dariuscook Posted February 6 Posted February 6 Hi! I have a sun audio 2a3 amp (16kg) and an audionote m2 preamp (7.5kg). Both all tube system. I’m thinking about placing these on some sort of isolation. They are currently placed on a piece of furniture and not any specialised hifi rack and there isn’t room to do that. i was wondering if people have actually noticed improvements from placing tube amps and pre amps on isolation products? I have my turntable (clear audio concept) on Boing isolation feet and the improvement is noticeable as expected. I have tried speakers on various isolation and this has improved the sound particularly bookshelf’s on furniture. i am considering the isoacoustic range, in particular the Zazen plinths, which model 1 suits the m2 weight and model 2 suits the amp weight. alternatively 3-4no isoacoustics orea bronze and indigo would work also. If I go for the orea, I would consider getting a piece of black granite made, resting the unit on top the granite and the isolation feet under the granite. if anyone has any feedback on the use of isolation products for tube amps in particular the isoacoustic products I would be happy to hear 1
audiofeline Posted February 6 Posted February 6 (edited) I have a tube preamp, it improved when I put some dampening inside (auto deadening material), but needed to remove some when I put too much on (a bit like using on some turntables). I think there was some improvement when I put a sandstone paver under it. The isoacoustic Gaia's I put under my speakers were miracle-makers. I would have confidence in their products. They do need a particular weight for optimum performance, so that would be something to check in the specs. Edited February 6 by audiofeline 2
aussievintage Posted February 6 Posted February 6 18 hours ago, dariuscook said: Hi! I have a sun audio 2a3 amp (16kg) and an audionote m2 preamp (7.5kg). Both all tube system. I’m thinking about placing these on some sort of isolation. They are currently placed on a piece of furniture and not any specialised hifi rack and there isn’t room to do that. i was wondering if people have actually noticed improvements from placing tube amps and pre amps on isolation products? I have my turntable (clear audio concept) on Boing isolation feet and the improvement is noticeable as expected. I have tried speakers on various isolation and this has improved the sound particularly bookshelf’s on furniture. i am considering the isoacoustic range, in particular the Zazen plinths, which model 1 suits the m2 weight and model 2 suits the amp weight. alternatively 3-4no isoacoustics orea bronze and indigo would work also. If I go for the orea, I would consider getting a piece of black granite made, resting the unit on top the granite and the isolation feet under the granite. if anyone has any feedback on the use of isolation products for tube amps in particular the isoacoustic products I would be happy to hear Do you have any valve ring/dampers on your preamp valves? I would do that first, before trying to isolate the whole amp.
audiofeline Posted February 8 Posted February 8 On 07/02/2025 at 7:44 AM, aussievintage said: Do you have any valve ring/dampers on your preamp valves? I would do that first, before trying to isolate the whole amp. Is it possible to over-dampen a valve with too many rings?
aussievintage Posted February 8 Posted February 8 44 minutes ago, audiofeline said: Is it possible to over-dampen a valve with too many rings? I don't see how. The ideal is zero resonance of the structure of the device. 1 1
xlr8or Posted February 9 Posted February 9 As you aware I have the Sun Audio SV-2A3 and R-120 amps. I've found no benefit in isolating them. I have them on solid furnitute like you. For the AN M2 preamp you can try placing some isolation weight on the top of the chassis for damping to see if that change in sound is to your liking. I tried the weight and isolation feet thing with many of my tube preamp units in the past and although they sounded different I eventually went back to using no damping and isolation. I do have a personal preference though for hearing some 'ringing' in tubes which may help explain my preference for leaving things as is. I keep clear of damping rings for this very reason. On a side note, why are you feeding a preamp into an integrated amp? Is it for having access to multiple inputs or does the M2 have a separate phono stage included? Have you tried a more direct feed to see how that sounds? How's the gain on the SV-2A3? 3
vivianbl Posted February 9 Posted February 9 I have used various “ isolation devices over many years on vintage( Quad11, Leak ST20, Leak Point One Stereo preamp, VTL Ultimate Dual Mono Preamp) and more recent Melody 36s Integrated and Audion PSE 300B monitors blocks and Premier mm phono pre. Experimented with various items and combination of items in the chain of components long before they became fashionable and available commercially. Various types of wood, ply of various thickness , bamboo boards, ball bearing resting on the nylon rings wiring hex nuts, sorbothane, antivibration pads etc. The commercially available ones I’ve used have been on the lower end of the cost spectrum - Herbies Lab stuff (including the iso cups/, marbles, tenderfoot and the tube stabilizers), Auralax Gramma platforms, and ISO acoustic iso puck mini. All the isolation devices have an impact, but they have different impacts on the SQ and I have to use a combination of items to “voice” the sound of the system within the acoustic of my listening room, to my preference. I currently have my Audion PSE 300B mono blocks (11 kg each) on IsoAcoustic iso-puck mini . 5 under each with 3 at the back where most of the transformer weight. The iso puck mini are on a IKEA Apptelig bamboo board (1 for each amp) which in turn rests on a Auralax Gramma platform which is on a iKEA Lack table! So several layers costing about $300 all up. With the Audion MM phono Pre (6kg) Use 3 iso puck mini on Apptelig bamboo board resting on 4 Herbies lab Tenderfoot/ Lack table. As far as the individual tubes themselves, the Herbies Lab titanium C- rings were really effective SQ wise with the big 300B tubes. The smaller driver tubes (6922) varied. They were very effective with the Russian 6H23N, but not with 1958 Mullard E88CC and the 1964 Amperex 6922 USN-CEP. So just got to try them on and listen/ assess. Hope that is not too confusing! 3
doogie44 Posted February 12 Posted February 12 On 09/02/2025 at 5:58 PM, vivianbl said: but not with 1958 Mullard E88CC and the 1964 Amperex 6922 USN-CEP Very tasty indeed. Tube lust approaching... 1
billstevenson Posted February 16 Posted February 16 I use IsoAcoustics Gaia I or II under each of three turntables, size is weight dependent. I use Gaia III under each of two different speaker systems. My Conrad-Johnson tube electronics (amp, line stage, and phono stage) all sit on a maple block specially built table or in the case of the amp on a stand alone floor unit. All isolated, both mechanically and electrically (everything is plugged into a PS Audio P10 power conditioner also on a maple block). This is necessary because I live in South Florida, USA and we have an inordinate number of lightning strikes. Several thousand strikes in my county alone during the course of a typical afternoon storm in summer.
