Vote

I've played around with a few tweaks, but I've only had significant results with Black Diamond racing Cones. I'm also very interested in the Mana Acoustic equipment stands, but Flat Earth Audio, the US distributor, doesn't seem to be unusually forthcoming about the prices. Is this a case of "if you have to ask, you can't afford them?"

Being essentially cheap (Sam Tellig is my hero), I am willing to try anything as long as it doesn't cost me much or, better still, I can make it at home. My homemade sandboxes and innertubes as air bladders have made a huge improvment over my Target stand. The only real money I've spent is on Golden Sounds DH Cones and Squares. (And these only because they were the best sounding I've tried and the cheapest.) So I too would vote that vibration control is a VERY, VERY important step in getting maximum sound from your system.

Only with turntables and CD players. I tried the sorbothane Big Feet for my Thorens TD 146 with a SME series II arm but it only helps a little. I think the best is to put the table on a really solid base- which I have not tried yet. Every move someone makes in the house can cause the stylus to jump tracks. Very annoying! The only time I can listen to vinyl is when I am home alone. So to me the improvements in vibration control is a bit hyped but for a turntable I think I need to try something different. Any suggestions are welcome.

Although I have experienced some improvement from vibration devices, my equipment is in one room and my speakers are in another room. That is the best vibration control. Greater improvement has been realized by line conditioners, as you would expect.

I use a Bright Star Audio Big Rock under my CD player. It simply prevents external vibrations from having an effect on the sound. It is no revelation, however, as claimed in some circles. If you have a vibration device for anything besides a CD player/DAC, you suffer from extreme Audiophilia nervosa!

I have all my racks and speakers "coupled" to the concret slab of my home. The differences are not always obvious, but the system is more stable.

Once I upgraded my speakers to the new Vandersteen 5's, with built in subwoofers, vibration became palpable throughout the room. From then on, the addition of anti-vibration components made a huge difference.

Almost everything is clad with asphalt mats or Sorbothane mats, with spikes running all over the place, adding to it a little sand here and a little glue there. Improvements? Are you guys kidding? Yes, huge improvements---dynamics (both micro and macro), spaciousness and perspective, tunefulness, pace and rhythm--i.e., the lot. It makes the junk sound as if it really is worth something.

My wife (then girl-friend) had a JVC turntable on a footlocker in an apartment. It used to skip whenever we walked, even gently. We got an isolation platform in a long-since closed high-end store that did the trick. I have used that platform ever since on my turntable (a SOTA). However, I have little patience for those who claim incredible effects of resonance control on amps, preamps, CD players, and cables. I could hear the difference in my case, double blind, triple blind, even half deaf. In the latter case, I doubt that anyone would hear an effect in a million years -- double blind.

it would make my wife mad if i tried a 'stunt' like that in my household.

Small bicyle tire under the CD player worked wonders: less grain, smoother highs. Spikes under speakers raised system to new level: tighter bass, more focused sound. Both cones and racquet balls under amps made no difference.

Yes!! With our home having 60-year-old wood floors, vibration control has been an absolute must.

the most effective upgrade on every component

This is another example of sheep being sold the latest fad. Vibration control of a vinyl source is obviously necessary, but for CD players and electronic only items it is a pure scam. I have been involved in the design of transportable microwave transmitters which handle frequencies way over that of audio equipment, deal with currents and voltages many times smaller and have to operate in environments with a hundred times more vibration than would be expected from sitting *on top of* a speaker. At no time did we have to take precautions to damp vibrations for electrical reasons. The performance specifications were *extremely* tight! I trust my experience on this one, save your money and spend it on something that really matters!

It's a fun thing, playing with little do-hickies. If you hear it, it does, if not, well,maybe you will if you just buy some more.

As a vinyl lover, vibration control is everything.

I've used cone tones under my preamp and amp. However, the best results were when I got a Target rack to put my turnable and preamp and an amp rack as well. The racks are coupled to the concrete slab via spikes. Just like the speaker stands are. At first I thought someonw had stolen the bass, then I realized that what I was missing was the muddiness that I had thought was bass and instead I could hear and sense far deeper into the soundstage. I've have not tried tube dampers, but I suppose that I will one of these days.

Purchased a Sound Organization table with my Linn LP12 ten years ago. I have always used them together so I do not really know if the table reduces vibration / improves the sound quality? I bought it so I use it. However, many say such devices really make a difference. I would guess more so than not if the turntable is not wall mounted.

While I certainly can see (and hear) an improvement in sound when vibration control of some kind is applied, it still seems a bit murky as to what type of vibration control is most effective. Is it vibration absorbtion (Sorbothane, air, sand, etc.) or redirection (cones, clamps, etc.) that is most effective? Answer that question and you will help many of us.

Haven't gotten even close to being bored enough with my system to start concentrating on vibration control, other than a good solid rack. Though I buy the concept, I just haven't gotten there yet.

I hate to admit this, but I have used rocks to control the vibrations hitting my cabinets containing my tube electronics. It makes me look like Fred Flintstone to my friends. The improvement is noticeable but not earthshaking. But at the same time, it's hard to go back to the way it was before. Sorry to add to the craziness of what we do for sound, but try it for yourself. You may become another Fred Flintstone.

Under my Linn, It takes it to a new level.

I have noticed a large improvement by placing cones under my transport. The resolution of indivudal sounds increased significantly. The degree of improvement was far less under dramatic when used under my DA converter and preamp. I would like to try to isolate my turntable and see if that improved my sound.

Being of "sound" mind(sorry), this listener is well aware of the effects of vibration control at all points in the chain, when applied with care and discretion.

Zoethecus stands are the best vibration control stands on the market. A greatimprovement in overall system resolution, bass definition and soundstaging.

you can hear a difference! I think it depends on the system you have.

Qualifying Statement: It's not that I don't care, but I haven't reach the point in the acquiring process where I can experiment with vibration control yet. Honest!!! May consider it someday, but not in the near future. Sorry........

Maybe I'm not positioning my isolation cones properly

a very cost effective way to sharpen imaging and minimizing midrange smear. i used a target "tt" series stand w/spikes and big tiptoes for each component.

Sandboxes and cones work wonders. I prefer solid bases to inner-tube-type isolation devices