AudioQuest Sorbothane Feet Others

AudioQuest Sorbothane Feet Others 

DESCRIPTION

isolation feet for all audio/video components

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 11  
[Jun 25, 2008]
rangoo
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

ALL ABOVE AND FEETS ARE ACTUALLY TRANSPARENT SO WILL CHANGE COLLOR WITH SUPPORT BELLOW.

Weakness:

FEETS ARE DUE TO NATURE DUST COLLECTOR - BUT CLEAN IT IN MILDLY SOAP, WARM WATER AND WILL SOLVE SITUATION.

AQ SORBOTHANE BIG FEET IS AMAZING PRODUCT. PUTTED UNDER PREAMP PRODUCED FULL SOUND -BASS IS TIGHTER,FULLER, MID MORE PRECISE,TREBLE AIRY AND PINPOINT IMAGING .
MAYBE SWEDISH SOLID TECH PRODUCTS ARE BETTER BUT THEY COST MINIMUM 7 TIMES MORE.

Similar Products Used:

RUBBER FEET ,OAK CONE FEET,FOAM FEET..

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 24, 2003]
Waxxiemann
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Immediate improvement noticable, if only slight. A great way to improve overall sound qualiity.

Weakness:

VERY low girlfriend approval factor at this price.

Note : 95 Canadian dollars. I've been using these for some time. I got another set for my amp a few days ago. Noticed an improvement in tightness of bass right away. I use them under my center channel speaker (which is great) as well as my DVD player. They also help for heat distribution. Placing one directly under the transformer is the ticket here. I'm giving them a 2 for value because they are "a little pricey" and a 4 for overall because they are not "more than I expected" but still a "very good product". Give them a try. I think they make the biggest difference in source components but they also work well for amps.

Similar Products Used:

n/a

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
2
[Mar 12, 2003]
Fuzzy32
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

cost, for $85 Can (tax incl) this is a steal; come with covers so your shelves don't get all sticky; a great 'tweak' to get your equipment at top performance; these Big Feet really do work.

Weakness:

none so far

After reading a few reviews on the Sorbothane and what it could do for your equipment, I decided that this was a good 'tweak' to try out. I went down to Trutone Electronics and after a consultation with Neil (great guy knows his stuff), I picked up the Big Feet. (blue cubes handle more weight as opposed to the green ones) After installing them under my Sony DVP-9000ES DVD player I was in shock. The picture before the Sorbothane was pretty good. Now it was amazing. Detail was more vivid. Colours jumped out. I put in Star Wars Episode 2 and to my amazement I saw detail which I hadn't seen before. I was able to see the reflections in the masks of the clone armies helmets. Lightsabers were bold and striking. These Sorbothane feet really do work. I highly recommend these feet for anyone wanting to get the top performance out of their equipment. It's a good little 'tweak'. Good job Audioquest.

Similar Products Used:

Haven't used anything like this before. Just used the feet supplied with the components.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 24, 2002]
nylunla
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Improved balance, better dynamics.

Weakness:

I want to buy new speakers more than ever!

Actually I wanted to buy a pair of new loudspeakers. However, because I haven't recovered yet from earlier investments in the field, I was forced to consider other options. New speaker cables? No, upgrading from Analysis Oval 12:s at 400 euros (bout same in USD) was still too expensive. New interconnects? No, the Taralabs Ref GII:s would have to do. Then I remembered that Arcam recommended replacing the rubbery excuses for CD feet they supply with their FMJ CD23T with "dedicated" vibration absorbers. So to your appointed dealer go, buy green blobs (Audioquest small fet) at 80 euros, looking like halves of a popular finnish marmalade candy! Sceptical at first, what with that price. But they really worked. The sound is different. More bass, but controlled. And more important: better overall balance. I found that familiar musical samples needed higher volumes than usual. The improved balance made it possible to listen at higher volumes, with more detail without the highs getting in your face (and want to turn down the screeching). An improvment, definitely. The price above is in euros, amounting to about the same in USD.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jun 21, 2000]
Vincent Chen
Audiophile

Strength:

incredible damping and coupling capabilities

Weakness:

yep...pricey. Get a deal on a bunch if you can.

My Tascam CD-RW700 which I purchased not long ago was running too hot in my studiobrdge cavity. So I mounted the 700 on the top of the bridge to get more air circulation. These machines run hot for some reason. My CD-RW5000 by Tascam does too,but I have plenty of air circulation on that one.

