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emaidel
10-22-2009, 01:10 PM
I know that Vibrapods aren't new to many AR members, and that there are several very positive reviews of them on this site. Still, my recent experience with them is so positive that I felt it deserved a separate thread.

My original intention was to purchase both the Vibrapods and Vibracones for a singular purpose: to hopefully eliminate the acoustic feedback I was getting from my turntable. After receiving them, I placed them under each of the four feet of my turntable, put the tonearm on a record, and started cranking up the volume. And guess what? NO feedback whatsoever! I had been investigating isolating feet for turntables at several websites, but the prices for some of these are so far into the stratosphere, I simply had to look elsewhere, Lucky for me, I found the Vibrapod. And the best was yet to come...

I had no idea that I would experience the sonic improvements these little babies provide! I had read the claims of "sweeter highs," "smoother mids," "better soundstaging and stereo imaging," and "tighter, deeper bass" but regarded most of those with a grain of salt. I'm happy to say that the Vibrapod/Vibracone combination provides ALL of those benefits, and then some! I truly had a wonderful time putting on a series of different records, and hearing how much better each and every one of them sounded. On some LP's, particularly European pressings made from superior vinyl, the almost total lack of surface noise closely approximated that of CD's and SACD's.

Still, the primary use for the Vibrapods isn't under turntables, but under electronic equipment. Frankly, I had never given much thought to eliminating vibration from an electronic component, basically believing that to do so was unnecessary.. I couldn't have been any more wrong.

I removed the Vibrapods from under the Vibracones under my turntable, and placed them under my Marantz SA-8001 SACD player just to see if they made any difference, thinking they most likely wouldn't. I was quite frankly stunned at the improvements, all of which were the very same as those for the turntable: better highs, mids, bottom end, soundstaging and imaging. And, the differences aren't that subtle either, but quite noticeable, particularly (and this is the case with the turntable too) in bass. Bass is much stronger, deeper, tighter and cleaner when using the Vibrapod than without them. I fully expected this with the turntable, after eliminating acoustic feedback, but never expected it from a CD/SACD player. I played a number of CD's, most of which I felt was faulty in one respect or another: too bright; too muddy; too shrill; and so on. Lackluster discs sounded distinctly cleaner with more definition, and overly bright and harsh sounding discs sounded much, much smoother and more listenable. Even the best sounding material (SACD's) benefitted greatly in much the same manner.

Both The Absolute Sound and Stereophile magazines have rated the Vibrapods as recommended components for years now, and I can certainly see why. For only $6 for a Vibrapod, and $8 for a Vibracone, I can't imagine any other upgrade or tweak for so little that does so much. If you haven't tried these out, you're in store for quite a treat when you do.

Next, I'll be installing them under my preamp and power amp, and hope to be as impressed with the improvements there as I have been with the turntable and SACD player.

frenchmon
10-22-2009, 01:22 PM
This is a what I wrote at another forum sometime ago. It turned out to be an all out debate about it being some fig-a-ma-jig of the imagination. After some of the guys tried it out as well, they could not believe what they where hearing. I have sense replaced the Rotel CDP with the X-RAY and the tweak still works with it as well. I can post pictures of the tweak later.

I must be loosing it.

I was listening to a Charles Lloyd CD yesterday thinking about a tweak I had read about that I did not believe. The guy said he had elevated his CDP up about two inches with some expensive thingies that he had purchased...about $400 for a set of four and place them under each feet of his player. He said the sound was much more alive. I read about that and thought to self, is that guy nuts or what? Why would an elevation cost so much...after all it cant be that much improvement, if any in sound for $400. So as I thought about that listening to Charles Lloyd, I remember I had some ceramic tile about 2 inches long 2 inches wide and 1/2 thick. I decided to stack 3 each under each of the feet of my SACD player elevating my SACD 1 and 1/2 inches up. I then continued listing to my Charles Lloyd. Boy was I totally surprised at what I heard! How could something as simple an elevation make such a difference? The bass was more defined with more punch. The highs and mids where more defined. There was a greater separation in the instrument. It was as if my Speakers where not my speakers....It was as if my two channel Rotel/Marantz/Canton system was transformed into another system. I could not believe what I was hearing. And I did not pay $400 for this new sound. I bought two packs of the small ceramic tiles from home-depot for 2.99 each. Each pack had a total of 12 tiles. I still have one more pack remaining. I think I am going to do the Rotel CDP as well. But what can bring this change to the sound? Can any body tell me?
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E-Stat
10-22-2009, 02:15 PM
Still, the primary use for the Vibrapods isn't under turntables, but under electronic equipment. Frankly, I had never given much thought to eliminating vibration from an electronic component, basically believing that to do so was unnecessary.. I couldn't have been any more wrong.
Proper mechanical isolation can definitely be helpful. I've used a massive VPI HW-2 isolation platform with turntables for nearly thirty years. I use Ceraball roller bearing isolators with the CDP and Vibrapods with the tube preamp. While not as effective, an inexpensive DIY isolation solution is using squash balls cut in half. I use this cheap solution on players in the garage and HT.

