Although a bit late to join the conversation, I wanted to say that I’ve been using Finite Elemente Pagode racks for years. On a whim, I decided to place some Magico Q-Pods I had on hand under my Rossini APEX. The resulting sound change was nothing short of marvelous. The soundstage became much more expansive and deep, warmer and more musical, and the Q-Pods have remained in place ever since.
Interestingly, when I originally purchased the Pagode racks, I was specifically advised against adding vibration or resonance mitigating footers and was told these wouldn’t be necessary. However, the truth is the Magico Q-Pods have made a truly significant improvement in the sound quality that I now experience. The enhancement is so good that I’ve even considered acquiring another set of Q-Pods for use under the clock, although I haven’t done so yet.
The Q-Pods do exactly what Magico says they’ll do and the result is pretty darn amazing.
Is there any reason why for the clock you have the pucks seated against the bottom of the chassis but for DAC and Upsampler you have them connected to the DCS feet? Just interested if there was a specific reason for doing this?
Thanks, I’ll look into that. The reason I have the Q-Pods is I won them in a drawing give-away too many years ago at Rocky Mtn Audio Fest and they had been in their container in my audio closet since. When I remembered that I had them I thought I’d give them a try. Appreciate the recommendation.
Nav - beautiful system. How do you like your Stenheim 3’s - which version are they? I run a pair of 5SE’s
Which footers are you using underneath the Rossini boxes?
As a gentle FYI, does the photo above show your right side speaker? If so, according to Stenheim, that speaker actually belongs on the left side. The upper two drivers, which are slightly offset, should be on the “inside” of the cabinet
Hi Gregg - thanks for your message . I have 3s non SE version . I’ve owned them since Jan 2022. I’m very happy with the sound and how they work with dcs and ch precision amplification. I like to try different types of racks , mainly out of boredom with the room aesthetic .. I’ve used spectral , Quadraspire , solid tech and the ikea hack was a fun experiment . Currently I’m using a Naim fraim lite with the stock dcs footers . Thank you for your feedback re the speakers . The stenheim distributor here in sweden set them up like that (!) but when I have a moment I’ll swap them round !
Nav
If a man wants to place his left speaker on the right side, and the right speaker on the left side, I say “Damn it! It’s (still, barely) a free country, you should respect his wishes, and he should do as he pleases!”
Pretty sure Nav (Stockholm) is up in Sweden but the point is understood : )
Bringing this back on topic:
In a prior post long ago, Pete (@PAR ) recommended the IsoAcoustics Indigo, which sells for $70 per unit, USD (below). For stillpoints I see that the Bordeaux is no longer on the website, and they recommend the Ultra I E for DACs (at $240 per unit, USD, also below).
Are those models that folks recommend for Vivaldi, Rossini, Bartok?
Try the Stack Audio AUVA EQ. I’m using them under my Vivaldi stack and have been extremely impressed with the improvements they have made.
Also they are very sensibly priced. Worse case if they don’t do what they should do just return within 60 days for a full refund! Can’t really loose tbh.
Perhaps not understood the Switzerland reference was to Stenheim where the factory is located
getting back on topic - I believe your mention of Bordeaux actually referred to IsoAcoustics and not Stillpoints
I actually own a set of IsoAcoustics however they were purchased for a very light weight component. Let’s say I’m not a fan
I also own Stillpoints - Ultra SS - Stillpoints are one of the originals in this field and have been around forever. Don’t get me wrong, I like Stillpoints, however I suspect technology has moved on, especially with the specialized materials companies like HRS, Magico, Nordost, etc. are employing
In all honesty I am leaning towards first trying HRS Vortex. As I currently employ a HRS rack and they are designed to work in conjunction with, and build upon, the foundation already established, it seems like a logical starting point.
The purpose of the thread was to understand how many were supplementing their high end racks with footers, versus simply stopping and not proceeding any further
Gregg, one other option, as in my Vivaldi stack setup, is to use isolation platform under each dCS component, instead of specialized footers. I use Symposium platforms on each shelf of my Solid Tech rack.
Thanks Anup however I prefer not to get bogged down by adding yet another isolation shelf. It is actually an option offered by HRS as well.
Last night I ordered a set of HRS VORTEX footers and two 9.5 inch thick damping plates. If I am happy with what they do (I highly anticipate I will be) I will then order two more sets for the rest of the Vivaldi boxes.
I will also use the opportunity to try everything underneath the DarTZeel preamp and amp - even though ChatGPT is recommending I leave the amplifier alone
