Daedalus Ulysses Stands

fwinston · « **on:** 1 Jan 2010, 12:45 am »

A couple of months ago Lou informed me he'd developed a new stand for the Ulysses speakers; 2.5 inches thick and composed of a walnut center surrounded by two pieces of maple, with a footprint matching the speaker.

I took delivery a couple a few days ago and, after removing the plinth attached to the speaker base to maintain proper overall speaker height, inserted them between the speaker and the base.

My observations? With these new stands in place, the already great sounding Ulysses have been subtly but noticeably improved, with sharper musical focus and clarity. Bass, too, sounds tighter and with more impact.

A thumbs up to these new stands. And, they add a very nice visual touch to the look of the Ulysses.

Laura's pictures are clearer than mine but here are a few of my Ulysses with stands.

satfrat · « **Reply #1 on:** 1 Jan 2010, 01:03 am »

"My observations?" Where's the pictures, your post is just a tease w/o them.

Cheers,
Robin

fwinston · « **Reply #2 on:** 1 Jan 2010, 01:38 am »

I'll charge up the batteries and take some tomorrow. Hang tight and have a great New Year.

satfrat · « **Reply #3 on:** 1 Jan 2010, 01:43 am »

That would be mighty sweet and a great complement to your enticing thread.

Likewise Happy New Year,
Robin

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #4 on:** 1 Jan 2010, 05:35 am »

Robin,

I received my maple bases from Lou about two weeks ago. I have the DA-1.1s (the bases fit all of Lou's speakers). I am still tweaking my speaker position (thus the blue tape), but these pictures will give you an idea of what they look like. I transfered the spikes from the narrow walnut stands to the maple/walnut bases and I am not using the original walnut stands at this time. Some Daedalus owners are putting a rubber or rubber/cork sheet between the maple basis and the orignal stands. I will try that position too and decide which I like best.

The bases improve focus and clarity, especially in the low end giving a more defined (tighter) and articulate bass. The midrange is slightly more focused, highs are smooth. The DA-1.1s are great speakers to start with--very natural and accurate with great dynamics. The maple bases absorbed/removed some resonance that was present without them, allowing the speakers to deliver the best sound the electronics and sources are capable of delivering. I highly recommend them for any Daedalus owner. The improvement is, as fwinston noted, subtle and audible.

Laura

satfrat · « **Reply #5 on:** 1 Jan 2010, 05:46 am »

That's a whole lotta loudspeaker Laura,,, and a nice closeup picture of the stand too. The stand complements the Ulysses nicely. Thanks Laura.

Happy New Year,
Robin

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #6 on:** 1 Jan 2010, 05:57 am »

Robin,

the two tweeters are offset by 10 degrees enabling the speaker to fill the room with sound with a very wide "sweet spot." I have large room (17 x 25 with a 17' peak cathedral ceiling on a 9/12 pitch) so I need "a whole lotta loudspeaker." aa

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you. I've got two hours to go.

Laura

fwinston · « **Reply #7 on:** 1 Jan 2010, 04:13 pm »

Pictures of the stands now shown in my first posting.

satfrat · « **Reply #8 on:** 1 Jan 2010, 04:39 pm »

Quote from: fwinston on 1 Jan 2010, 04:13 pm

Pictures of the stands now shown in my first posting.

Damn that's a sweet looking loudspeaker & stand, thanks for those awesome pictures. Looks like Lou went all out on them babies as they really make the loudspeaker "pop".

Cheers,
Robin

jazdoc · « **Reply #9 on:** 1 Jan 2010, 06:44 pm »

I'll 'echo' everyone's comments regarding the improved sound with the new maple slab and stand. Adding additional resonance control & damping with EquaRack footers between the maple slab and stand took things to another level and is highly recommended. There is definite improvement in bass extension and the noise floor is lowered. The footers allowed the speakers to play louder. A friend of mind had a great comment..."The speakers have a better grip".

mountain1 · « **Reply #10 on:** 6 Jan 2010, 06:16 pm »

To add my two cents I received the maple stands from Lou about the same time as Laura. I agree with all of you that the maple stands improved sound stage, base resolution and added even more magic to my DA1.1's. I found the maple stands to sound better when used with the original cherry stands. I replaced the cork with Sorbothane between the cherry and maple stands, but found the cork to sound better.

