Stillpoints or Audio Points, has anyone compared

I recently purchased Audiopoints (cones & spikes) to try against my current DH Labs ceramic cones which replaced Vibrapods which replaced Herbies tenderfeet.

I heard no difference between the DH Labs ceramic cones and the Audiopoints (cones). The theaded Audiopoints speaker spikes were a major dissapointment. I hope to return the Audiopoints without a hassle.

Since I have a suspended hardwood floor I have had major issues with vibration and have been chasing my tail. After reading several threads here and at AA, I decided to try the Ikea Lack Table idea, as well. ----- They sucked in my room!

Vibrated like crazy. Even the Neuance shelf on the Lack table vibrated like crazy. Bass was bloated, soundstage very diffuse and everything sounded out of phase. Maybe the Lack Tables work on concrete pad floors, but not on my suspended hardwood floor.

For my speakers, I finally tried what some others had reported for success with speakers on a suspended hardwood floor. I purchased pre-mounted Travertine on a non-resonant material and sandwiched the correct weighted Vibrapods between two pieces of the Travertine/material. Viola. What a beautiful solution. Incredible change. Very little to no floor excitement and bass became very articulate and tight.

Next I decided to bag the Neuance shelf/DH cones under my transport and try DH cones, points down, sitting on top of Vibrapods. Since this is not possible without a flat surface on top of the Vibrapod for the point of the cone to rest on, I picked up some Formica sample chips (about 2 inches wide and 3 inches long) to place on top of the Vibrapods. They fit just right on top on the Vibrapods.

Let me digress.

Previously when I had the Neuance shelf on top of the Lack Table with the DH Cones between the shelf and my transport, I could put my hand on top of my transport and it was vibrating like crazy with heavy bass frequencies. That's when everything sounded mucked up and out of phase. As soon as I tried the Vibrapod/Formica sample/DH cones combination (without the Neuance shelf) my jaw dropped. I couldn't feel one bit of vibration from my transport no matter how loudly I played low bass frequencies.

I subsequently put the Vibrapod/Formica/DH cone combo under all of my components and I have never heard this level of clarity and transparency in my system. As bad as the Lack Tables are in my room, they are a non-issue with the Vibrapod/Formica/DH cone solution so I will just keep them until I upgrade everything after the first of the year.

YMMV, but in my system with a suspended hardwood floor, the Vibrapod sandwich idea made an enormous difference with my speaker floor/excitation problem and the Vibrapod/Formica/DH cones combo under my components has completely blown away everything else that I have tried. Even my wife commented she couldn't believe how good everything sounds with my current solution and she usually never says anything.

Having said that, the Audiopoints (spikes) under my speakers were a total disaster and the Audiopoints (cones) under my components were no improvement to the DH cones.

The real shocker was how much better my system became after removing the Neuance shelf/Dh Cones and replacing it with the Vibrapod/Formica/DH Cone combo.

I think the issue here is that everyone's room and situation is different. What might work well on a concrete pad may not work well on a suspended hardwood floor, but I have finally found the solution for my room. The difference is amazing and until I heard the transformaton with my own two ears, I would have never believed that controlling vibration could make such a huge difference. It has been bigger than any component upgrade I have ever made. (But then again, my suspended hardwood floor was incredibly egregious in my room.)

Hello, I have been a user of Audiopoints since the the Earth cooled and a user of Sistrum since the turn of the century, and I am recently a dealer for both. There is a local Goner here in Louisville who asked me over several months ago to compare Audiopoints to his current reference Stillpoints ...I also brought the Sistrum product for comparison..If he is listening then he may want to add his own aural impressions ..or maybe not.. Tom

Fiddler, I must say, this is the first Audiopoints tragedy I've ever seen on the 'gon. What speakers and electronics comprise your system? thanks in advance..

I have been using Audiopoints under all my components, spkrs. ,spkr. stands, rack, and even have the 2.0 audiopoints under my 53" Sony HD rptv for the past year and a half. I have microbearing fill in spkr. stands and audio rack. The improvements that the Starsound products have brought to my audio and video system have been absolutely HUGE! I know one thing, regardless of whatever component changes I may make, the audiopoints are not going anywhere. Also, the service and information provided by Robert are positively first-rate.
Jim L.

Warren,

I use a heavily modified PD65 as a transport with all BlackGates throughout the power supply, Harris Freds, solid silver wiring, Canare BNC, etc.

Extremely modified Audio DAC 1.2 with all Black Gates, tantalum resistors, solid silver wiring, Audio Note Copper Caps, Audio Note Siver Digital Interface transformer, NOS Amperex Orange Globes, Audio Note silver "Interstage" Transformers which bypass the digital filter, custom HMS internal IC's, Canare BNC,....

Supratek Chardonnay preamp with WE 350B's, 1952 Sylvania 6SN7's, Mullard 5AR4, upgraded pot to a DACT, Auricap upgrade, by-passed selector switch...

PS Audio HCA-2 with Black Gates in the signal path and solid silver output wiring.

Heavily modified Newform Research 645's.

All HMS Gran Finale IC's and DIY solid core silver speaker cables.

Warren, do a search here and at AA. Many have moved on from Audiopoints. That is not to say Audiopoints aren't great. But like so many things they are system dependent.

The Audiopoints (cones) made absolutely no difference to my ear over the DH Labs Ceramic cones and I don't think the Audiopoints threaded speaker spikes scould penetrate my carpet. I have a 13 x 20 ( ? ), very heavy and tightly woven Persian carpet on top of a carpet pad and I don't think the Audiopoints ever got through. I also tried them with the coupling discs that Robert recommended. They were awful with the discs and only marginally better without them.

As I said, I suspect the Sistrum products are very good, but not in my application. The difference between the Vibrapod solution and the Audiopoints was night and day.