Rhodium Gold IEC outlets. They are so good that once a PC is used it is difficult to remove as it is so firmly in place
Doctor's Orders-Part Two-The New Listening Room Of Steve Williams
- Thread starter Steve Williams
- Start date
Rhodium Gold IEC outlets. They are so good that once a PC is used it is difficult to remove as it is so firmly in place
Hi Steve,
I see -- you are referring to the Furutech outlet receptacles. There is a gold and there is a rhodium. I don't see where there is a rhodium gold.
I see -- you are referring to the Furutech outlet receptacles. There is a gold and there is a rhodium. I don't see where there is a rhodium gold.
FWIW I haven't posted much in the last week due to my surgery. Over the past several months those who have been reading this blog know that not only have I drunk the Shunyata Kool Aid but so also have I jumped on the Stillpoints band wagon since removing the Wilson spikes to my speakers and using Ultra 5s. The change in sound was something I was not prepared for. As a result I am going to take this project a little further. I have unopened in boxes in my sound room another 12 Ultra 5s which arrived the day of my surgery. My plan is to initially use 3 under each amp and 3 under each power supply. If there isn't an audible difference under the power supplies I will move those 6 under my fathom subs.
I am as well Christian. I'm talking under each power supply. If it is then I will order 6 more Ultra 5s for my subs ( thanks to your suggestions
)
)
I am as well Christian. I'm talking under each power supply. If it is then I will order 6 more Ultra 5s for my subs ( thanks to your suggestions
After you have them under the PS's and like them, when you get the 6 for the subs, try them under the amp gain stages first to see if you get additional benefit. If so, you only have to buy 6 more for the subs...
they add up quick.Hi Steve, sorry to hear about the surgery...sounded pretty awful. As for Ultra 5s, my two cents since I have them under amps and sub:
1. For me, they work
2. 3 vs 4 underneath can make a difference...I ended up with 4 under power components and sub after hours of experimentation...but felt 3 was perfectly fine under the transport.
3. The placement underneath the unit makes a big difference in the case of my power supplies. Beveled side up (directly under the component) in all cases, but not always underneath in the same spots...tonal qualities and clarity will change.
Note I had a great equipment rack but no other component isolation. Now I have every single box isolated under plus mass damping on top. The total cost is vastly less than a speaker upgrade, and the transformation has been fun over the last year.
Good luck.
Lloyd.
I knew you would chime in and thanks for the suggestions. You're killing me however with 4 are better than 3 under the amps. How about the power supplies. When I first looked at doing this I felt 4 under each box would be vest. My problem is that my amp is dual mono dual power supply which would mandate using 16 Ultra 5s. This can become very costly. As I said I have 12 sitting unopened in a box waiting for me to get mobile.
I knew you would chime in and thanks for the suggestions. You're killing me however with 4 are better than 3 under the amps. How about the power supplies. When I first looked at doing this I felt 4 under each box would be vest. My problem is that my amp is dual mono dual power supply which would mandate using 16 Ultra 5s. This can become very costly. As I said I have 12 sitting unopened in a box waiting for me to get mobile.
I don' necessarily agree that 4 is better than 3. I started with 4 under my amps...guess what, the bottom isn't perfectly level thus one of the 4 never Made full contact. With 3 in a tripod config, you are guaranteed equal pressure on all three devices. Now if you are threading them into the amp footers with adapters, perhaps then you can adjust for even pressure on all four. As you know, ultra 5's cannot be height adjusted save for using the footer option or threading them into where the stock feet are and adjusting the screw in length accordingly.
Gents,
Totally agree that 4 not properly 'balanced' underneath is likely not as effective as 3 solidly placed Ultra 5s. That is why I had to play around with the placement so that all 4 locked. If I look underneath, they are not perfectly symmetrical underneath...each of the 4 being slightly adjusted to have a tight fit underneath. Further, under most of my stuff, I also use HRS nimbus/couplers on TOP of the Ultra 5 because doing so brought the tonal qualities back to where I originally had it before the ULtra 5s...but now with the tremendous added clarity that makes the Ultra 5 so addictive (for me). Those Nimbus Couplers having an elastomer also probably helps a bit in terms of being able to get a tight fit underneath for each of the 4 footers. Just my two cents. Again, good luck, Steve! Every system is different, and your entire room has been custom-designed as well, so most curious as to what you find.
