A world first? Passive v active isolation platforms test

[Stacore]

Need to try one myself, as they are local to me. They actually offered to borrow me one when we last spoke in Munich.

Maybe this time I will not be the last one to learn about a killer local product (as was the case with Lampizator - I was one of the last to try it).

Adam M I suppose ? The first batch is sold out so I'd kindly ask you to contact Nomos (our Warsaw distr).
They have an Advanced platform and can show it (it might need some servicing though).

Lampi OEM rolleblocks on Stacore Adv: Being usually against random double suspended systems, but this combo I can recommend!
We tested GG on Adv with the manufacturer of those rollers - Bazodrut Wiesiu - in his home system. The rubber feet did to the sound, esp for the upper mids/hf,
what Marc just happily quoted (Marc pls keep some of my expressions private or my reputation will be
tarnished ) Changing to Bazodrut OEM rollers let the GG shine! The resonant point of the rollers seem quite higher than of our top plate
(1.6Hz) so there is no risk of beat oscillations.

Cheers,

PS I sent you an email some 10 days ago about AVS2017. Did you get it?

 

[spiritofmusic]

For a couple of reasons I've taken my cdp off the Stacore to go back to its usual location on my Symposium Isis rack
A definite drop in quality
A kind of hazy graininess to the sound that can't easily be ignored
Everything a bit squashed together, just greyer overall
When my tt gets reinstalled it's going on this Stacore, so the cdp will only get back to where it was in the trial when I acquire a third platform from Jarek, hopefully in a few months
Two Stacores down (tt and transformer), six to go (cdp, pre, pre psu and distribution strip, monos X 2, phono and phono psu)
This is going to be quite a journey to the limits of plummeting noise floor and escalating system performance and enjoyment

 

[Stacore]

Hi Jarek

Will Stacore be at the Hong Kong hifi show next month?

Regards

Hi XV,

Unfortunately our HK/China distr will not go to this show.
They've abandoned going there some yrs ago.
The only thing I can propose at the moment is our 2 weeks trial.
Drop me a PM if seriously interested and I'll check what can be done
with the eventual shipping.

Thank you,

 

[Stacore]

For a couple of reasons I've taken my cdp off the Stacore to go back to its usual location on my Symposium Isis rack
A definite drop in quality
A kind of hazy graininess to the sound that can't easily be ignored
Everything a bit squashed together, just greyer overall
When my tt gets reinstalled it's going on this Stacore, so the cdp will only get back to where it was in the trial when I acquire a third platform from Jarek, hopefully in a few months
Two Stacores down (tt and transformer), six to go (cdp, pre, pre psu and distribution strip, monos X 2, phono and phono psu)
This is going to be quite a journey to the limits of plummeting noise floor and escalating system performance and enjoyment

Removing a good vibration control is always a pain

Marc, as a long term plan we can think of a custom rack system for you to host the 6 platforms.
From your pics seems you have a big space there so we could arrange them in 2 tiers, 3 platforms each.
With a central air distribution system and with hard coupling (bolting) the platforms to the rack.

Cheers,

 

[spiritofmusic]

Ok, a really interesting evolution of a major fine tuning of my system sound w the Stacore.
For the last week I've been running in a couple of Sablon Reserva Elites power cords to my preamp and cdp.
I'm a total fan of the Sablon cables and these Elites are taking things to a really interesting place, esp where bass texture is concerned, and I'm getting a really filled out bottom end, but w none of the "one note bass" that afflicts so much audio, and tbh certainly my old system sans Sablon in my old London apartment was guilty of this, I realise in retrospect.
As these two Elites are finally burning in to their final presentation, I've put my cdp back on the Stacore Adv platform.
Whoa! Where before the Stacore seemed to initially strip some of the midbass of excess (and euphonically coloured) warmth (an advantage in my room), this time the effect of the Stacore is to balance this w an amazing ability to "declutter" the soundstage, meaning deeper bass w no compromise on mids agility and treble energy, just a real sense of "realness" and tangibility.
I cannot stress enough how transformative this has been in my system.