If you want to go all out, a reviewer friend evaluated a pair of Halcyonics platforms for a while. One was used under the turntable (until he got the 800 lb Clearaudio unit) and the other under an EMM Labs SACD player. These devices were originally designed for use with sensitive devices like scanning electron microscopes, but do a dandy job on audio gear, too. Here (http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue29/halcyonics.htm) is an unrelated review that describes the device.

rw

poppachubby
10-23-2009, 12:37 AM
Hi emaidel. I want to order some Vibrapods for my TT, it's a Technics DD. Since I am not 100% sure of the wieght, can you suggest which pod would be best suited? I see there are 5 different models...

Also, would I benefit to put these things under everything? My gear is more on the vintage side. I am currently in the process of maximizing all of my gear to it's greatest potential, rather than upgrade. This product looks fantastic, I have been considering isolating feet for a while but the prices usually push me somewhere else.

Thanks for the help, Chubb-a-lubb

emaidel
10-23-2009, 04:14 AM
I can only guess here, but most Technics direct drive turntables are fairly heavy - about 20 lbs. or so -, so use that as a guide. I suspect the #2 Vibrapod would do fine.

Insofar as putting them under all your equipment, why not? Do what I did: buy one, or two sets, and then experiment by putting them under something and listening to see if you hear any difference. As I said in my initial post, I didn't expect anything at all when I placed them under the feet of my SACD player, but was all but astounded at how they improved the sound of that player. I haven't yet ordered more, but will be doing so shortly to put under my preamp and power amp. I guess they'd improve the sound of my FM tuner too, but I rarely ever listen to it, and when I do, it's only for background music, so I really don't care.

I ordered mine from elusivedisc.com, I ordered them on a Thursday, received an email that they were shipped on Friday, and had them in my house Monday using "standard" shipping. Since they're the same price everywhere, that may be a good place to get them.

poppachubby
10-23-2009, 05:21 AM
I can only guess here, but most Technics direct drive turntables are fairly heavy - about 20 lbs. or so -, so use that as a guide. I suspect the #2 Vibrapod would do fine.

Insofar as putting them under all your equipment, why not? Do what I did: buy one, or two sets, and then experiment by putting them under something and listening to see if you hear any difference. As I said in my initial post, I didn't expect anything at all when I placed them under the feet of my SACD player, but was all but astounded at how they improved the sound of that player. I haven't yet ordered more, but will be doing so shortly to put under my preamp and power amp. I guess they'd improve the sound of my FM tuner too, but I rarely ever listen to it, and when I do, it's only for background music, so I really don't care.

I ordered mine from elusivedisc.com, I ordered them on a Thursday, received an email that they were shipped on Friday, and had them in my house Monday using "standard" shipping. Since they're the same price everywhere, that may be a good place to get them.


Thanks e!! Yes, the Technics is approx 16/18 lbs, quite heavy. I have found an official Canadian supplier by way of the Vibrapod website. I will use your advice and buy 2 sets, I am quite excited now, thanks for sharing and I'll be sure to give you my thoughts when I get them.

Feanor
10-23-2009, 05:34 AM
Results may vary. It might depend on rack, your floors, your room nodes, etc.

I haven't tried Vibrapods but have tried these well-reviewed Bright Star IsoNodes (from Audio Advisor) (http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=BSISO) under various components to no noticable effect. But I suspect that my shelving is inherently highly vibration absorbing so maybe that's it.

Hyfi
10-23-2009, 06:28 AM
Save yourselves some cash unless you just have to have that look. I use sheets of Sorbothane, which is pretty much what all these high priced items are made from. You can take a 1ft square sheet and cut it into 2 or 3 inch squares. So for $46 you get 12 or more pads. I have used this for many years now.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#ultra-soft-polyurethane/=46off5

Feanor
10-23-2009, 06:54 AM
Save yourselves some cash unless you just have to have that look. I use sheets of Sorbothane, which is pretty much what all these high priced items are made from. You can take a 1ft square sheet and cut it into 2 or 3 inch squares. So for $46 you get 12 or more pads. I have used this for many years now.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#ultra-soft-polyurethane/=46off5

Sounds like a great suggestion, Hyfi.

McMaster has a great seletion. As I understand, Sorbothane's effectiveness depends on the right degree of compression of pad -- can't be too little or too much if it's to work well. Thus there are different densities and thicknessess -- the trick might be to correct judge the one to use.

P.S. I've been looking for a source for wool felt sheets for speaker project, and McMaster has got 'em. Good stuff!

frenchmon
10-23-2009, 07:51 AM
IF you are not concerned with looks you can just by these ceramic tiles from home-dept and tape them together. I was able to do two CDP's all for $6.00

Click it for a close up.

