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In Reply to: RE: SHOOT-OUT: Stillpoints Ultra SS Footers vs. MSA BlackPod Footers posted by robss on December 17, 2014 at 23:22:33
First, let me say that you wrote a very nice review of the MSA BlackPods versus the Stillpoints Minis. Kudos! Very thoughtful and well-constructed.
Being an old fart myself, and having a teenaged son, I have to admit the initial comment about your Mom made me smile. I could be wrong here (and if I am, no problem setting me straight, of course), but that comment made me think you're a younger audiophile. If so, that's wonderful to hear. And if you're older, well, that's great, too. Either way, it was a fine review, well-formatted and nicely thorough.
But if you're a younger audiophile, I would like to mention that I was very impressed with the maturity and depth of what you wrote, and I encourage you to contribute more to the Audio Asylum in the future. (Well, I encourage you to contribute more to Audio Asylum, whether you're young OR old, as we always need and welcome people helping to bring us a new viewpoint.)
Okay, to answer your questions, regarding the Ray Brown/Laurindo Almeida CD, "Moonlight Sereenade", we used the very first track (superb!) and track number's 9 and 10, which are very nice, too. (As I recall, track #10 is Laurindo Almeida doing a very vigorous solo with astounding dynamics, so be careful with the volume! It can kinda fool you.) The rest of the album, though, is also fabulous to demo with, as excellent acoustic bass is simply a great way to judge a speaker's low end for musical accuracy and involvement, at least IMHO. And the guitar sounds very fine, too. A nice recording, all the way around.
As for where I employ my 5 sets of MSA BlackPod footers, I have one set each under my Cabasse Baltic II speakers (a VERY nice improvement, and highly recommended for at least a try-out, as you may really like what they do under your speakers.)
Another set of BlackPods go under my Unbalancer analog output stage of my modified Sony XA5400ES source. Very nice result there, too.
The remaining two sets of BlackPods were supposed to go under my big Spectron Musician III, Mark 2 amps, but the pair of Spectrons are currently awaiting repair up in Auckland, so I employ one of those sets of the MSA BlackPods under my Coda CSi Ltd, SE integrated preamp (which is now filling in for my pair of ailing Spectrons.)
The last remaining set of MSA BlackPods are awaiting installation under either my Sony player's out-board Unbalancer tubed analog output stage power supply, (i.e., high voltage DC rails) or the Unbalancer's outboard tube heater power supply (low voltage AC.) Each of these PSUs currently is supported by a set of four Mapleshade massive Super Carpet Piercing Brass Spikes (approximately 4" long and heavy as hell! No longer available, btw) on a huge Mapleshade 100% pure Maple "Rooted Maple Buttress" stands. We shall see how that shakes out in the near future.
The MSA BlackPods currently in the system have not reached a point of diminishing returns yet. I cannot comment on whether they will in the future with more BlackPod sets in the mix, but currently, they blend well together with no anomalies noted due to too many BlackPods. YMMV, as always, of course.
Hope this answers your Qs!
Cheers,
WS
Follow Ups:
Hi Winston -
Much thanks for the As. to my Qs. And the kind comments as well.
The kid in me comes out when involved with the audio/music thing. Otherwise, the rest of me qualifies under the "old fart" heading as well.
Off topic: Perhaps interestingly, my one son, 25+yo these days, is not at all interested in any music - reproduced or otherwise. "Gen." related influence? "You can have all this (the "systems", the music, ALL of it )when I am done" was met with a blank stare. He picked up piano like a gifted sort when young. I ran away from my piano teacher when 9 - and have been running ever since; no gene for making music, but got the "music appreciation gene" (as we call it in our family). My dad has had and used the "music making gene" - he had a jazz band in high school and actually had a chance to lead out Dave Brubeck on sax (his gift) at one point. And I continue on my own journey now....
...and I will continue to bring further insights as I find them with the Blackpods.
Happy and Peaceful Listening to you Winston, and all others reading this,
robss
PS: My mom would still very much like to continue to tell me when I could use the computer - if I let her. Still kicking, she is.
Many thanks for the family info. I had no idea of your age or family status.
Actually, a dear friend of mine had his father die from stroke when the friend was just a teenager. As he got older, and to his eternal credit in my book, my friend viewed himself as his mother's sole protector and support, and so he lived at home and supported her until her death about 15 years ago.
Anyway, he was a very good son, and always allowed her to have priority on the family computer, which made me smile every time I saw that. Thus, your comment struck a memory chord from my youth, and I simply viewed the comment about your 'Mom' through the lens of my life experience.
BTW, my current teenage son is my second step-child journey. My first set that I raised to adulthood (in a previous marriage, obviously) are now in their mid 30's. I must say that there is a world of difference between the first set (pre-smart phone) and my current step-son (post smart phone.) No doubt about it, the first set were more physically socially interactive, while my current step-son is very inward and withdrawn. Can you guess which spent most of their formative years on small, hand-held devices and computer screen interfaces?
And the same goes for hifi. The older step-kids all dig high fidelity gear and hifi, while my current step-son is not at all interested in audio gear or hifi, other than cheap ear buds and small portable music devices. With the cost of nice separate electronic gear nowadays, though, how can I complain?
Again, thanks for the nice response.
Cheers,
WS
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