The feet that came with the CD-RW700 are totally laughible. About 1/2" wide and with a surface contact of a dime, and a height of about 1/5" not much in the way mechanical coupling/damping to my surface. Essential in damping vibration and unwanted resonances that reduce performance. The right front foot wasn't even touching the suface I discovered. Enough of this I thought. So I went out to my retailer and bought the Audioquest "Little Feet". They look like they came the "Flubber" movie with their green tinge. Sticky critters though. I removed the old feet from my Tascam 700 and installed the new little feet and the suction just to the chassis alone was/is pretty impressive. Talk about coupling. I mounted with the location points assymetrical with each other to even improve damping further. Nuances and small gain differences are what these accessories are about and cannot obviously make a sows ear into a silk purse,but given its' purpose in life. A well done in my book. The sound is alittle tighter and better defined, if not just slightly. The damping works on the principal of molecular movement, and the unwanted vibes are bled off as "irrelevant" heat as Audioquest admonishes. I don't know about all that, but what I can say is that it is a worthy investment because it couples the equipment to the surface area so well. So all of your eletronics including your vibration sensitive gear could stand an improvement with this accessory. Good for up to 16 pounds with no more than 4 pounds of weight each foot...please. Compression compromises the performance of the "Little Feet." For heavier gear, try the "Big Feet" in "Flubber" blue this time. So in summary: improvement in nuances degree, and definately easy to install, unlike those points or tiptoes.
So step on some vibration "toes", and put on some "Little Feet" and see how it works out for you. V.C.

Similar Products Used:

Navcom feet,granite slabs, and any heavy masonary rock goodies.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Aug 24, 2001]
Vincent Chen
Audiophile

Strength:

draws the bad vibes from your gear, and dissipates it as heat. Raised my preamp/proc so it can run cooler

Weakness:

yeah price, but still cheaper than those voodoo magic things I "was" looking at.

These are the Audioquest "Big (blue) Feet". Though similar to the green feet..aka the "Little Feet", the Big feet will support more weight than the little feet. Pretty clever huh?? Right. The Big Feet are under my Sony TAE-9000es which runs hotter than anything I have, save my cable box. The old original feet were assymetrical plastic feet. Sony cheaps out on the feet where a $1700.00 pre/proc is concerned. Though there are other ES goods that get the iron feet. Hmm, must be that "ES" logic for "Extra Stupid". At any rate, the sonics improved by tightening the bass a smig, and the midrange is better too. I love how these feet couple themselves to the bottom of the chassis with a very tenacious grip. The disc plates are placed under the feet to prevent marring of the finish below. Thoughtful of Audioquest to think of this, and thank you for that. I am toying with the notion of using more feet underneath to see if there is a greater improvement. Time will tell. Audioquest also makes Sorbethane sheets, and I wonder what improvements may be had by affixing some under the "ringing" top covers of CD players/Transports. At any rate as with all the Audioquest products I have purchased to date, the Big Feet while not leaving a "Big" impression...ahem with me, they did leave my Sony more breathing room underneath and is a great footer to boot. V.C.

Similar Products Used:

Navcom feet,heavy masonary,spike feet etc..

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jan 21, 2002]
Hannibal The Cannibal
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Very good SORBOthane compound has the attributes of great shock/vibration absorbency with low hysterisis,good heat-resistance,the stickiness aids in placement under equipment.

Weakness:

Stickiness attracts dirt and dust,cold-icy-blue color may turn some people off,pricey(at full retail price).

This is a review of the (seductively named) blue "Large- Feet". They are deep blue,moist and sticky,and have the feel of animal-grisle or some sort of resilient cartiliginous animal-tissue that is ready to absorb anything that may come it's way. I almost felt like rolling them in dough prior to handling. The stickiness will not wash off. Man,I'm getting hungry already! Any carnivore worth his/her salt will feel tempted to bite into these even though doing so would ruin their investment. I have not bitten these yet,but I did manage to stick them under my CD-player. I noticed an overall-improvement in the articulation and clarity of tones,especially the lower registers. As hungry as these footers made me,the "visceral-impact" (excuse the pun) was definitely lifted to an audiophile level,entirely...at least for now... Anyway,I was delighted and surprised at the reduction in muddiness and imprecision that once blighted the sound I heard. I listened before/after with my trusty AKG K501 headphones for the most critical listening possible. The only real caveat I would have about using this product would be having to pay over ten bucks-a-pop at full retail. I paid 6.99 each and bought four,but this was at 60% off from HCM Audio which ran an ad in Stereophile magazine recently. The improvement they make is probably on the level of a cable change of sorts,but hey,please don't push the price of flubber too hard. However,I feel lucky to have discovered this little "tweak". I hope I can continue to resist the urge to sink my teeth into them!