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3937/pict0007qa.th.jpg (http://img28.imageshack.us/i/pict0007qa.jpg/)

Hyfi
10-23-2009, 08:15 AM
Sounds like a great suggestion, Hyfi.

McMaster has a great seletion. As I understand, Sorbothane's effectiveness depends on the right degree of compression of pad -- can't be too little or too much if it's to work well. Thus there are different densities and thicknessess -- the trick might be to correct judge the one to use.

P.S. I've been looking for a source for wool felt sheets for speaker project, and McMaster has got 'em. Good stuff!

Ah, the joy of my past life as a Toolmaker for 25 years and having access to all sorts of materials.

I saw these at Quest for Sound when I was there, designed by the owner but too much money for what they really are.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.aspenaudio.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000002/isol-padsbig.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.aspenaudio.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv%3FScreen%3DPROD%26Store_Code%3DQFS%26P roduct_Code%3D4pk-isolpads&usg=__sXih8aAD_ezMVTNdvCWyYEWEz8g=&h=249&w=318&sz=35&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=5f4QUP95dG9_uM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3DISOL-PADS%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff

frenchmon
10-23-2009, 09:29 AM
Ah, the joy of my past life as a Toolmaker for 25 years and having access to all sorts of materials.

I saw these at Quest for Sound when I was there, designed by the owner but too much money for what they really are.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.aspenaudio.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000002/isol-padsbig.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.aspenaudio.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv%3FScreen%3DPROD%26Store_Code%3DQFS%26P roduct_Code%3D4pk-isolpads&usg=__sXih8aAD_ezMVTNdvCWyYEWEz8g=&h=249&w=318&sz=35&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=5f4QUP95dG9_uM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3DISOL-PADS%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff

After I looked at your link and saw the ISOL-PADs for $25 big ones I laughed. Boy what a rip off. The reason why I say that is, years ago I use to do HVAC instalation and we used those ISOL-PADS to balance and stop the vibration of many of the furnaces we installed in the attics. We would also use them to balance the condensers on the outside of the house as well. The funny thing is that we would have to go to the HVAC parts house and get a lot more of the ISOL-PADS cheaper than $25. Dont think they where called by the same name but the product looks the same.

frenchmon

Hyfi
10-23-2009, 11:32 AM
After I looked at your link and saw the ISOL-PADs for $25 big ones I laughed. Boy what a rip off. The reason why I say that is, years ago I use to do HVAC instalation and we used those ISOL-PADS to balance and stop the vibration of many of the furnaces we installed in the attics. We would also use them to balance the condensers on the outside of the house as well. The funny thing is that we would have to go to the HVAC parts house and get a lot more of the ISOL-PADS cheaper than $25. Dont think they where called by the same name but the product looks the same.

frenchmon

I sort of insulted the guy who designed them the first time we met. I did not know he designed them when I chuckled out loud about the price and told him about my sheet sorbothane. Then he said they were his design and product.

bfalls
10-23-2009, 11:59 AM
I've heard halved racquetballs and squash balls do a good job of isolation. Anyone have any experience with them? I've used both Vibrapods and Little Feet Sorbothane isolators with good results.

Hyfi
10-23-2009, 12:08 PM
I've heard halved racquetballs and squash balls do a good job of isolation. Anyone have any experience with them? I've used both Vibrapods and Little Feet Sorbothane isolators with good results.

I also isolate my ams and Dynaudio speakers with Granite slabs. At one time I placed Tennis balls under the amp slap and the sorbothane between slab and amp.

LOL, I don't have a clue if it did anything but it made me feel like it did. Cheap Tweaks whether they work or not are great for the ego since they don't cost much.

frenchmon
10-23-2009, 02:26 PM
I sort of insulted the guy who designed them the first time we met. I did not know he designed them when I chuckled out loud about the price and told him about my sheet sorbothane. Then he said they were his design and product.

Well all I know is that we used them in North Carolina when I was a HVAC TECH. They where a common thing to use to cut down the vibrations and to balance furnaces and coils up in attics. As you can imagine, the furnace either sat upright or laid on its side on a wood platform or the rafters and would vibrate. The pads would stop the vibrations.The only thing that looks different about the ones in your link is that the rubber is on the top and bottom with a cork looking substance in the middle. The ones we used where shaped just like those but it was rubber all the way through. They even had the same groves on the top and bottom and about the same size. He very well could have had them made but with cork in the middle instead of solid rubber. But I assure you it was not original with him. They have been used in HVAC for years.

frenchmon

frenchmon
10-23-2009, 02:29 PM
I also isolate my ams and Dynaudio speakers with Granite slabs. At one time I placed Tennis balls under the amp slap and the sorbothane between slab and amp.

LOL, I don't have a clue if it did anything but it made me feel like it did. Cheap Tweaks whether they work or not are great for the ego since they don't cost much.

Did you get any improvement with your speakers? Im interested if that tweak works.