Vibrapod vibation isolators Others

Vibrapod vibation isolators Others 

USER REVIEWS

Showing 21-30 of 30  
[Aug 10, 1999]
Dan
an Audiophile

What a frickin joke these things are, they continue to bleed off there black goo that will stain anything they touch I mistakenly laid one on my bedspread and almost got a divorce over it . they left circular stains that will never come out
because of the black goo crap that continues to bleed from them.
Put wax paper between then and the surface they rest on, forget it, they'll just bleed through and not only that they'll
cut deep into the wood surface under the wax paper even if you double or triple the wax paper.
And having to use wax paper to me will just increase the harmonic vibration. If I could give them a minus 5 I would
for the ass chewing I got for destroying my wife favorite bedspread
Go back to the drawing board guys !

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
[Sep 07, 1999]
Jay Stone
an Audiophile

I decided to try this product after reading Johnathan Scully's recent article on vibration control products in Stereophile. Although he has a reputation for reviewing - and recommending - very pricey products, his article pointed out some very reasonable alternatives. His criterion (and mine!): does it sound better after trying the product? Well, the vibrapods definitely made a difference placed under my CD player. It tightened up the soundstage, making the midrange clearer and the bass less muddy. Dramatic improvement? No, but the improvement it did produce was both noticeable and desirable. And the price is definitely right: $6 per vibrapod times 8 pods = $48. When was the last time $48 made the difference in your sound system's quality? I'm tempted to try them under my speakers and my DVD player as well.
My system:

Classe CAP-150 Integrated Amplifier
Cal Labs Tercet Mk III CD player
B&W 802 Series II
JPS Labs Ultraconductor interconnect
Tara Labs Q speaker cable

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
[Jan 01, 2000]
Blake
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

they work!

Weakness:

none

These things work and in my opinion, offer great value. I have all of my equipment on a Target Stand, but unfortunately, due to space limitations, have to stack my amplifier (Audiolab 8000A) on top of my Arcam Alpha 8 CD player. I use some large tiptoes (aluminum cones)between the two for separation. I also had both components sitting on a marble slab (on the Target shelf)with blobs of blutak under the 4 corners of the marble slab (purchased for $25 from your local marble supplier). A few months ago, I ordered 4 vibrapods and placed them under the feet of my cd player (it was a perfect fit). The results were good; improved resolution, more detail etc. so I ordered another 8 (4 for under the marble slab supporting the cd player and amp and 4 for under a marble slab that my turntable (michell gyrodek) sits on. The results: more of the same-the midband in particular has opened up revealing much more information and detail, bass is more focused and extended and the high end is less tizzy, all in all a much more musical and relaxed presentation with much more info. Results are similar with the pods under the marble support for the turntable. An excellent, cost effective upgrade-total cost (for cd player) $64 for 8 pods ($8 in Canada!) plus $25 for marble-total $89. Improvements were MUCH greater than a recent speaker cable improvement that cost me $300 so definitely 5 stars. Try it!

Similar Products Used:

Tiptoes, various metal cones

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 26, 2000]
Brian Raleigh
Audiophile

Strength:

Effectivness and price

Weakness:

None

These things are great! They do EXACTLY what they say they do. Great isolation, increased soundfield and increased bass. I have tried cones, but with moderate success. Besides, cones tend to be rather pricey. These have got to be the only audiophile grade piece of equipment that is priced right. Further, the only place to get these little wonders from is Craig at CJ's Audio and Video. These guys have the best advice on type and placement of the the 'pods, plus extremely fast shipping. They are truly worthy of your business. Give 'em a try! Contact Craig at:
CJsAudVid@AOL.COM (847-679-6514). Do your equipment and ears a favor, get some 'pods.

Similar Products Used:

Cones

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 18, 1999]
ron
an Audio Enthusiast

What do you get for placing your CD player on a mdf board(1.50usd) resting on 4 Vibrapods(24.00usd)? A Cd player on steriods. How long will the pods hold up? Just have to wait and hear. Happy listening.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
[May 06, 2000]
Scott Campbell
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Used Vibrapods under my Vandersteen 3A speakers to reduce floor vibration (suspended wood floors above a 3' crawl space). I was not prepared for the DRAMATIC difference the Vibrapods would make. It cleaned up the bass "tubbiness", and I'm now hearing details in recordings I've never heard before. I am not a big fan of most "tweaks", but the Vibrapods are hands-down the best "tweak" I've ever made. The difference in the sound quality of my speakers was such an improvement that my wife thought I had bought new speakers!

Weakness:

None. At this price, who could complain?

If you are having problems with vibration or resonances, you owe it to yourself to try Vibrapods.

Similar Products Used:

Cones, TipToes, etc.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 28, 2000]
Craig S
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Fairly economical. Increased system clarity. Improvements can be considerable when used properly: See weaknesses, below.

Weakness:

Requires users to pay close attention to the weight (and weight distribution) of each piece of equipment they're using these on to get the most benefit. Not nearly as attractive as some of the cones are.

This is a great product but you really, REALLY need to be very careful to select the right model or models when trying them out. They come in at least four different densities depending upon how much weight that is going to rest upon them. If this isn't just right, these little guys don't work with a darn. This often requires you to buy sets in differing densities to get it right.

