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Is this Placebo or something real?

Recently I purchased three Nordost Sort Kones and put them under my Elite SACD player. When I first brought them home I spent a few days doing A/B comparisons and was convinced that I could hear a distinct different. One of the downsides to the Sort Kones was the fact that they are a metal on metal support that makes pushing buttons on the SACD player difficult. In an effort to make sure that it wouldn't fall off of the supports I put some foot corn pads (i.e. foam donuts) on the underside of the SACD player to give the kones a "bumper" to limit the possible movement. I made sure the pads were not touching the kones, but after installing them I was never convinced of the difference in sound quality when doing A/B comparisons. Today I took the pads off and it appears that the magic is back. I know that there is some level of vibration damping from the pads, but is it really possible for it to direct the vibrations around the Sort Kones or is this a negative placebo defeating a positive placebo? I won't be putting them back on anytime soon, that's for sure.
mceljo
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
as long as our senses and nervous system is imperfect one can never be certain that one is hearing what exists, or hearing what doesn't exist (hearing things).

there is no way to definitively answer your question without aid of objective measurement, which eliminates, to some extent the imperfections of our sense organs.

by the way, your dilemma applies to perceptions of changes in the sound of any component.

i would go with my ears and not worry about intellectual matters.
mceljo OP
983 posts
 
Rakuennow - There are two general types of support devices. One type decouples the equipment from the surroundings (i.e. sitting on foam, rubber mounts, etc.) and the other couples the equipment to whatever it's sitting on (i.e. spikes, etc.).

The ceramic ball (the other material option is steel) in the Sort Kones is a very hard material so I would put it into the type that couples rather than decouples.

I do work around vibration reduction materials and can comprehend how the foam just might create a negative effect. It could be argued that this is exactly why I wondered if there would be a negative effect when I first put them on.

Tomorrow night my EE buddy is coming over that is my best set of ears to see what he thinks. He appreciates music more than just about anyone else I know (i.e. plays piano, symphony ticket holder for several years, etc.) and also a very smart electrical engineer so I always value his opinion. He listens to every piece of equipment that I purchase and many before I do.
avguy
106 posts
 
So Mceljo, it's the question that drives you, isn't it - "What is the Matrix?", and it's the answer that you've been searching for all your life... So how can we ever be sure that what we seeing, hearing or touching is real, and not the work of the Matrix?...:-):-):-)
ebm
5,165 posts
 
Symposium rollerblock Jr with Tungsten Carbide balls Much better under CD.
mceljo OP
983 posts
 
Would this be a bad time to admit that I've managed to never see the Matrix? Not really on purpose, just seemed to work out that way.
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