derrickdj1 Posted February 19 Posted February 19 Is vibration a real problem or looking for just a change in sound. There are many tweaks that can be made. The catch 22, is it better.
MrBurns84 Posted February 19 Posted February 19 On 09/02/2025 at 2:22 PM, xlr8or said: I tried the weight and isolation feet thing with many of my tube preamp units in the past and although they sounded different I eventually went back to using no damping and isolation. I do have a personal preference though for hearing some 'ringing' in tubes which may help explain my preference for leaving things as is. I keep clear of damping rings for this very reason. Observed the same here on my rig. I found damping and isolation for tubed gear made them sound a bit more solid state'ish - lack of a better word.
billstevenson Posted February 19 Posted February 19 Isolation of my TT is an absolute must. I just set up a new system in my vacation home and had trouble with this very issue. Even with IsoAcoustics feet under both the speakers and under the TT the sound was vague, at times distorted. I finally solved the problem by moving the equipment rack with TT to a different location. This was not easy to do and required a cabling change (cha ching) and a day out of my happy life. None of this was tube gear though. In the case of the speakers you just have to hear what Gaia isolators do. All I can tell you is that the speakers, any speakers, sound better, much better, and the difference is not subtle. 2
075Congo Posted February 23 Posted February 23 Another isolation product for you to research comes from Stack Audio in the UK (www.stackaudio.co.uk) I recently bought a set of 4 AUVA EQ Isolators to support my Audio Research DSi 200 Integrated amp. Price wise for 4 AUVA EQ that will support up to 60 KG the RRP is 165 Pounds Sterling ($330 AUD) plus 7.50 Pound sterling ($15) for Shipping. The AUVA EQ are 5 cm in diameter and 3 cm high and of excellent build quality. Gave me good clearance under the amp for ventilation. Support is rock solid (no wobble like Isoacoustics products). Anyway they are excellent value for money. Delivery time from the UK was 8 to 10 days. They are wonderful to work with and really go the extra yard with customers. 2
GeoffRoberts Posted February 25 Posted February 25 It perhaps comes down to whether you have a vibration problem, which seems to negatively impact tubes. I have a timber floor, and have found the isoacoustics gear has made a very significant positive improvement. I have a zazen under my phono stage, and Orea under my preamp and power amp, all are valve. I found they settled the sound, cleaned it up and just helped the amps perform better. 2
David A Posted February 25 Posted February 25 My next amps will be valve amps. On advice from another knowledgeable SNA'er, I plan to place them on AV Room Service EVP iso feet on my Taoc ASR III racks.
mfforever Posted April 3 Posted April 3 (edited) Hi Dariuscook ............... I too am curious as to why you feed your pre into the integrated ...... is it because the pre in the AudioNote is superior to the pre in the SunAudio integrated ???? ....... or as suggested by xlr8or, it allows access to multiple inputs / phono stage ???? I'm playing around with some amps at the moment so would love to hear your experiences with this . Edited April 3 by mfforever
mfforever Posted April 3 Posted April 3 (edited) Have done lots of experiments with isolation on speakers and amps, DACs, all sources really and for me I found the best ( and quite economical ) was to put stick on sharp spikes on the bottom of your sources ( if really heavy place four under the existing feet or if light just 3 ) and then place on top of a sheet of PERSPEX so those sharp spikes bite in ! I place everything using this. Light items on 15 mm perspex and big heavy amps on 30 mm or so - you can try offcuts at Perspex shops or in Sydney Reverse Garbage Marrickville can be simply amazing - otherwise, it worth paying for the exact colour / size you want at the Perspex shops. As for Speakers, Had my Yamaha 1000 under the same system and made a noticeable improvement but when I finally got the Yammie 5000 I put the Ghias under them ....... did improve the sound but no more than the spikes / perspex combo ( but did not detract from that sweet industrial aesthetics of the Yammies ) With the spikes, I sharpen them first with a fine file so they really bite in and use double sided tape. Please note that I have not specifically done the above on TUBE gear, so experimentation would be vital here ( as always is the case - for example , a long time ago I spent 2 days with an angle grinder and cut 25 mm thick sheets of granite to sit under all my audio gear........ and it sounded terrible .... even my then 15 year old son with no interest in HIFi said " What have you done ? " - it's all in the garden now under pot plants. Edited April 4 by mfforever 1
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