Ultra SSs should do the trick. 5s would be overkill and unlikely to deliver any discernible difference.
Incredible Stillpoints
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Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
They don't do it for that other side
But they do it anyways for me
Paul and Bruce from Stillpoints rocks!!
But they do it anyways for me
Paul and Bruce from Stillpoints rocks!!
Yes, all the adapters we offer, save for the short M6, are custom machined at local shops. We do classify some as standard offerings and have them made in large batches to hold costs down. We have made small batches for odd sizes. Costs have to be passed on to the consumer and most of these small batches result in a per adapter retail between $30 and $40.
Cheers for the feedback.I will give the Ultra SS a go for my two digital components!
Stump
I have ultra ss under my dac/trans and tried Ultra 5, so yes it is from experience. Ultra 5 provided nominal improvement over the Ultra SS under this combo. As always, YMMV.
They work well with my DCS Puccini but the advice I had from the UK distributor was to start with the power amp/preamp which was what I did to noticeable good effect so you may wish to experiment with your system. I also put Ultra SSs under my YG Carmels and the improvement was immediately apparent and good. I now have Ultra SSs and Minimus under nearly all of my system excluding the Townshend Rock V which has its own very good isolation and a base which doesn't lend itself to Stillpoints. The Minimus work perfectly well under lighter components.
I installed Stillpoints under my Wilson Alexias yesterday. I tried them 2x before but quickly removed them because I heard at least one negative effect and I was trying to evaluate other equipment at the time. Now that my system has stabilized I thoiught I'd try them again. I had interesting results.
First I had to remove them from under my amplifiers (I have no stands for my Pass XA160.8's yet and was using Stillpoints to try and tighten up the bass). I then listened to the system without the Stillpoints under the amps to get a feel for the difference. The bass wasn't as focused - it was a little wider and a tad diffuse by comparison. I would have preferred to put them back but only had so many Stillpoints to go around so I inserted some Rollerblock Jr's in the meantime.
Installed the Stillpoints under the Alexias. I noticed that they are much lower than with the spikes - about 1/2". This alone is going to make a difference in the bass so keep that in mind.
Here's the differences I noted - and they aren't subtle:
1) More bloom in the midrange. I feel the midrange is thicker and images are larger as well.
2) Softer transients all around. Whether it's bass, percussion, drums/cymbals, vocals - everything is softer.
3) Smoother highs
4) Less deep bass. The new Pass XA160.8's (similar presentation to the XS-150) has a lot of deep bass energy. There is much less with the Stillpoints.
5) Slower bass (decrease in PRaT).
My overall feeling is that I'm listening to tubes (before Pass I was using Doshi electronics). Between the softer sound, blooming midrange and softer, less punchier bass, it's a very tube like presentation. It's very easy to listen to but I admit I'm somewhat bothered by what sounds like a less than snappy rhythm section.
What I'm hearing makes sense to me from a technical perspective. Since the speaker cabinet is no longer anchored, it is no longer rigid during fast woofer movements causing the bass to be slurred. It's almost like a slight chorus or doubling effect - sound is thicker but slightly smeared. Very musical for the midrange and highs but perhaps not so much for a tight articulate foundation.
A plus is that it definitely reduces floor resonance. Besides having a 30hz node in my room, the floor vibrates with deep bass and it's now doing that a LOT less. I have to wonder if the PRaT issues I'm hearing would be much reduced with heavier speakers (Wilson X2's etc).
Anyways, I don't know if I will keep them under my speakers yet but thought I'd share what my findings were.
First I had to remove them from under my amplifiers (I have no stands for my Pass XA160.8's yet and was using Stillpoints to try and tighten up the bass). I then listened to the system without the Stillpoints under the amps to get a feel for the difference. The bass wasn't as focused - it was a little wider and a tad diffuse by comparison. I would have preferred to put them back but only had so many Stillpoints to go around so I inserted some Rollerblock Jr's in the meantime.
Installed the Stillpoints under the Alexias. I noticed that they are much lower than with the spikes - about 1/2". This alone is going to make a difference in the bass so keep that in mind.
Here's the differences I noted - and they aren't subtle:
1) More bloom in the midrange. I feel the midrange is thicker and images are larger as well.
2) Softer transients all around. Whether it's bass, percussion, drums/cymbals, vocals - everything is softer.
3) Smoother highs
4) Less deep bass. The new Pass XA160.8's (similar presentation to the XS-150) has a lot of deep bass energy. There is much less with the Stillpoints.
5) Slower bass (decrease in PRaT).
My overall feeling is that I'm listening to tubes (before Pass I was using Doshi electronics). Between the softer sound, blooming midrange and softer, less punchier bass, it's a very tube like presentation. It's very easy to listen to but I admit I'm somewhat bothered by what sounds like a less than snappy rhythm section.
What I'm hearing makes sense to me from a technical perspective. Since the speaker cabinet is no longer anchored, it is no longer rigid during fast woofer movements causing the bass to be slurred. It's almost like a slight chorus or doubling effect - sound is thicker but slightly smeared. Very musical for the midrange and highs but perhaps not so much for a tight articulate foundation.
A plus is that it definitely reduces floor resonance. Besides having a 30hz node in my room, the floor vibrates with deep bass and it's now doing that a LOT less. I have to wonder if the PRaT issues I'm hearing would be much reduced with heavier speakers (Wilson X2's etc).
Anyways, I don't know if I will keep them under my speakers yet but thought I'd share what my findings were.
Great, detailed feedback. Just asking the obvious...are you totally happy with how solidly each Ultra 5 sits under the Alexia? With 4 feet and even a slight warble in the floor surface, or one screw turn higher/lower than the others and with one leg having slightly less weight than the others (which can happen with 4 legs), and one can definitely end up with a soft diffuse feel...because as you say the vibration control is weakened by the wobbliness...and yet the four feet will still provide some insulation from the floor reverb.
The reason I ask is because the effect you describe is not consistent with the comments from a lot of people who have them under their Wilsons (incl Bruce who has Alexias as well). BTW, I am NOT saying you're wrong (AT ALL!)...I am simply asking to ensure you get what you want out of this experiment. Nothing is perfect, and maybe Ultra 5s just are a little off for your system. I am just respectfully double-checking, that's all.
(I have to admit, I 'cheated' since the Distributor came to set mine up which made things a lot easier.)
Also, FWIW, I just tried a 4th Ultra 5 under my Zanden transport, but decided against it when I realized the 4th had a lot less weight on it (it slid back and forth too easily), and I did not feel like shifting all 4 feet around and around until the weight distribution was even across all the feet.
A problem may be the floor. I'm not sure but I think Bruce's floor is not suspended? My own experience suggests that Stillpoints work better under speakers if there is a firm floor under them, which makes sense from an analysis of the physics as well. As well, one simply has to try them in both orientations to know which sounds better.
No worries about offending me, Lloyd. I made sure to level the bottom cabinet before placing the upper unit back on top, so I think all four Stillpoints have equal weight.
I have to say, I wouldn't think that the smearing of bass notes would be that unusual given the movement between the upper and lower parts of the Stillpoint.
I'm using the Wilson adapters so I can't try them in the other orientation. My floor is definitely suspended and NOT solid so maybe that's part of it.
Got it...but I have to say, I think the Ultra 5s are meant to absorb that movement/vibration.
BTW, I am told that the Royal Academy of Music in London has just announced that all pianos at the Academy are to be installed with Stillpoints Ultra 5s now. Cool!
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