Larry

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #11 on:** 7 Jan 2010, 06:31 pm »

Quote from: mountain1 on 6 Jan 2010, 06:16 pm

To add my two cents I received the maple stands from Lou about the same time as Laura. I agree with all of you that the maple stands improved sound stage, base resolution and added even more magic to my DA1.1's. I found the maple stands to sound better when used with the original cherry stands. I replaced the cork with Sorbothane between the cherry and maple stands, but found the cork to sound better.

Larry

Thanks for the post Larry. Now that I am back in town, I am going to try the bases with the original stands.

Laura

Daedalus Audio · « **Reply #12 on:** 11 Jan 2010, 07:01 pm »

the way it seems to work is the new maple bases act like a 'resonance sink' or what we commonly call 'coupling'. adding some kind of isolation footer underneath completes the coupling/isolation tweek using two distinct pieces. having the isolation device between the maple base and the stands works best. the stands with spikes minimize interaction with the floor and provide a stable foundation, then using a specific isolation/damping material in essence floats the speaker. while this may seem cumbersome I think it works because each part has a specific function instead of trying to isolate and couple with one component.

thanks,
lou

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #13 on:** 1 Feb 2010, 05:06 am »

After listening with the maple bases only and then with rubber/cork isolation footers between the maple bases and the stands with spikes, I prefer the sound with the isolation footers between the maple bases and the stands with spikes. My DA-1.1s are reallly singing now

Here are some pics with isolation footers between the maple bases and the stands with spikes.

jriggy · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 Jun 2010, 11:26 pm »

I was curious about the plinth style stand shown above on Vinyl Lady's 1.1's... Might they serve the same purpose as the cube style stand for the Ulysses, but for a shorter presentation if needed? I know that the M/W/M base does some isolation and decoupling... So what might be the difference between the plinth stand and the cube stand? And is there benefit using all three?

Thank yous

Jason

Daedalus Audio · « **Reply #15 on:** 1 Jul 2010, 04:56 pm »

Quote from: jriggy on 25 Jun 2010, 11:26 pm

I was curious about the plinth style stand shown above on Vinyl Lady's 1.1's... Might they serve the same purpose as the cube style stand for the Ulysses, but for a shorter presentation if needed? I know that the M/W/M base does some isolation and decoupling... So what might be the difference between the plinth stand and the cube stand? And is there benefit using all three?

Thank yous

Jason

Jason, good question, glad you brought this up.
the plynth stand could be used with the maple base and the Ulysses, for isolation. another option is placing isolation under the maple base with no stand. there are a few ways of doing this. btw I would not use the cube stand and the plynth together.

the basic concept here is that the 2.5" thick maple base couples with the speaker cabinet and acts as a resonance 'sink'. the stand or the plynth are for proper height and isolation. with the Ulysses the key is the height for proper imaging, this of course depends on the room/seating/listener and is why we do all stands and bases as options as opposed to integrating the isolation etc into the speaker cabinets.

best thing is to give me a call and we can work out the best solution for you.

thanks,
lou

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #16 on:** 1 Jul 2010, 05:25 pm »

After Rod Thomson relocated my speakers using the Master Set technique, we removed the walnut plynth stands and cork/rubber footers. Adjustable spikes were installed in the maple bases in order to level the speakers side to side and provide the proper front to back rake angle, which in my case is a full bubble on a 9" level. This gives me the best sound I have ever heard from my DA-1.1s (which has improved significantly since I had Lou install the AP crossovers last week).

BTW, the David Gilmour DVD is outstanding

Scottdazzle · « **Reply #17 on:** 2 Jul 2010, 06:39 pm »

VL,

Congrats on the improved sound. I'm not surprised that removing the cork/rubber footers helped. My speakers have always sounded tighter when firmly coupled with the floor.

Scott

satfrat · « **Reply #18 on:** 2 Jul 2010, 06:46 pm »

I 1st tried the rubber/cork squares also only to realize more clarity when I switched to cones, specifically Audiopoint's Sistrum Platforms. It was a nite/day improvement as the Audiopoints let the sun shine in.

Laura, is it possible to have a closeup of your cone stands to compare with your prior setup?

Cheers,
Robin

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #19 on:** 2 Jul 2010, 10:51 pm »

Quote from: satfrat on 2 Jul 2010, 06:46 pm

Laura, is it possible to have a closeup of your cone stands to compare with your prior setup?
Cheers,
Robin

Per your request my friend