Stillpoints or Audio Points, has anyone compared

Fiddler, would you please explain "pre-mounted Travertine on a non-resonant material". What exactly is it you purchased...and where? Later in your posts you mention Formica. This Formica material and the pre-mounted Travertine material are being used separately in your system, correct?

Tvad, the pre-mounted Travertine was purchased at Lowes. It has two, 12 x 12 in. squares of Travertine mounted on some sort of fiberboard. There is a grout line between the two pieces of Travertine. This product is obviously made to make installation of the Travertine quick and easy with perfect grout lines. It comes five pieces to a box with two tiles of Travertine per piece and I think it was about $65 for the box of five.

Unlike the granite, marble, tile, etc. that I have examined, the pre-mounted Travertine doesn't ring at all when you tap it. It simply has a dull thud.

I used two pieces of the pre-mounted Travertine (24 x 12) under each speaker with the appropriate Vibrapods between. I have my speakers sitting directly on top of the upper-most Travertine/board.

Under my components I use DH Labs ceramic cones, points down, sitting on top of Vibrapods that have a Formica sample piece between the cone and the Vibrapod to support the point of the cone on the Vibrapod.

These Formica pieces are the standard 2 x 3 in. sample pieces that home improvement stores have hanging on little pegs on their Formica displays. I asked if I could have a dozen or so and they said, "no problem".

Hope that answers your questions.

And one other thing. I used about 9 furniture sliders attached to the underside of each bottom piece of the Travertine/boards. My speakers and the sandwich beneath them are very stable, but I can now slide my speakers rather easily if I choose to move them into the corners (or if my wife makes me) when we have dinner parties.

Fiddler, thanks for the info. I'm going to take a look at the Travertine
tiles at my local Lowe's, although I'm a little concerned with the ability of
the tiles to carry the weight of the speakers...especially in the grout line
between the tiles. This would appear to be a significant area of
weakness. I suppose placing points underneath the seam would help.

Great idea, by the way, to use furniture sliders. This Dagwood sandwich
must raise your speakers by about 4" or so, yes?

Fiddler I have sold or installed many hundreds of Audiopoints and many Sistrum platforms and racks. It has been my experience to only use the APCD protective coupling discs on hard or decorative surfaces such as hardwood floors, wooden speaker surfaces, glass, marble and plexiglass sufaces. The brass disc serves to increase the surface area of the brass point and continue the transfer of resonant energy unto dissimilar materials. These materials need to be hard surfaces not carpet. So as you stated the points were no good to you. Maybe when you design your next room you can try the Audiopoints and Sistrum ,and choose surfaces and materials that will provide proper coupling and transfer of resonant energy.. These products are very effective and enlightening. These concepts of mechanical coupling are only at the first levels of application...Tom

Fiddler, sorry for my being so smug. The 'ground' in which I speak is whatever lies beneath the rack and speakers. aka the flooring system.

Once the vibrations have expeditiously evacuated the components, racking system, and speakers, they find their way into the flooring system.

Once in the flooring system, they'll find their own way to the foundation and ground. But for all intensive purposed regarding these micro-vibrations and to the best of my knowledge, I simply consider the flooring system as the ground.

But I still think the lightning rod analogy is very applicable to the subject at hand.

-IMO