The most notable improvement has been using these under a Sony CA80ES changer with a homemade "little rock" topping it all. The player is sitting on a glass shelf in a heavy rosewood (hdf core) cabinet that's resting on spikes. This particular CD player has a thicker chassis and cabinet structure than cheaper Sony players to reduce resonance and vibration. The homemade "little-rock" is two, 0.5" thick mdf layers sandwiching a 0.5" thick black ferrite microgranular filled center layer. The whole thing was then finished in a rubber-like faux granite finish. It looks great and weighs about 20 pounds and dampens mechanical virbrations in the player's cabinet as well as provides substantial EMI/RF shielding. I didn't have adequate vertical room to add an air mass isolation platform under the changer after I added this on topoof it so I tried the Vibrapods.

With the cd player, I immediately noticed that the midrange bloomed, the highs smoothed out considerably and the soundstage expanded in width and depth. Bass notes seemed tighter and more natural. Bass strings took on a more harmonic and detailed quality. I kept taking the pods off and putting them back over and over again using different recorings and each time the differences were very noticeable.

I now use these under my A/V Processor and Amps, my DVD player and between my Mission 774 speakers (rosewood veneer) and Lovan Jazz 600 speaker stands and have noticed improvements along the same lines as above with the addition of these to each piece of equipment. As long as you pay attention to the weight distribution of your equipment and put the appropriate weight-rated pod under each support point, these do a great job of improving sound staging and top to bottom clarity. Just out of curiousity, I tried these between a friend's air mass platform and cd transport/dac. The result was a collapsed soundstage, tubby bass and sucked-out midrange. Just don't go there.

Now about that bleeding and marking issue: I'm using Vibrapods on several different surfaces (glass, wood, painted steel) and I've not experienced any of the bleeding problems mentioned by other reviewers. Perhaps the manufacturer has reformulated them? The only weird thing about my wood casework is that I use Meguiar's car wax to protect it. Unlike conventional furniture polish, car wax is waterproof and resistant to many solvents, cures to an extremently hard finish, makes the wood extremely stain resistant and offers far better UV protection. Might be worth a try to those having a problem with these marking up their woodwork.

In all, the Vibrapods are a terrific, economical tweak that work splendidly well when installed properly. The higher resolution your system has the more you'll notice the difference they make. Highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

Cones, air mass isolation platforms, and laminated mdf/granular ferrite filled high-mass platforms with and without cone feet.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 21, 2000]
David
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Increases detail at both high and low volume.

Weakness:

None noticed.

Wow, a very noticeable increase in detail at all volume levels. I purchased four of the #2 "Pods" for use with a CAL Icon MkII CD player. The "Pods" are placed under a MDF platform and the Icon is placed on top of the platform (no need to remove the stock feet from the CD player). The results are incredible. Rimshots and cymbals are much clearer with more life like transients. Vocals are fuller but at the same time have increased in definition. Bass is more pronounced, faster and cleaner. Overall balance is also tweakable once you "fine tune" as noted. I noticed that you can fine tune the sound by moving the CD player around on top of the MDF platform. I guess that by doing this you are getting the weight disribution either more or less evenly disributed, and it does adjust the overall balance and tonality. Craig at CjsAudVid was extremely helpful and patient. When I started this project I did not know MDF from Shinola and Craig walked me though it. I highly recommend this product. The positive results are clear and easy to hear.

Similar Products Used:

DIY cones.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 01, 2000]
ROSS PETERSON
Audiophile

Strength:

Price/Effective isolator.Gives the music an improved definition.

Weakness:

none

This is an update of my previous review.Firstly I should point out that it is necessary to address the vibration problem at your CD/DVD/Turntable before other components.This is where the greatest improvements in sound quality will be gained.After this you should move on to other items.I put 4 under my Bryston 4BST power amp but got even better results when I followed the advice of Craig from CJs Audio and Video by placing a .5" sheet of MDF between the amp and the pods.Place the pods about where the amp legs would sit,place the MDF on top the pods and the amp on top the MDF.It works well.Good cheap support with no BS.

Similar Products Used:

Yamamura supports.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 13, 2000]
Ray
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Improved soundstage and detail w/ speakers; cost

I am using 3 #1s under my Panasonic A-120 DVD player and 4 #3s under each Infinity RS-5 main speakers. The original plastic feet and metal spikes were removed from the speakers and the vibrapods are screwed on instead.

The very light (7lb) DVD player used to shake and move when the music gets loud. The pods definitely reduce the vibration. However, sonically, I really can't say I can hear a difference, especially because I'm using my receiver's DAC through an optical cable. I can't say I find any video improvement either, probably because my 27" Sony V series TV isn't really monitor grade.

I know most people considering Vibrapods have much better speakers than I do, but the improvement I get with my cheap Infinities is incredible. The biggest improvement is in the soundstage. Before, there really wasn't much of a soundstage to talk about, and the phantom center was weak. The Pods changed all that, with a clear three-dimensional soundstage that's wider than my speakers, with much improved depth.

Another improvement is in detail. This phrase has been used to death, but I really can hear a lot more in the music than ever before. I don't find any improvement in bass extension or output, but the bass is now less muddy.

In conclusion, I find the Vibrapods can really improve on inexpensive speakers. With the transport, they are doing their job cutting down vibration, but my system isn't sensitive enough to find any sonic and visual improvement.

Similar Products Used:

none

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 21-30 of 30  

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