[Patrick82]

I have made experiments before, today I did one again and got closer to understanding what these isolation feet do to the sound.

Today I made the experiment with my laptop. I had Feet of Silence (FoS) under the laptop and it sounded tight, clear and 3 dimensional. I switched to Magix and it sounded flat and 2 dimensional but warmer and smoother with a little bit more resolution. I could not decide which of these feet were the best, overall they sounded equal but the difference in flavor was HUGE, Magix sounded warm and FoS sounded cold. Which of these feet to use depends on what the system needs.

Next it was time to try combinations of these feet, I placed a wooden board in between them. Putting FoS under Magix gave more of the FoS sound signature, it sounded blacker and clearer (Doing it reversed (Magix under FoS) sounded much worse.)

Then I switched the FoS into another set of Magix. It gave the smoothest sound out of all, but it was too veiled.

Up to this stage, FoS under Magix was the best setup, however, it didn't have the dead black background and boosted clarity that FoS by itself had.

Now it was time for mass damping, I stacked a set of 4 Magix, a projector, and a box of harddrives on top of my laptop. The improvement was crazy, this combo gave the dead black background and clarity of FoS while giving the increased resoluton and smoothness of Magix. It not only gave the best of both worlds, it gave much more...the improvement in micro detail was huge, the background was very calm and quiet and you could hear deeper into the music.

Then I removed the FoS under Magix while keeping the mass damping on top of the laptop. This setup was clearly the 2nd best of all. I continued by removing weight on top of the laptop and I could hear the difference in sound, it became smoother and more veiled the more weight I removed. I found the optimal weight on top to be 4 pieces of Magix, the improvements start becoming very small after adding more weight than that.

To end this test I switched back to FoS which I had in the beginning. I hear that FoS adds fake clarity to the sound which emphasizes the transients. FoS doesn't have true resolution like Magix does. It sounds sharp and fast but still very smooth. The attack and decay in the highs are missing which gives the illusion of clarity and more space in the recording, which in turn gives a fake black background. The lows are boomy which smoothens out the bass to give fake body. The dynamics and 3 dimensionality appear amazing but there's a little bit of resolution lacking compared to Magix.

 

[Patrick82]

FoS under Magix.

 

[IPodPJ]

If you put a dumptruck on the laptop, it might sound even more 3-dimensional!

But seriously, how much do these things cost?

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you put a dumptruck on the laptop, it might sound even more 3-dimensional! But seriously, how much do these things cost?

A set of 4 Feet of Silence is about $400, a set of 4 Magix is about $800. I definitely would get two sets of FoS instead of one set of Magix. After all components have FoS under them it's time to upgrade to Magix.

Magix is only a good value if the system is very bright and fatiguing. However, if you plan on doing mass damping then the Magix is the best value for all audio systems. Adding weight on top gives a bigger improvement than when going from no vibration isolation into Magix, and it's for free!

 

[skiflyer]

Hang on I'm confused by this test setup... what was the rest of the gear? I can only assume you weren't using laptop speakers with $400 and $800 isolating feet.

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skiflyer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hang on I'm confused by this test setup... what was the rest of the gear? I can only assume you weren't using laptop speakers with $400 and $800 isolating feet.

The laptop is my transport, my sound card is EMU0404 USB. I was previously using T-Amp + K1000, now I use Adam A7 studio monitors. With both the headphones and speakers I hear the same result when using those isolation feet.

 

[HD-5000]

Neither product does jack.

Patrick82 is deluded and bat**** crazy.

 

[Reighlok]

Patrick, are you still using a traditional hard drive? Have you considered the vibration caused by the moving head and the rotation of the platter? You could replace it with a solid state drive and remove vibration with that. Also, do you have to stock fans in the laptop adding to the vibration? By having the laptop closed with stuff piled on it I imagine it got pretty hot.

Also, how can vibration effect the digital out?

What bit depth and sample rate did you test? Where the results different with optical out? With coaxial?

Were you running from a battery or from the wall?

 

[IPodPJ]

I didn't really expect an answer.

 

[johnwmclean]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I didn't really expect an answer.

It gets back to basic’s PJ, good old gravity. I’m currently awaiting my new systems enclosure and I can hear the trackers digging as I type. I’m digging a massive 14ft hole in my backyard, where I’ll be placing my system in. I’ll be back filling with good old clay and mud, nothing boutique like marble or limestone as I don’t want to trip the mass index loading.
There are things that do concern me beside the equipment being obviously crushed - is getting the mains down there as well waterproofing or re-digging should something go wrong, not to mention equipment upgrades.
This setting should provide optimum vibration control, at one with the earth - providing a very natural open natural soundstage free of restraint.
Anyway I’ll be sure to post back with impressions...

 

[wink]

Johnwmclean said
Anyway I’ll be sure to post back with impressions... Please....John, restrain yourself...... my humour tolerance meter just went horribly off-scale.

 

[wink]

ipodpj said
If you put a dumptruck on the laptop, it might sound even more 3-dimensional!
I personally think that would give a decidedly 2 dimensional sound.
It's a bit like what the man said when his cat was run over by a steamroller.........
He said nothing - he just stood there with a long puss.

 

[wink]

Johnwmclean said.
There are things that do concern me beside the equipment being obviously crushed - is getting the mains down there as well waterproofing or re-digging should something go wrong, not to mention equipment upgrades.

John, with that setup - why would you want to improve on perfection,,,,,?????

 

[johnwmclean]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wink /img/forum/go_quote.gif Johnwmclean said Anyway I’ll be sure to post back with impressions... Please....John, restrain yourself...... my humour tolerance meter just went horribly off-scale.

my first hitch, we’ve got down to 12ft foot and hit some very hard bed rock. It looks like I’ll have to get in cutters for the final 2 feet, which I feel personally are very important to me. The rock could actually provide better support so it could be a blessing in disguise.
I’ve been loosing alot of sleep over this endeavour, the logistics have really been quite a challenge. Not only is there now going to be the main hole but an additional shaft to act as a man hole for all the obvious reasons needed to keep a the system well tuned and in check.
The other hurdle which at the moment with everything else going on, I’ve been avoiding is the length of the headphone cable itself. It simple begs the question do I just bite the bullet and build the listening room down there too. This all may take a little longer than I original thought, it’s just really chaotic I have to think this over very carefully...

 

[wink]

John, any further down and you'll be bathed in oil or water from an artesian spring.
you also said:-
"The other hurdle which at the moment with everything else going on, I’ve been avoiding is the length of the headphone cable itself."

No probs, mate. just feed some insulated coathanger wire down a couple lengths of galvanised water pipe.
I hear the galvanised coathanger wire is better than expensive OFC monstercable.
Must be something to do with the zinc plating on good old iron.
Two points to consider here:-
1/ There will surely be a synergy between the coathanger wire and the gal pipe as they're made of the same material.
2/ the gal pipe will act as a great shield against any earth loops which could be lurking so far under ground.
The only points to remember is to twist the wires in their whole length, and,
terminate the wires into your phones where you want to listen to them from - inflexibilty is a problem, but worth it from the perspective of perfection.