[AliG]

For the past 1 months I have been busy testing out various isolation pucks, I have tried these (Finite Elemente Cerabase $720 for a set of 3 and Cerapuc $390 for a set of 3)


and then these (shunmook Mpingo Ultra Diamond Isolator and Walker Audio Valid Points)


and these Aurios Pro Max


I have bought these: (From the right is the Alto-Extremo Lyd II, middle are two myrtlewood cuboids, and on the left is a puck made from Borneo Ironwood)


I tried all of these under my CDP, preamp, and amp, these equipments originally sit on 2 inch thick maple platforms. I found that it doesn't really matter where I put these isolation devices, the effects they have on the overall sound are very similar.

The only one that didn't make any improvement over the maple platform is the myrtlewood cuboid, the bass became bloated.

The rest all improves over the maple platform, the bass become tighter to different degrees, the balance between midrange and high frequency changes as well.

The Finite Elemente Cerabase and Cerapuc sounded very similar, except that the Cerabase give more bass than the Cerapuc. They clean up and sound really well, I hear less distortion, less noise floor, it's like wiping off a dirty windows.

The Shun Mook UDR, relative to the Cerabase, sounded a little less metalic, but the bass isn't as authoritative as the Cerabase.

The Walker gives even less bass than the Shun Mook.

The Aurios Pro Max sounded relatively muddy in the bass, the midrange become more pronounced,  human vocal jump out 2 feet closer to the listening position.

The Alto-Extremo Lyd II is not as neutral as the Cerabase, it has more bass (100 Hz and below) than the Cerabase, the high seemed a little roll-off. It's add extra sense of dynamic to the sound.

The biggest surprise of all is that the Borneo Ironwood blocks sounds the best in my system, outperforming the much more expensive Cerabase and Shunmook. It has the same powerful bass as the Cerabase, but it doesn't have the metalic sound, in fact, it has the most 'organic' and natural sound of all. The Borneo Ironwood have scientific name "Eusideroxylon zwageri", it's 50% harder and denser than maple and it's one of the hardest wood on earth. This tree took 100 years to grow and can only be found in the island of Philipines, Malaysia and Indonesia. If you have friends in those countries, ask them to ship you some wood.. I think I am perhaps the only person in this country that use this kind of wood to make pucks.

Overall, this shoot-out represents another example that spending a lot of money in this hobby does not guarantee performance... aa aa aa

[lonewolfny42]

Barry....

Who closely did you have to listen to hear a difference ? Thanks....

[AliG]

you mean 'how' closely?

Not at all, the differences are very obvious. In less than 10 seconds I can tell the difference between them.

Barry....

Who closely did you have to listen to hear a difference ? Thanks....

[lonewolfny42]

OK....thanks Barry....

[Occam]

Ali,

What is the size, height & diameter of the ironwood pucks?

TIA,
Paul

[AliG]

Paul, it's 1.8 inch tall and 2 inch in diameter.

I took the pucks to a friend's house and I place the pucks between an Esoteric X-01 CDP and a Pagoda rack that looks like this


Surprise surprise... the pucks made the sound more focus and meaty

I am not saying that the ironwood pucks are the best in the world, but it certainly opened my eyes, and prevented me from spending $3k on a Pagoda..  aa

Ali,

What is the size, height & diameter of the ironwood pucks?

TIA,
Paul

[ipy]

alas, I was reading the subject & was hoping you would have included

..........
FWIW, I had an earlier version of the Aurios 1.2? & I did not detect any significant sonic difference between the 2 but the Symposium is easier to set-up....

[Big Red Machine]

Barry, ever try a "rubber" ball or hard ball and elastic base like a Herbie's?  Something more bouncy.  Technical enough for ya?

[rydenfan]

Have you tried the Harmonic Resolution Nimbus couples? I have heard excellent things about them and the damping plates. And their racks are supposed to be world class (but very pricey).

http://www.avisolation.com/nimbus.html

[bluemike]

I've had some very good results with Ebony
Hard to find but worth searching imo

[Philistine]

Barry, ever try a "rubber" ball or hard ball and elastic base like a Herbie's?  Something more bouncy.  Technical enough for ya?

