Audio Journey: Stillpoints or Snake Oil

Tweaks have always been a “hot” topic among audiophiles. Some who believe in them, and some who don’t. To clarify first, I am a believer of tweaks, but I also believe not all tweaks work. Maybe its the gear that I use or the sound I am after or my room!

The tweak that we will cover this time involves isolation of gears. Isolation of your audio equipment is important. I’ve seen “audiophiles” putting their gear on the floor. Why? If you can afford to pay thousands of dollars for your system, you can’t afford to get a rack? Audiophiles need to isolate their equipment to let it sound best. This is to ensure that vibration do not affect the gear or if it does, affects it as little as possible. It does not matter if it is a turntable, cd player, amplifiers (tubes or solid state) and even speakers. Whether you believe in this and to do something is entirely up to you. So, getting a hi-fi rack is a start but this is not the end of things. Different type of platform affects the sound as well. But I want to discuss here would be the isolation between the platform and the gear.

Vibration is everywhere especially when the music is playing. Most of it originate from the speakers and also any gear that has moving parts. I have used a lot of isolation devices over the years and every one of them affects the sound in their own way. And the degree of effect also differs.

The first isolation device I started with, were the run of the mill gold colour cones. If memory serves me right, the effect from these cones were minimal. It may be partly due to the lower resolution of the gears I had at the time. Then I found the ebony pyramid cones, recommended by a friend. I started with one set of 3 pieces of these cones under the cd player but before I knew it, I was putting these ebony cones under all gears. Center and peripheral imaging becoming more solid, but the overall sound does become a touch warmer.

Later I manage to procure a set of Shun Mook Super Diamond Resonators. To me, Shun Mook SDR make the overall sound even warmer but I found the sound also became more “analogue” …less digital if you get my drift. Thereafter I started using Solid Tech Feet of Silence. I had 2 sets of these footers, each set under the cd player and preamplifier. Overall sound was less warm, though imaging is as solid as with the Shun Mook SDR.

My good friend, KC, introduced Stillpoints to me. Although I have read about Stillpoints in reviews, I really do not know what to expect. The Stillpoints Ultra SS, although small, were heavy. They are made of aluminium but contains ceramic balls on the inside. There are 2 parts to the Ultra SS. The main part which contains the ceramic ball and the bottom part, which is screwed to the top. This is to balance the gear on the platform. There is a hole on the main body which is where you can insert a screw, which you can later attach to any component or speakers. Stillpoints devices transfer vibrational energy into heat. After inserting the Ultra SS, users need to ensure that the component is level. You can do so by adjusting the bottom part of the tweak.

So, the first question is does it really work? And if it works, does it affect the tonality of the sound that I will get? The true test is in the listening! First set of Ultra SS went under the cd player. It replaces the Solid Tech under my BMC CD1.1. Since we used 4 pieces of Ultra SS, balancing them under the cd player is important. We check this again using a handy level.

Wow! is the first expression I could mutter the moment the music started. Stillpoints is the first isolation device that I have in my system that does not impede any part of the frequency extension. The highs and lows are extended. Listening to bass intro to the track in “I can see clearly now” by Holly Cole Trio ‎– Treasure 1989-1993 (Alert Records ‎– 6152 81035-2), I can easily hear the tuneful plucking of the bassline.

We inserted the second set of Ultra SS under the Audio Research Reference 5SE preamplifier. Everything was even more solid. Highs became more pristine. This is apparent when listening to Tin Pan Alley by Stevie Ray Vaughn - Couldn't Stand The Weather (epic/LEGACY EK65871). The cymbal and guitar sound very silky. Bass of the kick-drum in Just a little loving title track by Shelby Lynne – Just a Little Lovin’ (Lost Highway B0009789-02) is just voluptuous. But it does not overpower the music. Imaging is also more solid giving a more 3-dimensional feel to the vocalist and the instruments. Music was easy to follow. Can this get better?

We tried the Ultra 5 under the cd player. Now, the Ultra 5 is 6 times heavier than the Ultra SS. We transferred the set of 4 piece Ultra SS under the BMC amplifier. The immediate thing that I notice with the Ultra 5 is the drop in background noise. Wonderful Tonight in One Night Only by Eric Clapton (Polydor UICY77732) highlight this low noise floor. With this setup in place, Eric’s guitar and voice is clearly defined, no longer lost in the soundstage. I can hear also deeper into the soundstage.

Stillpoints are now the best isolation device I have used to date. It does not impede any frequency but let everything go through. What more, background noise dropped, enable me to hear even more details. Looks like they are here to stay.