CD vs. SACD vs. DVD-Audio vs Vinyl vs...

Hi Garfish. Perhaps I should elaborate concerning Vibrapods, to see if we still disagree. In the context of their price they are very good. But in the context of a system that costs more than $15k, I would strongly recommend trying Townshend CD Sinks instead - at a cost of around $200 each (I am guessing a bit as to price because I do not live in the US) - under light weight components. As it happens I do not like the effect of the bigger and more expensive Seismic Sink products (I own some but they gather dust in the cupboard). I tried Vibrapods under my tube monoblocks but found there was a very odd resonance effect in the middle of the midrange that was intrusive - hence my preference for an inner tube - a Sink product not being practical in this application. Like all vibration products, there is the potential for vibration interactions that are very different from component to component. When I first tried Vibrapods under my speakers (both Thiels and Martin Logan) I was very impressed at the improvement in soundstage and the reduction in cabinet resonance. But it took me about a week to realise that I was getting a lot less enjoyment from well recorded vocalists. For some reason there was a problem with articulation and coherence in the midrange with the Vibrapods in place. As soon as I took them out, the thrill of listening to a great singer returned. I can very well imagine that someone with different musical tastes would not notice the problem that I found. As a result of all this I have come to the general conclusion that without some form of compliance in your vibration control system, you get some nasty and intrusive narrow band resonances that often make the sound unmusically forward and which collapses the soundstage. When you introduce something compliant such as Vibrapods, Sorbathane, various polymer footers, various bladder or sprung products, you move the resonances down in frequency and they occupy a broader band. The effect is generally an improvement as it can take away what was previously an irritating edge to the sound. But having played with as many of these as I could get my hands on, I concluded that the CD sink managed to not only remove the edge, but retain dynamics, leading edge definition and coherence. Many of the others remove the edge, but at the expense of one of the other characteristics I just listed. Vibrapods are better than having only the rubber feet on your components as the "compliance" I refer to - except perhaps in the case of some (but not all) Sonic Frontiers products which use very good polymer feet (there are probably others too). I also prefer Vibrapods to Sorbothane (I have not tried the Gel version yet). But if you get just the right bladder product, the result is very much better in a top flight system IMHO.

Hi Redkiwi; I bet you're from "down under"? Thanks for your thorough and articulate response. I can see that you've done much more experimenting with vibration control than I have. At about $25k, my system is not obscenely expensive, but based on your experience, it sounds like some of my components could benefit from the well regared seismic sinks, and I'd like to try them (don't know if I have enough room though). Regarding Vibrapods, they were really my first attempt at vibration control under digital products, and the improvement was so spectacular that I became a really enthusiastic supporter of the little buggers. Thanks.

Oops-- just noticied that it's the Townshend sinks (small) that you recommend, NOT the seismic sinks. My mistake.

Hi guys, I heard the Sony SCD-777ES today. There was a distruptive noise nearby the listening room so I could not thoroughly audition them, but it was still an enlightening experience. My first impression was that this was almost it!...The Holy Audio Grail. Remember, that this is a Sony product and although they certainly are one of the better manufacturers and innovators they usually end up not making the best machine. The superior Pioneer DVD players are an example that comes to mind. The standard CD aspect of the SCD-777ES is very good but not as good as some, it has a little bit of that Sony digital hardness. The SACD is another story, it is remarkable. I could pick out few minor critiscisms, but no matter what improvements they could make to it, there is an almost spooky realism, unlike anything I have heard before. In my opinion it truly does combine the bests aspects of digital and analogue. If they improve the format and recording techniques I believe there is enough of what people love about high end audio to please just about everyone. I heard this with the new Macintosh amp and preamp and the Vienna Acoustics Mahlers. Hope you all get a chance to hear one soon.

Yes Garfish - I am from down-under. I live mostly in New Zealand and sometimes in Fiji (hence two stereo systems) and am looking to do more of the latter in future. Unfortunately for me, Internet connections are somewhat transitory things in Fiji. By the way, the big sinks sound absolutely wonderful in the mids and highs, and even in the deep bass. But the upper bass gets smeared and thereby robs the music of too much life. The CD sinks only get half-way there in the mids and highs, but the bass is not compromised - indeed it improves the bass, particularly in pitch.