Symposium RBs, etc. further thoughts...

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Hey all:
Since installing combinations of the Symposium RBs/Point Pods/Fat Pads/Svelt Shelves and comparing with multiple footers, I'm tired of hearing all of my friends tell my things like, "I no longer want to hear your stereo without the (final config) RBs." :-)
It's now abundantly clear that I should have installed these products many years ago. Humph! Just like my speaker/amp interface tweak and the Schroeder/UNIverse combo, it's a BIG change, and has me split between happiness for the present and regret about the past.
Critically, one must always put a true vibe dissipater under the RB body (or bearing in single-stack inverted mode). Must not be a "mushy" material, as that could tip the RB body off-level. Svelts work great, so do Point Pods and Fat Pads. Heck, even a DH Square (carbon/graphite) under the RB body does a decent job. I've tried RBs sitting directly on rack shelves made of MDF, wood, acrylic, granite. Not good. Makes sense, as RB system is a vertical vibe waveguide (horizontal vibes dissipated by lateral bearing movement in theory), one needs a vibe dissipater under the RB to: 1. Allow vibes to drain from the component and not be reflected back; 2. Prevent vibes from the rack, etc. from getting to the component. Very important step- I heard good things, but also bad things from the RBs without the vibe dissipater underneath. Maybe racks like the SRA dealies are fine by themselves, but I would say most racks need the extra vibe dissipating offered by a Svelt/Point Pod/Fat Pad/DH Square. Gotta try it out.
These products reward extensive experimentation with configuration. I do mean extensive. The good news is when it's wrong, it was fairly obvious to all. When it's right, it's equally obvious.
Otherwise, I've even experimented with home-brew combos of various parts of different footer systems (DH/Symposium combos, etc.). What I ended up with is about as good as I can imagine it will get. An actual soundstage now, with palpability beyond my notion of what was possible. No BS; we're talking a big, big change for the better.
I ended up with:
Svelt+ between 'tt and Vibraplane
phonostage on double-stack RBs, sitting on Svelt shelf
preamp on double-stack RBs, sitting on Svelt shelf
DVD player on single-stack RBs, inverted config. sitting on Point Pods
Monoblock amps on double-stack RBs sitting on Fat Pads (maybe two Sympo. amp stands in my future)
Only my ultra-light (15lb) DVD player did not seem to like double-stack. I heard slight upper mid harshness, which I suspect was from insufficient bearing loading and also the double-stack config.'s inherent extra "break" in the vibe pathway to the vibe dissipater. I prefered single-stack inverted to regular single-stack on all my components when comparing single-stack configs only.
I don't know what to say. Get them, especially if you're like me and have spent many, many years trying to get the best sound out of your gear. Maybe putting all your gear on individual Vibraplanes or Minus-K devices would prove superior, but that's $10,000-$30,000.00 in Vibraplanes or Minus-K's. Uhm... no.
-L

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Topic - Symposium RBs, etc. further thoughts... - larryLR 03:05:56 03/27/07 (0)

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