[hifiman5]

   I just completed a project to eliminate as much micro-vibration as possible from my system.  I used a 1.6mm. grungebuster sheet to treat my SACD player, phono preamp, tube preamp and poweramp.  One sheet!  I started with the Marantz SA 8005 SACD player.  This endeavor took about 2 1/2 hours.  Time well spent.  After opening the unit, I began to cut and place a self-adhesive small piece of grungebuster on every transistor, capacitor and resistor in the unit.  I would estimate about 75 tiny pieces.  This can be done even by "Butter-fingers" me with a tweazers and patience.  I did the same to the other three pieces mentioned above.  In the power amp I only treated the main circuit board as my amp runs pretty hot.

I emailed Steve after I did this to tell him about the great benefits realized by this project.  Everything is cleaner and clearer.  That nagging digital "glaze" that seemed ubiquitous is gone.  Gone.  Here's the thing...  you know that electronic haze that reminds you that you're listening to reproduced music, well it is gone too.  Unbelievable!  Don't get me wrong, it is still not live musicians in my listening room, but it is so much closer to that ultimate sonic ideal.

So then I start thinking about my VPI Scout turntable.  Steve recommends cone/spike puckies under the 4 cones and extra thick small grungebuster dots under the rubber feet of the outboard power supply.  They come I install them, level everything out and start listening.  Crazy stuff, this hobby of ours.  The first revelation was how much more powerful the bass was and how the music had "jump" to it like never before.  I played Spandau Ballet, clean and "true".  Next Blood Sweat & Tears, Alison Kraus and Union Station and right now, John Coltrane's Giant Steps LP.  Crazy.  All of the aforementioned characteristics are there with every album so far. 

My sincere thanks to Steve Herbelin for making such great products available at insanely reasonable prices.  I truly felt guilty about what I got out of a  $25 sheet of Grungebuster. 

I just wanted to share the joy with others who might appreciate my glee.  Thank God I retired recently and can arrange for extended listening sessions.

All the best!

[mresseguie]

Awesome! Someday, I would like to try this with some of my equipment.

Thanks for posting this.

Michael

[Markd51]

I Herbie-ized my heavily modded VPI HW-19 Turntable to death, and it was a wise move.

Grungebuster Dots, Washers, and Tenderfeet under the SAMA Motor, replacing the wimpy stock tiny rubber feet, Tall Firm Tenderfeet under the Plinth, with 44mm Grungebuster Discs, replacing the stock Sorbothane Suspension pucks, Grungebusters under the AudioPoint Cone Feet Coupling Discs, and new Herbies Brass Coupling Discs with DB Neuralizers under the SRA Iso Base's Spiked Feet.  And some others (washers and discs) were used elsewhere here and there on the SAMA Drive Motor, the Pulley Cover, etc.

These mods brought a much better neutrality to the Table that wasn't there before.  it helped bring out the best of the Table, the Tonearm, and a ZYX Airy 3X SB MC Cartridge.

It seemed that coloration was lessened, Many micro-vibrations and haze were lessened, that a $600 SRA Iso V-3.0 Base couldn't do by itself.

Those Herbie mods I feel have taken the Table to about as far as it could ever go for what it is.

[jriggy]

This thread needs pics!

I'd love to see what a lil piece of grungebuster looks like within your pre and/or power amp! 

[hifiman5]

Sorry jriggy,

No pics this time.  That would take away from my listening time and not really help your appreciation of the project.  Picture lots of tiny squares of beige grungebuster material adhered to virtually every component in every piece I mentioned.  Like I said it takes some time but the benefits are incredible.  As a few more days have passed, my appreciation for the subtleties in the music have grown.  I am becoming a more attentive listener as very subtle details are now revealed.  I am hearing this now as I listen to the soundtrack of Season 4 Game of Thrones.  An audiophile showoff disc well crafted by Rawmin Djawadi!

All the best,

Phil

[DaveC113]

I've done the same with my DIY amp and preamp, along with using thick wool felt as gaskets for mounting trafos, silicon and grungebuster on caps and other components. It does help imo.

[jriggy]

Sorry jriggy,

No pics this time.  That would take away from my listening time and not really help your appreciation of the project. 

All the best,

Phil

But but...it WOULD it would! I would totally appreciate it more.  I promise!   

I'm wondering your scale to object and what you did, and even more, didn't do.

[Packgrog]

Sorry for the thread necro, but one of my tweaks feels particularly relevant here...

I got a Scout Jr. not too long ago, and noticed that the top plate of the older style motor pod rings like a bell when tapped. I checked to see if that made a difference during music playback by touching the motor pod top plate with my finger. Even when using small diameter thick grungebuster dots in place of the stock feet, this did indeed make a difference. There was a significant non-electrical hum that cleared up when I touched the top plate.

So since I had a sheet of thin grungebuster material laying around from other tweak attempts, I took some of the scraps and placed some between the top and bottom plates of the pod, both where they screw together, which get viced together, and at the bottom edge of the hidden side, which also winds up tightening just enough. This actually made for a very significant improvement in clarity.

I don't know if the newer round motor pods need any similar tweaking, but I highly recommend trying this if you have one of the older style VPI motor pods. It may not be pretty, but it's quite effective.



Now I just need to figure out an improvement for the stock Delrin cone steel tipped feet. Ditch the felt washers between feet and plinth and get the puckies?