Yup! I found it myself. Very interesting. and relatively cheap. Maybe I should buy them and do a shootout! :-)
Alternatives to Stillpoints
I am using the Stillpoints Ultra SS with good success in some of my gear. Looking to complete two more sets. Then it hit me, is there anything better (preferably cheaper) out there?
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The original, cheapest Ingress is indeed a Symposium Jr. imitation. The higher priced Ingress are a very different story. Larger diameter bowl with a shallower slope for the ball bearing to climb (that climb the most important isolation design element of the roller bearing), 7075 aluminum in place of the softer 6061 used by Symposium (harder and smoother), and superior polishing. State-Of-The-Art in roller bearings imo. I have the cheap ones (double cup design) and the more expensive ones (single cup, with a stainless steel disc on the bottom of the component for the ball bearing to roll on), as well as a couple sets of the Symposium Jr's. They're all good. Still need a spring though, as roller bearings do not isolate in the vertical plane. And then there is the Townshend Audio Seismic Pod! |
A friend of mine, GH, turned me on to a much less expensive alternative made out of furniture cups and ball bearings. Bought the parts on Amazon for around $15. They are: Slipstick CB605 Furniture Wheel Caster Cups / Floor Protectors with Non Skid Rubber Grip (Set of 4 Grippers) 1-3/4 Inch - Chocolate Brown Ten 3/4" Inch Chrome Steel Bearing Balls G25 The ball bearings sit just above the top of the cup. I use four for stability. I’ve tried them under an Oppo 105 with a mild improvement. I also used an Ikea Butcherblock cutting board underneath the cups/bearings. I also tried blocks of maple on top of the cutting board instead of the cups/bearings but the maple wasn’t as good as the cups/bearings. I have an Aurender N10. The isolation on that component is not very good and it picks up significant vibration during spirited listening. The cups/bearings work very well in this application. Not exactly sure how much sound improvement I’ve realized since I’ve never removed them. But I can tell you that nearly all of the vibration during modest to loud volume is removed as tested by resting my hand very lightly on top of the N10. If you put weight on top of the player, such as a heavy hand, it picks up the vibration; so the isolation on top of the circumference of the four ball bearings seems to work well. BTW, if you look at the Ingress Engineering product, the cup/bearing method talked about above is the same concept. |
Final Daruma offered ball bearing type isolation before Symposium and Stillpoints if you can find them they are a better sounding alternative just my opinion on my own experience. Herbies audio Labs are OK for the money but soften the sound to much if you use on all components. If you would like to use the best isolation products on the planet then check out Townshend Audio. Max Townshend has devoted over 40 years to research and development on illuminating harmful vibrations that can affect your systems performance. His first product was the Seismic Sink Platform. Start off with a pair of Seismic Podiums for your speakers then sit back and be amazed, after that you can use the Seismic Isolation Pods or Seismic Isolation Platforms to isolate individual components. Or you can do the hole lot in one and sit your rack on top of a set of Seismic Corners S type or F type depending on what rack you have. Ask GK why spring type isolation is best he has been selling them for years, you can add bearing type isolation as well but bearings alone will not completely isolate anything and your spending multi thousands of pounds attempting it. The Townshend Audio Seismic Pod is 99 GBP each they will isolate your component from all the damaging effects of seismic vibrations. My best advice is start with your speakers checkout Max Townshend youtube video on the damaging effects of spikes. When your ready to experience Townshend Seismic Isolation go to ebay.co.uk and you will see discounted prices. |
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