HiFi isolation platforms

[EYEREX]

Just wondered if anyone's dabbled with isolation platforms for there HiFi ?

I know you can pay silly money for platforms so i just normally use MDF covered in black sticky back plastic (to many years of watching Blue Peter) sitting on Sorbothane but today i got a lump of marble to use under my Rega RP1

Some say not to use Marble as it rings but it's dead as a dodo when used with Sorbothane plus there's a bit of a buzz to use bamboo these days as people say a more lightweight platform is the way to go but just spent a few hours listening to my Rega RP1 and can't say if Marble adds or takes away anything from the music but it sure does look pretty

PS going to let the Marble run in for a few days to see if it hits it's sweet spot

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

I've tried allsorts, just in case, including:
- Started with some target stands, a TT5 and TT1 wallstand for my old LP12
- Used a mana amp stand with my Naim amps. Seemed to work well with them, but my old meridian transport hated it. It was so bad it sounded better with a cushion on top of the stand. The stand lasted a week once the 500 had arrived
- Tried Ikea, was OK and clearly is dirt cheap
- Heard some of the stupidly expensive ESS stands by stillpoints
- Had a wooden Quadraspire for a while. Brilliant s/h buy as they've available at very good prices, look smart and do the job very nicely
- Ended up with a Quadraspire perspex, which has less resonance than a wooden unit and looks (IMO) brilliant. Wasn't much more than a wooden

Also tried isolation including:
- RDC cones
- Mission isoplat (basically a bike inner tube in a nice enclosure)
- Stillpoints
- Marble slabs. I have some under my REL sub and my power amp

I personally believe that some of it does pretty much naff all (e.g. the MDC cones), others "change" the sound to different degrees, e.g. the Mana and Stillpoints. What you prefer is going to be dependent upon the kit in question.

 

[kitfit1]

The most important thing about any sort of platform is to isolate it from vibration (airborn & structural) as much as you can. Because speakers are nearly always on the floor (floorstanders or stand mount) there will always be loads of vibration coming through the floor into any floor standing hi fi rack. I've always found the best thing is to wall mount any equipment. The only thing that matters is that the wall is solid (not studwork, or dot & dabbed plasterboard). The only thing then remains is to choose the type of wall mount. In my case i don't have a lot of gear, just a record deck, the decks power supply, phono stage, amplifier and CD deck. As you can see from the pic, it all fits easily on 2 Audio Suspension Acrylic shelves. I chose those because the Michell Orbe is actually designed to sit on Acrylic, because it adds nothing nor takes anything away from the deck itself. The same applies to the amp and cd.

 

[lude1962]

If it's not going to be wall mounted mass is the key (analytical balances 0.1mg or less sit on concrete 'benches' to isolate vibrations). If I still had a deck and was serious about isolating it, I wouldn't want it on anything less than 50kg in weight.

 

[The Mad Rapper]

Slate is better than marble. I use slate under my speaker stands.

 

[kitfit1]

Slate is better than marble. I use slate under my speaker stands.

Slate may well be better than Marble, the reality is though that Granite is better than both. That simply goes back to what Lude 1962 said, unless it's wall mounted then Mass is everything. I use Granite under my speakers for 2 reasons. First is that it is just about the most effective barrier for stopping vibration being transmitted to the floor from the speakers. Second is that because of the first reason, the bass extention that ensues is very deep and very very tight. Sort of off topic really though, because no one is going to use or find a 50kg + piece of Granite that would act as a hi fi stand.................unless they were very strong and had very deep pockets lol.

 

[nicknack35]

We have our Canton on a glass stand the tv ain't on top of it its the dm-55 model the tv is bit to big to sit on top of it. So we put it on the shelf below. Im wondering if a Granite board underneath it would add extra depth to the sound. It does sound good but thought it might give it bit of extra

 

[lude1962]

We have our Canton on a glass stand the tv ain't on top of it its the dm-55 model the tv is bit to big to sit on top of it. So we put it on the shelf below. Im wondering if a Granite board underneath it would add extra depth to the sound. It does sound good but thought it might give it bit of extra

It actually may be better with the granite on top to simulate the weight of a tv.
It will make the canton more rigid.

 

[kitfit1]

We have our Canton on a glass stand the tv ain't on top of it its the dm-55 model the tv is bit to big to sit on top of it. So we put it on the shelf below. Im wondering if a Granite board underneath it would add extra depth to the sound. It does sound good but thought it might give it bit of extra

Probably just about the worst thing to put any sort of sound system on is glass. It has next to no mass worth thinking about, it adds all sorts of very variable effects, "ringing" being the one that most would mention. If you are a bit unsure about what i just said, take your Canton off and just put it on the carpet on the floor. The sound will be more focused, bass will be tighter and deeper, soundstage will be wider and taller. Placing Granite on top of it when it's on the glass stand will not alter the fact that it's sat on glass, it will in all probability just sound dead and lifeless. It will be sounding like that because it has the speakers in it more than anything else in all truth. If the base of the tv stand is MDF, then granite or concrete on top of the MDF, then the Canton may give the sort of result that will put a smile on your face. A concrete slab (nice and cheep) would be a good tester, if you like what you hear, then get a bit of Granite made up by your local Funeral Memorial showroom.

 

[Cosimo]

We have a solid floor, a HIFI Racks Podium Reference custom rack. The plinths are solid hardwood (40mm and very heavy), spiked, and the turntable on it's own hardwood plinth (22mm). So it is very well isolated and the sound is superb.

 

[nicknack35]

The stand is all in one the TV Samsung H6400 48" is on the top shelf with the Canton Soundbase on the shelf below. We couldn't put the TV on top of the canton due to the Canton not been big enough. So just wondering what to do for best really. We didn't want to change the stand cause the TV sits perfect on the stand and the soundbase looks nice on the shelf below so was thinking of putting something under the Canton to add more depth

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Slightly off topic, but that's a couple of lovely looking decks.
I do wonder at times how my present digital source would compare against. Last time I tried a deck at home, it was a fairly cheap unit, probably comparable to a P3. My digital source was a good deal better. All the same, I know that some decks are a huge step on from a P3.
How do you think your vinyl rigs measure up?

 

[EYEREX]

Slightly off topic, but that's a couple of lovely looking decks.
I do wonder at times how my present digital source would compare against. Last time I tried a deck at home, it was a fairly cheap unit, probably comparable to a P3. My digital source was a good deal better. All the same, I know that some decks are a huge step on from a P3.
How do you think your vinyl rigs measure up?

I live in the budget end of HiFi with my Rega RP1 record player and my digital setup which is a Raspberry Pi3 Squeezebox with a Meridian Explorer 2 DAC feeding a Yamaha AS500 amp plus JPW speakers and i love listening to both but like all music you get some really bad sounding vinyl and FLAC files but get some really good music and from budget to high-end HiFi they will sing and keep your ears happy

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

I live in the budget end of HiFi with my Rega RP1 record player and my digital setup which is a Raspberry Pi3 Squeezebox with a Meridian Explorer 2 DAC feeding a Yamaha AS500 amp plus JPW speakers and i love listening to both but like all music you get some really bad sounding vinyl and FLAC files but get some really good music and from budget to high-end HiFi they will sing and keep your ears happy

Couldn't agree more with that.
Funny though, how often the worst sounding ones are the newest "compressed to death" as part of the loudness wars.
I find it really interesting to revisit old albums from say the 70s, which if you listened to on a car stereo might come across as no great shakes. However, put them into a system genuinely revealing and you find that the simple recording methodology and complete lack of compression often means they sound utterly brilliant when just cranked up a little.