Similar Products Used:

I had better not say...

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
3
[Jan 16, 2002]
Charles
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

tighten imaging and reduce resonances that can smear the sound

Weakness:

none really (but they can reveal a harsher amp or DAC than you thought you had)

After putting these under my CD transport and DAC+Amp I was amazed at the difference they made. There's no break in period for Sorbothane feet, so the change was immediate and much more than I expected.

The sound is transformed, but not entirely favorably. Detail and imaging improved more than I had expected. However, the sound seemed to have become more shrill, emphasizing upper midrange and treble. The bass is still there, and in fact had better definition than before.

Now, Sorbothane feet cannot be adding an effect--they are reducing vibrations that can affect the transport and amp, degrading the sound. The Sorbothane feet are eliminating an effect that was probably pronounced since the components are sitting on a wooden cabinet. However, it appears that in my case the degradation of the sound actually smoothed out and mellowed a somewhat harsher and more shrill amp +/- DAC than I thought I had.

I may have simply become accustomed to a slightly muddied and softer edged sound, but I've recently been listening to other systems in the store and what I have seems to sound more shrill than anything there. It sounds much better listening from the next room, where the highs are less piercing and the bass comes through better in comparison.

The $56 set of eight feet have revealed that I've got an unpleasant component or two. My primary suspect is the Acurus DIA-100 amp. It could be the MSB Link DAC III with 96 KHz upsampling, but that seemed to smooth things out and clarify them when I installed it, so I'm leaning towards the Amp.

I was thinking of getting a new amp, but I didn't expect the 8 little polymer blobs to propel me towards that so quickly.

I highly recommend them if you are willing to find out what your system sounds like without being a little smeared, muddied, and softened by vibrations in the electronics.

Similar Products Used:

none

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 16, 1999]
Robo
an Audio Enthusiast

I have been using these isolation feet underneath all my source components including my pre-amp/receiver for quite sometime now. The greatest benefitsthat I have seen and heard have been with my DVD player,VCR, and CD player.
The first thing that you notice is how much quieter it is mechanically.
Secondly, the picture is less noisy and more stable. Third, the audio is
smoother with better resolution and greater separation between channels.
I would like to point out that I am using a Pioneer DV-414 and the chief complaint about it being too light is no longer an issue when using these feet.
Technically what they do is drain excess energy out of the device while at the same time isolating the unit from its' surroundings. Any good dealer should let you try them without commiting to a purchase. Have fun!

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
[May 15, 2000]
Ed
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

It works well, easy to install.

Weakness:

Requires additional shelf height/costly to install on a complete system.

I have used these items for several years with success. In addition to placing on equipment with moving parts, eg. turntables, cd/dvd players, and vcrs, these feet also seem to reduce the effect of vibrating transformers. It seems that the best performance comes from placing the feet on the case directly under transformers or player motors/spindles. I have not found any other rubbery-type compounds to be as effective as the sorbethane feet. Some of the compounds placed under existing equipment feet also work, but not quite as well as sorbethane feet which are stuck directly to the case of the equipment.
Surpisingly, even the sound from my 20 lb+ CEC cd player, was improved by these feet. I was expecting that an item of this mass would not have vibration problems susceptible to additional damping. The sonic improvements are quite audible even with headphone listening, so these damping substances are not just reducing acoustic feedback.
The self-stick sorbethane sheet material from Audioquest is also quite useful. I have been using it on areas of equipment, that are not prone to overheating. I have even tried it inside the equipment, e.g. on the
non-moving parts of cd/dvd drives, with good effect. Obviously be careful opening equipment. I will not open anything which is too esoteric/expensive and will just use external damping.
This suggest to me that there is a wide-spread "microphonics" problem in most audio equipment, caused by motors, transformers, etc., in which even small vibrations generate spurious signals/noise/intereference in circuitry and which is not being dealt with by manufacturers. Possibly this reflects the lack of cost-effective solutions available to manufacturers. The sorbethane feet are generally $40-$60, as much as a cheap component. Even the sheets are now $20.00!

Similar Products Used:

Under-feet pads, various proprietary and home made rubbery-type products.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
Showing 1-10 of 11  

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