So I have bought 12 Tenderfoot, 8 for my Cayin HA-300 tube amp since it’s two chassis, and 4 for my PS Audio Power Plant 3 regenerator. So first thing I notice is that it shifted the EQ downward, a bit more impact in the midbass and lower treble, but I feel some of the higher mid/treble has receded and lost some sparkle.
The question is, should I get rid off the one Tenderfoots under my 300b tube amp or Power Plant 3 line conditioner?
Rest of my system is Chord Hugo TT2 Dac on one end and Audeze LCD-3F headphones on the other end.
I tried the Tenderfeet under my P12, DS DAC and Moon amp and initially the sound was similar to the VibraPods with cones that I’ve used for years. However, after a few days, I realized the sound had clearly gotten worse - I believe the Tenderfeet compressed over time and became less effective. So, one component at a time over a number of days, I replaced the Tenderfeet with the VibraPods with cones, and the micro dynamics, etc came back. Although I’m not thrilled with the cones not gripping the chassis, I keep finding the VibraPods work well for me, especially for the price.
I also found that the stock PS Audio rubber feet compress over a few days so each time I’ve bought a PS Audio unit (have 3), my initial installation with no isolation was deemed to be inadequate and I had to dig in my box of spares to assemble another set of VibraPods. I’m using home built baltic birch plywood cabinets with double laminated shelves and sides so they are not vibration free, yet fairly solid.
You might try placing a maple disc between the Tenderfeet and shelf, I found some on amazon about 2" diameter and 3/16" . . . these should brighten up the sound of the Tenderfeet. I don’t believe unless you are abusing the weight limit these are compressed, this is really just their sound, they are great for taming brightness, but. . . .
Herbie’s has discontinued their best product for components imo: the Iso-Cup. I’m glad I have a lot of these!
So two things really improved the sound overall. I turned the Tenderfoots under the HA-300 amp around so that the wide base like a pyramid instead of an inverted pyramid.
That helped bring back the energy back up that I was missing.
I tried doing the same thing to the ones under the Power Plant 3, but that made it loose a bit too much bass. What actually made it better is to take those Tenderfoot and plate them under my HUGO TT2 DAC with wide base touching the ground.
Now I have a lot better extension on both treble and bass while still having a strong, textured bass impact. The microdynamics is not only back, but I think it’s now tighter and better than all the combinations I’ve tried.
I’m going to buy 4 more Tenderfoot and see if it will add anything to the Power Plant 3 in either normal or inverted orientation.