standard price is three times higher so it must be a very limited quantity to clear the stock or something. I am not writing about the extreme bargains that you can find sometimes, but disappear the next week.

 

[randytsuch]

Anders,
FIY, audionut is still running an ad on audiogon for the aurios here,
http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.p...wek&1034636788

This is a limited deal, but it appears to be not just a few sets, I would not have posted this info if it was just a few demo pairs. I think this are actually factory seconds, so they may have minor cosmetic flaws, although I did not notice if there were any flaws on my set.

Randy

 

[Anders]

Randy,
Thank you! I tried to get a set of Aurios 1.1 for $149 because I wanted the self-centering model. They were finished so I ended up with the Aurios 1.2 for $219. Hope that they are even better than the Darumas, but I want one more set anyway.
They spec them as fully functional but with minor cosmetic flaws.

Anders

 

[randytsuch]

Hi Anders,
Too bad the 1.1's were gone, but glad you were still able to get a good deal on the 1.2

Do the 1.2's have the extra tungsten carbide balls? I have heard adding these balls makes them even better, something I will try soon. But, I would not buy them from Aurio. you can buy them from mcmastercarr.com, a one half inch diameter, grade 25 balls runs about $10.

Randy

 

[DarkAngel]

Just an update, I tried the Daruma bearings under my floorstanding speakers and they have surpassed any other
cone system I have previously tried. Just a light touch and the speakers easily sway back and forth as they float on the bearings, the 3D soundstage and bass depth/detail put my brass cones in the shade. I really like this set-up.

I will get some pictures to show how I arranged this on wall to wall carpeted floor. The new larger Aurios bearings may work even better but cost much more also.

 

[Anders]

Very interesting indeed. My next step in system build-up is to find the best placement and damping of speakers. Seems a little risky to use Darumas with standmounted speakers, between the speaker and the stand, so soft isolation may be a better alternative.
Final also has the Daruma-4 that is designed for heavy equipment. Have no idea of the price and they don't specify recommended weight limits.

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally posted by Anders Very interesting indeed. My next step in system build-up is to find the best placement and damping of speakers. Seems a little risky to use Darumas with standmounted speakers, between the speaker and the stand, so soft isolation may be a better alternative. Final also has the Daruma-4 that is designed for heavy equipment. Have no idea of the price and they don't specify recommended weight limits.

Yes I saw those Daruma 4 at Final Labs web site, look like they cost much more vs Daruma 3. I may be going too far weight wise using three Daruma 3's under a 70lb floor standing speaker since they are intended to be used under lighter audio gear. I could place 4 or more Darumas under each speaker, but doesn't float as easy as three, plus costs more and of course it is hard to level 4 units.

Still using vibrapods on my small 2 way stand mounted speakers to good effect, really enhances bass response noticeably.

 

[DarkAngel]

Here are the pictures showing method for using Darumas under floor standing speakers:

Daruma 1

Daruma 2

I used tempered glass cutting board as base surface, other materials can be used but clear glass allows carpet to show and looks better. I put cork pad under each Daruma, found this added some warmth/body which I liked. If you have short pile carpet or wood floor you can put Darumas directly on floor. Using a base is nice however because it is perfectly level and allows speaker to be moved/adjusted by sliding base.

 

[DarkAngel]

Too Much Weight For Darumas
Well my 70lb each speakers were too much for set of 3 Darumas to handle, I checked them tonight and bearing was begining to deform aluminum base with slight denting. Looks like max safe weight is much lower, and if I want bearings for these speakers I'll have to spend big bucks for heavy duty Aurios Pro models.

I'll probably go back to brass cones for now.