A world first? Passive v active isolation platforms test

Peter, the changes here have been so radical, that each seem invaluable compared to the next
Remember also that the comparison to my last room are beyond night and day
New room acoustics > power delivery
When I set up in the new room, I didn't have my dedicated lines installed, and just used El Cheapo PCs straight into domestic wall sockets
On a non optimised system w old set of amps, things were already well in advance of London
So, sub par power, but my room was already dominant as an impvt
And this impvt was staggering, w warm extended non lumpy bass, and smooth non sharp treble, and proper see thru mids for the first time
I would have been truly happy to step off right there
Then dedicated lines, 8kVA balanced pwr, and my chosen US plug Sablon Reserva PCs went in, plus US plug Furutech duplexes
Now a big impvt in bass and dynamics, w the room still facilitating transparency, imaging, staging and overall air
I'd say on balance room acoustics more critical than power, whereas in London where I was oblivious to acoustics (and would have struggled to address this anyhow), power was king
Interestingly Entreq grounding is of more marginal value, again v decisive in London
I believe this is because the power is quiet and pure here already, in London was seriously adulterated, and Entreq somewhat surplus to requirements
Shun Mooks great in London, abs a negative here
I believe because they maxxed resonance band warmth which masked my previous room coldness, but euphonic and counterproductive here
And so finally active Kuraka and passive Stacore trial
Kuraka in final analysis seems a little coloured/unsuited to my room, but Stacore up there w acoustics in its overarching effects
I genuinely believe the Stacore is the final link in room acoustics rather than being a "seperate" upgrade like pwr, and so feels equally radical
And the way I rate it is that room acoustics provide the flow and air, the Stacore completes the effect by sifting low level gloopiness and haze
So room acoustics and Stacore interchangeable/interlinked > power grid
I really can't easily seperate acoustics and Stacore
But if I had to decide, Stacore wouldn't shine as much w'out the room treatment
Barry's set up suggestions Im still taking in, but things much more relaxed and mid hall which I like
So let's conclude
Room acoustics > Stacore >> power grid >>Barrys setup tips >>>>>> Entreq grounding

XV, in London I was surrounded by multiple broadband and light industry, booster aerials etc
My nominal 230V fluctuated +/-7% moment to moment
Balanced pwr was a Godsend
It's of less use in my new low population/purely domestic area, but when I bypass it natural warmth and bass heft drops off

Mike, thanks for the supportive comments
These two Stacores may just be the start
There's a good possibility there will be an accumulative effect here Stacore-ing cdp, pre, monos, even my Zus in due course
The way I see it is that I've got components synergy, acoustics, and pwr sorted, this avenue feels like a bit of a final frontier solution, esp w my overall flr dimensions being 35 X 55, flr borne vibrations must be a major factor, and Stacore is the best solution yet I've tried
Certainly better than active in my situation

About to fire off a second order
This will enable me to put 165kg capacity Stacore Basic PLUS under my 85kg bpt, and test the 65kg Advanced under cdp, pre, pre psu, in turn, ahead of going permanently under my tt in time
This trial will really allow me to determine if the impvts of multiple isoln truly worthwhile

Theophile, thanks for the words of support
I'm as suprised as anyone by how powerful the effects of the Stacore is
My tt yet to be reinstalled, so reports on that will have to wait
But w second Stacore winging its way to me, testing under cdp, pre, and pre psu, is imminent

Second Stacore on its way
Time to try the Kuraka active back in the system
So Stacore passive under bpt, Kuraka now on flr under cdp
And unfortunately for my bank balance, isoln is again weaving its magic spell, giving more in addition to the ongoing effects of Stacore
So again a cleaning up and all round improving of bass leading to more intelligibility, a kind of uber neutral truthfulness, just reducing yet another significant barrier to fuller enjoyment
Abs no euphonic colouration, and it'll be fascinating to see when Stacore Adv arrives and I replace the Kuraka w it whether I get the impvt I heard doing the same initially uber bpt
I suspect I will
What I'm sure of now is that this expenditure, steep as it is, totally justified itself in my system but esp w my room and esp flr demands (my 18 X 38 space central on an existing 156 yr old 35 X 55 roof joist structure), and seems to be eliminating any natural energy build up/release, and flexy tendency

