- . . I just bought 3. With the Iso-Pods I’ve determined that 3 sounds best under source components and preamps and 4 under amplifiers. . . and I just bought 3 of the Oreas.
So every time I don’t think this makes a difference on something that doesn’t spin…it does. I started getting the bug - and it usually is a slow process. Maybe something subliminal. I have my equip on racks w points w mdf boards. So I was reading about the IKEA boards as well. I go and get my own fairly massive cutting board and plop it under the Sr. w vibracones. And what the hell. If things didn’t sound swimmingly better. I’m sold. Off to get the 3 cutting boards under dac , pre, and amp. Please don’t tell me the PC needs one. 
I’ve heard of people doing cutting boards instead of Maple slabs but haven’t really looked into it yet. Are you using the thick bamboo one?
DS Jr. - Just picked up a set of Alto-Extremo Lyd-I (3-set).
http://www.alto-extremo.com/Products/Reference/reference.html
for me after trying many varieties of wood ans also glass and stones, the better result is the dac (and also amps) directly on the ground (concrete), so no decpoupling but coupling with great mass, ease sounding natural rich an
d comfortable.
Yes. But I have yet to get them. I will report back.
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So here is a question if anyone has tried it. I may have missed it above… I will be putting the cutting boards on the mdf w cones under the electronics. Has anyone put anything under the mdf?
I have my BHK 300’s sitting on two custom pads made from synthetic quartz countertop material. They have a lot of mass and you can get almost any colour cut to any size. I originally ordered them to keep hot amps off of my carpet for better cooling. Many years ago a friend of mine had Krell amps that seared his carpet. Their mass would help dampen any resonance.
So got the ikea bamboo cutting blocks. They look really nice. Looks almost like 3 layers w bamboo running in different directions between the layers. 1.25" thick and almost 8 lbs. Doing the knuckle rap test - compared to my Williams Sonoma maple board which is same thickness but larger - the sound is lower on the ikea boards.
I put the vibracones (all I got) under the DS - and things sound better. Bass, depth, clearer , music floats a bit more. I just laid the board over the mdf boards there.
I will put the other boards in when I get to it. I’ve got to move things etc…
Only 14.99 for the board. I recommend.
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It’s as though they sized them for the PS Audio footprint
@timm Sounds like you put in vibracones and the cutting board in at the same time? My guess is most of what you heard is probably from the vibracones. Just a hunch - only you can tell.
I’ve tried the IKEA Aptitlig cutting board. Nice looking piece of bamboo and indeed pretty sound dead when knocked on and perfect size for PS Audio gear. If one needs a board it’s something to consider. In my system, rack, room, and ears it didn’t make a difference. That is, not an obvious easily heard difference like the last two DS software upgrades.
You may also want to look at your rack if you haven’t done so already. Imo a solid dead rack is important and should be achieved first before layering on other tweaks. This is based on my experience which I’ll share next. Context: planar speakers on a pier & beam wooden floor - very little moving mass to couple back to the rack. That said, I can get the floor to (just) vibrate with dynamic bass tracks and turning up the volume to 80-isch dB at the listening position.
My rack is an el cheapo Walmart TV stand. Steel tubes and half inch thick MDF (HDF?) board. Tubes and boards used to ring when tapped. I’ve filled every tube with sand, drilling holes where needed and caulked all gaps and openings. It is stuffed to the gills. The boards I deadened by gluing an inch thick sandwich of hardboard and 3/4 inch birch plywood underneath. None of this is visible. Expecting a minor effect, the impact surprised me, easily in the ball park of a DS software upgrade if not more. Ie. noticeably better localization and imaging iow. more clear. In addition to this rack tweak the bamboo cutting board didn’t make a difference under the DS. Also didn’t hear a difference when combining DIY ball bearing & cups with the cutting board. At least, it wasn’t obvious to me. Swapping the tweaked rack’s spikes for tripod vibration suppression feet didn’t make a difference either. Even a PowerBase underneath the DS only brings a minor improvement though I haven’t really listened to it before/after. I may once the current sound is committed to memory. All this leads me to conclude that a solid rack is the first priority. Of course we all have different systems, software, room, and hearing – your experience may differ from mine. Btw you can use the accelerometers in your cell phone to measure vibrations and assess anti vibration solutions that way as well. Happy tweaking!
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How? I have an iPad Mini 2.
The app store should have a bunch when searching for accelerometer.
I’ve tried a few apps but it doesn’t appear the software is sensitive enough or I’m at the limit of the hardware to be of much help. If I crank up to 90db, sure, but I don’t listen at those pressures often.
Yes. You are right I did put the cones (el cheap cones) and the board down at the same time. So my logic could be faulty. But I’ve never heard differences w these cones on this rack before. (But haven’t used the cones under the dac before in this system).
My rack is tubes filled w sand as well … sand doesn’t add much weight. I have lead shot. Any opinion on adding more weight w lead shot vs sand?
the IKEA boards add a bit of weight - similar to you adding boards. I don’t know - I’ll keep fiddling.
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Just following up… how did the Isopods work out for you? Asking because I bought a few sets but found they sucked the bass out of my sound…
I’ve got the DS sitting on a 110 lb. slab of granite, which rests on sorbothane. I don’t think it’s going to vibrate much.
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Interesting. I find I may have lost a little bit of bass but I have the most totally balanced sound top to bottom than I’ve ever had with other footers and I have forsaken the others.
re lead shot vs. sand. I’m guessing lead only adds weight to reduce the resonant frequency of your rack. The speed of sound in sand is about 40 times lower than in steel which combined with the sands density and internal damping impedes the ringing of the steel. Speed of sound in lead will be closer to steel, providing less impedance to ringing but maybe leads higher density more than counters that? Don’t know. Assuming the two aforementioned effects cancel then the only benefit of lead is reduced resonance frequency of the rack due to added weight. The lower this frequency the better so adding weight is good but it is diminishing returns. Eg. adding 10 lbs to a 50 lbs rack has about double the effect compared to adding 10 lbs to a 100 lbs rack. In the end the question is: Can you hear it? You can try it by placing your lead shot on the rack and listen if it makes a difference.
To give you some idea: This video about their speaker insulation platform by Townshend Audio shows visually how vibrations damp quicker in one speaker vs. the other when tapped or when he stamps on the floor. If a tap damps out quicker that indicates that vibrations induced by music should be less as well.
(BTW Notice that the background noise in the vibration of both speakers looks the same. That is either the sensor’s noise or the building’s noise or a combination of both.)
On my android phone I use Vibration Meter with sensitivity set to max in the Calibration menu. Graphically it shows the same as youtube video linked above in a single graph. It also computes a mean and max value. Values are reset by a double tap on the graph. Nice feature is that it waits a second or so before it resumes measuring so your taps on the phone/tablet don’t muck up the measurement.
You’ll need a source of vibration. That could be music but as you noted needs to be loud (not efficient). Easier is a tap on the floor by you or a helper ideally in a consistent repeatable fashion eg. drop a heavy ball from the same height.