Steve
A bit of reading on Stillpoints and placement under amps...http://www.theaudiobeat.com/letters.htm. The letter on Audiobeat is about placement under an amp, and then there is a link to an article in the letter.
A bit of reading on Stillpoints and placement under amps...http://www.theaudiobeat.com/letters.htm. The letter on Audiobeat is about placement under an amp, and then there is a link to an article in the letter.
I have an Anaconda 20A from wall to my Triton. I also have 3 Anaconda umbilicals from Typhon to Triton and in 2 in same AC Duplex as my amps
Seems Stillpoints is the topic of conversation at WBF this weekend. To that extent as you all know I have drunk the Stillpoints Kool Aid when I inserted 4 Ultra 5's under each of my Wilson X2 Series 2 speakers. Frankly I wasn't expecting what I heard and I have been recently swayed to try Stillpoints under my amps, subwoofers and front end gear.This is not an inexpensive thing to do and I felt I was going to take this on in stages.
I ordered another 12 Ultra 5's which arrived on my doorstep on July 9th which was the day I underwent right knee replacement surgery. I arrived home 2 days later and for the next 2 weeks these Ultra 5's sat neatly in my listening room. It wasn't until3 days ago that my son visited from Los Angeles and he was able to remove my very old 8 Aurios MIB (4 under each amp) and installed 6 Ultra 5's ( 3 under each amp). When I was at THE Show in Newport last month I was talking to Bruce Jacobs from Stillpoints as to the best location of inserting these Ultra 5's. I must admit that initially I was considering 4 under each amp and 4 under each power supply ( my amp is dual mono dual power supply), a total of 16 which is not an inexpensive proposition. Bruce initially suggest 3 for my amps, one under each transformer at the back of the amp and one under the front of each amp channel. Unfortunately my power supplies for each channel have 4 transformers at the back of the amp. I was not prepared to go to the expense of using 5 Ultra 5's under my power supplies due to the cost. Bruce then suggested trying to place an Ultra 5 under the seam of 2 transformers to maximize the benefit.
I never had Aurios under my amp's power supplies so placing Stillpoints was going to be a first
I had my son initially place three ultra 5's under each amp channel, 2 in the rear under each transformer and one in the front. We then sat down to listen and once again I was immediately aware of a more articulate bottom end and midrange. The degrees of magnitude of change however was NOT in the same order as when I placed Ultra 5's under my speakers. That was a jaw dropping experience. I would say that the bass and midrange was better than when the Aurios were under the amps. Was it a change for the better? Definitely yes.I was asking myself however if it was worth the extra $$$$ to switch from Aurios to Ultra 5's and I was uncertain until I had my son now place the other 6 Ultra 5's under each power supply and listened again that the magic appeared.
Initial attempts at placing the Ultra 5's under the junctions of the 4 transformers was unsuccessful as it necessitated the Ultra 5's be placed almost under the middle of each amp and this adversely affected the balance of the amps as the weight of the rear 2 transformers caused the amps to fall backwards. Consequently I have the 2 rear Ultra 5 Stillpoints under the 2 rear most transformers but none under the 2 closer transformers. This is not ideal IMO and I intend to play with the position of these 2 rear Ultra 5's when I am more mobile
For now however I can say that the benefits of placing Stillpoints under each power supply was the icing on the cake as listening to the same tracks confirmed my thoughts that the deep bass, mid bass and mid range was just so much tighter and far more articulate than before.I've never understood how improving the bottom end also pays dividends in midrange improvements but it did.Everything just sounds better
Next part of the experiment will be to use Stillpoints under my Fathom subs and here too I am leaning towards 3 rather than 4 under the subs however I do plan on trying 4 just to rule out which sounds better.
Finally I will try some under my CD transport and possibly under the power supplies to my preamp but now the owner of 20 Ultra 5's and thinking of buying another 6-8 for under my subs these things add up really quickly.