Next week Peter
Stacore in transit
Bad news for those like me trying to wrap up audio spending
Good news for those who want to get another elusive step closer to the music
In my room at any rate isolation platforms are truly radical
When Stacore 2 arrives, it'll go under cdp, and I'll test drive the Kuraka for final test under pre, and pre psu
I can really see myself putting all other spending aside to prioritise isolation platforms to all my gear
I hope my GF is not reading this LOL

Two Stacores in the listening room
Moved Stacore Basic Plus to under my balanced power transformer, and now able to a/b active Kuraka under cdp followed by tubed pre, versus passive Stacore Advanced under cdp followed by tubed pre
As with the transformer a/b, I started off with the Kuraka for an extended period under the cdp
And as with the transformer, the results were stellar
A pronounced drop in noise floor allowing baselines to emerge and really give music played real drive and emotion
Followed by a reduction in haze and graininess higher up
True increase in resolution, but no hint of edginess or over forensicness
Everything in its place, but revealed in full technicolor glory
As compared to the Kuraka under transformer, more emphasis on detail resolution, microdynamics and transparency, whereas isolation of the transformer produced more heightened bass heft, texture and dynamics
So, would replacing the active Kuraka with the passive Stacore Advanced under the cdp be as dramatic as doing the same with the transformer?
The answer, yes
Again, a moment of "meh" as a certain warmth is stripped away
Losing bass warmth always feels like a gamble that won't pay off
But again, mere seconds later, it's apparent that a whole set of improvements compared to the Kuraka is apparent, and this is not subtle
First of all stripping out euphonic lower midbass bloom just enables the bass to be truly articulate, and blend with the mids so much more organically
Counterintuitively ridding the bass of excessive bloom actually increases the feel of the bass as it begins much more to resemble live unamplified
This then opens everything further up to allow mids and treble to breathe and sparkle with less cloying from below
The great thing about all this is that it's a facet that brings life to previously over challenging hot mastered and brickwalled cds
Albums like Sanguine Hum "Diving Bell" have always felt strangled in the mastering suite
With the two Stacores in play to complement and extend the effects of my stellar acoustics and power grid, albums like this, while never going to be test demo material, become wholly intelligible and fantastically enjoyable
Truly homogenous wall of sound production melts into differentiated and delineated textures, and the souls of the musicians finally enter the listening room
On well recorded music, whole emotions really come to the fore
So, the Stacore Advanced a total triumph under the cdp, a level beyond active Kuraka
Moving onto the same a/b Stacore Advanced v Kuraka under pre, and it's more of the same
More veils lifted, less noise, more information, more emotion
All with the Kuraka, but a whole lot more with the Stacore
In summary, these changes are not subtle, they initially really make you sit up and take notice
Once that jolt of euphoria takes hold, you will rifle thru your record collection to unearth the musical messages previously hidden, disc after disc
I'm totally hooked, and my conclusion is that Stacore is in effect the final frontier to room acoustics improvements which have been phenomenal here, taking care of limiting factor of the floor contributing to noise floor and the components producing noise/vibrations as well
For me the expense I incurred in the room and what I will do with ongoing Stacores are on the same arrow

Thanks Ron
Stacore are really onto something v special indeed
To say I was a bit skeptical re their claims that broadband isolation was in many ways more critical than sub 1Hz isolation was an understatement
So imagine my total delight to have my doubts put to rest
It really does seem that their solutions on broadband attenuation are more vital for audiophile applications than simply isolating to below 1Hz in my experience of comparing the two
It's not even subtle

Jarek, v glad to fly the Stacore flag
It may be hard to believe from my words, but I went into the active v passive comparison strongly expecting active to win out
1- the data on sub 3Hz and sub 1Hz isoln suggested it
2- the findings from Mike Lavigne and Christian Rockitman have been nothing short of stellar
3- my week long trial just with the active Kuraka was wholly positive
4- the effort of getting 95kg 20' up my 40 spiral steps enough to make me curse Jarek LOL
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So for me, it was a truly amazing suprise for the passive Stacore to be not only better than active Kuraka, but better by a large margin, across more range of attributes, and critically beating the Kuraka at its own game ie even better in the bass, where all the positive reports on active contend its superior
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And a real pat on the back to Jarek and the team for going outside the box, and concentrating on getting the broadband isolation concept right, because I truly believe it's the Stacore superiority here over active isolation that really does make their approach vastly more superior for our audio needs