Another AC member (I don't claim any credit or take responsibility) introduced me to Sad (Unhappy) Balls from Arbor Scientific:
http://www.arborsci.com/detail.aspx?ID=362

Made from Norsorex:
http://www.arborsci.com/Data_Sheets/P6-1000_DS.pdf

They'll sell you a pack of 5 of the Unhappy Balls - I cut them in half.  If any of you guys wants to try them send me a pm.

I like the Borneo Ironwood idea though.

[rydenfan]

Another company that I have heard very good things about is the Sistrum products from Star Sound.

http://www.starsoundtechnologies.com/sistrum.html

[AliG]

I have one of this Gingko Cloud 11 which I have loaned to fsimm


I bought it to use under my turntable. If I sandwich the Gingko between the TT and maple platform, it showed a big improvement over the naked maple platform.

However, I also have a rack made with ironwood, and I prefer the sound of my TT sitting on this ironwood rack only, the sound is more meaty and less brittle than Gingko+maple. See below

The problem is, this ironwood rack is too small, so I can't place the Gingko on it so I don't know how Gingko will further improve on the sound.

Barry, ever try a "rubber" ball or hard ball and elastic base like a Herbie's?  Something more bouncy.  Technical enough for ya?

[fsimms]

I have been over to Barry's and his system is very clear and revealing!   It is like an audio lab in that it is very easy to hear differences between components and tweaks.   I can confirm that his ironwood blocks made a significant improvement to is CDP.

Bob

[BobM]

Interesting tests. I also have my unsuspended turntable sitting on the following configuration
 - a maple shelf
 - then an isolation layer (I tried a wide variety of isolation devices here)
 - then another maple shelf suspended in a sand box that is integral to the whole stand

I've tried many different things for that isolation layer (bubble wrap, cork, wood blocks, rollerblocks, etc.), but none of them fully got rid of the thump that a knuckle wrap on the stand would sound through the cartridge if it was sitting on an unspinning record.

I recently got some squash balls and put them in this spot - a poor man's Ginko. Well, the thump is essentially gone. I think I may hear some actual improvements in the overall sound as well - perhaps a tightening and deepening of the bass, and perhaps a tad more clarity and space in the treble. But it would be a subtle difference, if any, so I am not convinced that it is truly there. But the isolation between the stand and the turntable is better, for sure. In any case, it didn't hurt the sound.

Bob

[AliG]

Ipy,
  The dealer of the Finite Elemente has experience with Symposium rollerblocks but he likes the Cerabase/Cerapucs better.

alas, I was reading the subject & was hoping you would have included

..........
FWIW, I had an earlier version of the Aurios 1.2? & I did not detect any significant sonic difference between the 2 but the Symposium is easier to set-up....

[mca]

Ever compare against these at $25 for a set of four?

[BradJudy]

The Borneo Ironwood have scientific name "Eusideroxylon zwageri", it's 50% harder and denser than maple and it's one of the hardest wood on earth. This tree took 100 years to grow and can only be found in the island of Philipines, Malaysia and Indonesia. If you have friends in those countries, ask them to ship you some wood.. I think I am perhaps the only person in this country that use this kind of wood to make pucks.

It's also a protected species in some countries due to overuse and slow regrowth of the trees.  For example, it's illegal to export it from Indonesia. 

[BobM]

Ever compare against these at $25 for a set of four?

That's what I was using as the isolation on the turntable until recently. I didn't notice that they did much of anything though. I've moved them under the power conditioner and preamp power supply now, but I'm not sure if they are having much of an effect there either (one day when I'm feeling curious I'll need to verify that with a good beer or glass of wine in hand).

bob

[Yiangos]

Just a note guys.As-far-as-i-know,isolation pucks add a certain "voicing" or "coloration" if that is the correct word and that differs depending on the surface they sit on (glass , metal , wood etc).Did anyone take into account this?