I am also wanting to try Stillpoints under my Triton and 3 Typhons but not until the other components have been addressed.
All in all I can say unequivocally that the use of Stillpoints or similar under audio components can make a shocking improvement in the sound one hears from his system.
Highly recommended once again
I ordered another 12 Ultra 5's which arrived on my doorstep on July 9th which was the day I underwent right knee replacement surgery. I arrived home 2 days later and for the next 2 weeks these Ultra 5's sat neatly in my listening room. It wasn't until3 days ago that my son visited from Los Angeles and he was able to remove my very old 8 Aurios MIB (4 under each amp) and installed 6 Ultra 5's ( 3 under each amp). When I was at THE Show in Newport last month I was talking to Bruce Jacobs from Stillpoints as to the best location of inserting these Ultra 5's. I must admit that initially I was considering 4 under each amp and 4 under each power supply ( my amp is dual mono dual power supply), a total of 16 which is not an inexpensive proposition. Bruce initially suggest 3 for my amps, one under each transformer at the back of the amp and one under the front of each amp channel. Unfortunately my power supplies for each channel have 4 transformers at the back of the amp. I was not prepared to go to the expense of using 5 Ultra 5's under my power supplies due to the cost. Bruce then suggested trying to place an Ultra 5 under the seam of 2 transformers to maximize the benefit.
I never had Aurios under my amp's power supplies so placing Stillpoints was going to be a first
I had my son initially place three ultra 5's under each amp channel, 2 in the rear under each transformer and one in the front. We then sat down to listen and once again I was immediately aware of a more articulate bottom end and midrange. The degrees of magnitude of change however was NOT in the same order as when I placed Ultra 5's under my speakers. That was a jaw dropping experience. I would say that the bass and midrange was better than when the Aurios were under the amps. Was it a change for the better? Definitely yes.I was asking myself however if it was worth the extra $$$$ to switch from Aurios to Ultra 5's and I was uncertain until I had my son now place the other 6 Ultra 5's under each power supply and listened again that the magic appeared.
Initial attempts at placing the Ultra 5's under the junctions of the 4 transformers was unsuccessful as it necessitated the Ultra 5's be placed almost under the middle of each amp and this adversely affected the balance of the amps as the weight of the rear 2 transformers caused the amps to fall backwards. Consequently I have the 2 rear Ultra 5 Stillpoints under the 2 rear most transformers but none under the 2 closer transformers. This is not ideal IMO and I intend to play with the position of these 2 rear Ultra 5's when I am more mobile
For now however I can say that the benefits of placing Stillpoints under each power supply was the icing on the cake as listening to the same tracks confirmed my thoughts that the deep bass, mid bass and mid range was just so much tighter and far more articulate than before.I've never understood how improving the bottom end also pays dividends in midrange improvements but it did.Everything just sounds better
Next part of the experiment will be to use Stillpoints under my Fathom subs and here too I am leaning towards 3 rather than 4 under the subs however I do plan on trying 4 just to rule out which sounds better.
Finally I will try some under my CD transport and possibly under the power supplies to my preamp but now the owner of 20 Ultra 5's and thinking of buying another 6-8 for under my subs these things add up really quickly.
I am also wanting to try Stillpoints under my Triton and 3 Typhons but not until the other components have been addressed.
All in all I can say unequivocally that the use of Stillpoints or similar under audio components can make a shocking improvement in the sound one hears from his system.
Highly recommended once again
Congrats, Steve. Very happy to hear. I admit when I first started with Ultra 5s for the electronics (ie, after they went under the X1s), I initially assumed Transport...and the distributor advised Power Conditioner and Power supplies...sure enough, it was a great improvement. The Transport ended up last, and while it is better with Ultra 5s...I would say the improvement was actually least here in comparison with the PSUs and Power Conditioner.
It sounds like you may continue to perfect the configuration/add a few more Ultra 5s in select places...good luck and enjoy.
It sounds like you may continue to perfect the configuration/add a few more Ultra 5s in select places...good luck and enjoy.
My subs are always on rbbert. It just that they are playing from 16-42Hz with the master volume on the subs down sufficiently that the subs don't adversely affect the room frequency response
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