So, I was considering trying to upgrade the sound of my CD player(Rotel RCD-951) by purchasing an external DAC, something like the Musical Fidelity X-DAC V3. Got to talking to some audio guys, found out that essentially the Sony transport in the Rotel player is not going to cut the mustard if you really want to get the full benefit out of a good quality DAC.
The next phase then, was to consider a new all in one player. A dealer suggested that the Rotel player is actually quite excellent sounding on it's own, so go large if you're considering doing an upgrade. This led me to the Arcam FMJ CD23T which incorporates a scaled down version of the DCS Ring DAC which is apparently the best thing since sliced bread. Even at dealer cost however, this was a fairly pricy proposition. Found a used player that I missed out on which put the brakes on that idea.
Now then, I came to the conclusion that rather than dropping hundreds or thousands of dollars on a new player that I should consider tweaking my current player to try and get that edge that I was looking for. The concept of isolation is a rediculously convoluted one when you get to reading about it, everything from very solid and heavy platforms, to rubbery ones(sorbothane), to very light but rigid platforms and cones, to boxes filled with sand or bicycle tubes and the list goes on and on... Many of these cost hundreds of dollars and each product claims to be the best thing since sliced bread. So, I was just about to go out and spend some dough on either a platform or some new high tech feet for my player when I came across some interesting info about people trying out different types of stone to isolate a source unit from vibrations.
Apparently, marble has a ring to it and resonates in and of itself, but granite does so even less and it was suggested that slate was a superior material because it is relatively light and stiff while at the same time being more acoustically dead than many other materials.
So then, I happened to have a bunch of pieces of 1/2" rainbow slate in my garage leftover from a couple years back. I grabbed three pieces approximately 5" X 10", with the intent to place one under the left side of the player, one under the right and one directly above the transport. Grabbed a disc that I would consider a good reference, Dire Straits "On Every Street" as well as my girlfriend so that she could help to determine wether I was nuts or not when I tried this out. As it turned out, when the slate was added above and below the player, this made WAY more than just a noticable difference, as my lovely assistant was able to confirm for me. Huge increase in detail, much better imaging and soundstage overall, even a noticed increase in overall punchiness volume wise. You would sware that you just swapped players out for one costing at least twice the relative cost of the Rotel. Next we tried some cork discs that we had lying around which made the player sound completely soft and mushy...
I then immediately ran out to the garage to get some more slate to toss under the turntable(Rega P3) which showed a much more subtle difference, but slightly better imaging all the same. This is not to say that this method will work for every person in every room, but the point is that you can dramatically affect the performance of your source units with a bit of playing around. Needless to say, I'll be keeping the Rotel in line for awile longer...
Topic: Isolation Revelations... (Read 3618 times)