I used to own a refurbished Thorens turntable in my early days of audiophilia. But I sold it after a year. Not because it sounded awful, but I could not envisage myself spending time cleaning LPs. And also, the fact with turntables, I have to think about the arm and cartridge, not forgetting the phono stage as well. So many things to think about and….worry. I sticked to CDs ever since.
My thinking is to maximize my system in the best way possible, using a single source. I buy the best gear I can afford and then tweak it to the maximum. When a better gear and funds are available, then I upgrade. I also do that with tweaks. And the thing with tweak is that not a lot that are good, i.e. not a lot that can make a difference. As you may have read in my previous articles, I am firm believer in Stillpoints, having been exposed to it by my friend KC. I have tried almost everything Stillpoints’ products except the ESS rack.
KC, distributor for Stillpoints, managed to get hold of the LPI (LP Isolator) and asked me to try it on my cd player. The Stillpoints LPI (LP Isolator) slips over the Spindle of your turntable and rests on the label portion of your LP. I told him I do not own a turntable and LPI would not have any place in my setup. He told me he trusts my ears and wanted to know if it makes any difference when placed on top of the cd player. To be frank, I was just curious what difference it can make. So being such a good friend 😊 that I was, I agreed.
Initially I placed the LPI on the top plate of
the cd player (BMC CD 1.1) where the power inlet is situated. I did not hear
any difference. Then I placed it near where the interconnect connectors on the
cd player. Again, not much discernible difference. I was scratching my head as
to where I can place it. I tried it on top of my power amplifier, which is placed
between my preamplifier and cd player, where the power transformer is located. Again,
no difference! Then a thought came into my head. Since my BMC cd player is top
loading and uses a belt drive mechanism, I placed the LPI near the acrylic
cover. Now I can hear a difference.
The vocalist imaging within the soundstage is better defined. Layering was a touch better. Every time I remove the LPI, the imaging becomes less defined. You do not know what your system is capable of, until you get a component that can improve it. Then KC manage to get hold of the LPI II. Placing the LPI and LPI II next to each other, one can easily see the difference in construction. The pocket technology in LPI is embedded into the metal housing while in LPI II, this juts out. I have been told the version II is a refinement of the first version.
I was skeptical on the difference that the LPI II can make cause the LPI was already quite good. I placed the LPI II at the same position where I put the LPI on the top of the cd player. I let it settle down for a few days without doing any critical listening. The main reason for this was that I was quite busy with work.
Imaging of vocalist is now very solid. Imaging of the musicians in the soundstage was also much better. Then I began my comparison, switching back and forth between the LPI and LPI II. It is only through this way; I begin to marvel at the improvement LPI II has brought to the system. The LPI made an improvement towards imaging of the vocalist. The LPI II makes it even more so. Some readers may think, “Of course he will say that”. The main difference that LPI II brings is mainly on the whole soundstage into the listening room. It is as though the musicians are much closer to you and very defined. The whole experience is very intimate and vivid. I feel it more so with good recordings like Accepting the fate (track 10) in Danny Summer É’m 3 (Sony Music 8887511812). This blues track showcase exactly what I meant with LPI II. Imaging was rock solid, every little movement of instruments is heard easily, the slide on the guitar. Music and emotion just flows out effortlessly. Another example is track 3 in Keb’ Mo’ cd of the same title (OKeh / Epic EX 57863) Love Blues. The plucking of the guitar is just so intensely real. My opinion is that with the LPI II minimized the vibration caused the revolving acrylic cover on the top plate of my cd player. This led to lower overall background noise, aiding in making details easily discernible. This also helps to make layering and imaging to be much more solid.
I can say that I never thought the LPI would make any difference on top of my cd player. It does but the LPI II is better. For those of you who believes in tweaks especially Stillpoints and owns a turntable, do give the LPI II a try. Even if you have a cd player only, try it if you can get a loaner from your local dealer and hear it in your system.
