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[Sorry about the big pic-my photoshop crapped out just now]I'm fortunate enough to have Zog as a friend & although I haven't done anywhere near the amount of testing he has, I've done some experimenting I ordinarily wouldn't have, in large part due to his generosity.
I’ve been living with the Bright Star combo for ~ 1 ½ yrs, which is the Big Rock 3 & Air Mass 3. I was using weighted ankle weights on top at one time (1-25 lbs.) but decided the sound was cleaner w/o. During the Isolation Binge, I tried the Aurios under my CDP, which is a modded Meridian 508.20. In comparison to the Bright Star combo, I found that the soundstage seemed about the same but the biggest differences were in the areas of microdynamics & leading edge attacks. Vocals were smoother yet better defined & there was a sharper image & presentation to the leading edges. This might not seem like much but after you've heard the same song 100's of times over the years & can hear an improvement, then it's worth taking note. Also, there was less sibilance, so the overall sound was smoother compared to the laid back sound of the Bright Star, which I hope doesn't sound like a contradiction. Bass was taught but not as punchy as with the Bright Star. With this quick audition, I’d give the slightest nod to the Aurios over the Bright Star & what swayed the outcome was that I could clearly make out some words that had always been mumbo-jumbo before. Other than that, I could live with either of these isolation devices. I then put the Aurios under the amp (V-1x) and liked the results even better. Taking what I think are the best attributes of these two devices, I'd like to find a mixture that allows the best of what they offer.I told Zog I did the cable thing years ago & it took me a little over 3 years to settle on what I currently use & although I'm not opposed to changing something, I'm not currently seeking a change (with cables) and didn't want to get started down an isolation devices journey but I think it's too late. I'll definitely try other devices but I'm going to take my time about it, in spite of saying I was done with isolation device testing just a few days ago.
With all that, here is my list of devices tested under the CDP in order of ranking:1)Aurios
2)Bright Star combo
3)Stillpoints
4)Relaxa 1 (This was overloaded)
5)Hip Joints
6-tie) Vibracones/Vibrapods (also originally overloaded but have not tried with properly matched pieces)
6-tie) Stock feetI thought the Hip-Joints moved a little too much under the CDP & wanted to utilize them with the CDP because although I didn’t give them much of an audition, they seemed like they offered some improvements with detail. I put the Hip Joints under a slab of ½” marble, only because that’s the only thing I have big enough & strong enough to support 70 lbs. If anybody has any suggestions for something that would work better between the ball bearings of the Hip-Joints & the bladder of the Air Mass 3, I’d really like to hear about it.
I like this set-up the best out of everything I’ve tried so far & although it lacks that last little bit of detail, I find the presentation more to my liking. Bass is impressive and the midrange has a nice tonal balance that is neither sweet nor analytical.
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Follow Ups:
I had an Isorock 4 so I decided to do a quick listen with it, swapping out the marble. Definite difference & everything is smoother. According to the specs I've overloaded it (max 38 lbs) so I'll take it out & look for a replacement.
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Thanks for the responses but I was looking for a specific material to use instead of the marble between the Hip Joints & Air Bladder. I like this set-up the best of all the tweaks I tried but would like a tad more detail w/o changing anything else.
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I'm Using John Boo's maple cutting boards from Home Depot. You can find them online but they are about 33% more expensive. BTW That is my favorite set-up also.Although I haven't had the oppertunity to try all the toys you and zog have. Pete's idea about constrained layer is a good one. I am building some Symposium Ultra clones, but the Boo's are good for "Plug & Play"
Julien
"There's someone in my head, but it's not me"
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I'll check them out. Thanks!
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Something like a symposium clone, except without the low-density, more compliant layer in the middle. There's a million different ways you could do it, but as long as you have multiple rigid layers tightly bonded together, it should ring much, much less than marble and also be lighter. In addition, I think any sufficiently hard metal would be a better bearing surface than the marble.If you wanted to go really simple, you could use a single thick polished plate of 6061 T6 aluminum, damped top and bottom with some rope caulk (Blu-tak). The thickness of the plate would of course depend on the load.
A non-DIY alternative would possibly be one of the many amp stands that are out there. If you find one that has a nice bearing surface on top, you could use it upside-down.
nt
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http://www.gcaudio.com/newsletter/2004_summer.htmlAurios works horizontally, Bright Star in the vertical direction. You may want to incorporate both in your setup. Leave out the Airmass and use the Aurios on top of the BrightStar. Unless, the CD player is 'moving around' freely on top of the aurios, you are not getting its benefits. To further isolation, put some cones, any cheap ones will work, under the BrightStar.
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~~"To further isolation, put some cones"~~
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~~~~~~~~~~~The cones won't do it!~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Julien
"There's someone in my head, but it's not me"
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> > > Leave out the Airmass and use the Aurios on top of the BrightStar. < < <
I would still use the airmass-air bladders work well with other devices.
Jack
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