 

[Stacore]

Hey Spirit,

Glad to hear we are working good for you
In my view, both a proper vibration control and a clean power
are needed to unleash the real system/recording potential....and that
can be indeed shocking.

What keeps surprising me is the sensitivity of cdp's to vibrations.
With all the hardware and the software error correction
(where more than one phd was surely accomplished),
they are still very sensitive to parasitic vibrations and benefit
really a lot from a proper vibration management.

As for the bass strip, I agree with you it's difficult to swallow first
but a quick reference to a life sound puts all in place. I recently
listened to a beautiful organ here in Gdansk-Oliwa. When the lowest registers
are energized, this is nothing close to a typical bass bloat one hears so often
from hi-fi systems. It is more subtle, yet powerful. Hard to explain.

Cheers,

 

[spiritofmusic]

Sure Jarek.
And having had an ongoing diet of live unamplified in the last few weeks, I can attest to that.
My next big test of the Stacore is my tt.
My repaired Straingauge at top factory spec will soon get a dedicated psu w R-core transformer, new tonearm wire RCA plugs, and tt & arm fully serviced.
The air pump to the linear arm is getting its own balanced pwr supply.
And of course the tt, arm and Straingauge energiser all going on the Stacore Adv.
Hoping to have feedback on this by Oct at very latest.

 

[Stacore]

A great diet I must say !

 

[Ron Resnick]

Great progress, Marc! Enjoy it!

 

[spiritofmusic]

Well Ron, 18 months and counting w'out vinyl (due to protracted house move, audio room construction, necessary repair of cart and wait for bespoke psu for cart), it WILL be fascinating to hear my tt fully isolated by the Stacore Adv.
I have a pretty good aural memory for things, and a few yrs back my tt benefitted from active Halcyonics/Accurion isolation in a similar way to how my cdp did on the active Kuraka.
Since the Stacore Adv in my room wholly beats the active Kuraka in direct comparison on my cdp, I have no reason to believe my tt won't be transformed on the Stacore Adv.

 

[spiritofmusic]

My last post for a while, it's a little weird to talk to myself on a public forum.
Tonight the synergy of Stacore Adv under cdp, Stacore Basic Plus under bpt, and Sablon Reserva Elite PCs to cdp and pre, was something v special.
I'm able to completely forget about my sub amp crossover settings on my Zus, which I was never able to do in my old room.
I'm getting amazing bass extension and texture, w fantastic agility and discrimination.
Listening to Jonas Hellborg, one of my most fave bassists, and the layering of his bass lines is something to behold.
This is beyond the normal kind of component upgrade epiphany, more an expansion of the whole sound palette, more colour yet more linearity and neutrality.
To maintain the tonal balance I've always loved in my system, but get all parameters to outperform w no change to the basic signature of my sound, is a kind of magic trick.
I'm afraid this stuff is badly in my bloodstream now, I need to Stacore the whole system progressively.
Aiming for two more Stacore Advanced early next year for cdp and preamp (the one I'm currently using under cdp going under tt soon), then later next year remaining three to monos and preamp psu.
Good thing other than all Elites PCs to rest of gear, SR B fuses, modest streamer/dac and ultrasonic lp cleaner, that I'm planning no more purchases, all big ticket components spends are superfluous.
That's a real testament to how radical the Stacores are proving to be.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I look forward to seeing and hearing everything in a few weeks!

Will your LP set-up be operating by then?

 

[spiritofmusic]

I'm not sure Ron.
I'm waiting on the bespoke psu for Straingauge from Peter (whom you'll remember from yr Omegas planars demo).
He's testing two last transformers, whichever wins out goes in the final production unit.
Then up to me to set up cart, tt, arm and psu.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I want to hear vinyl! This is the same stuff you have been waiting for two years? Tell that flake to hurry up.

 

[Stacore]

My last post for a while, it's a little weird to talk to myself on a public forum.
Tonight the synergy of Stacore Adv under cdp, Stacore Basic Plus under bpt, and Sablon Reserva Elite PCs to cdp and pre, was something v special.
I'm able to completely forget about my sub amp crossover settings on my Zus, which I was never able to do in my old room.
I'm getting amazing bass extension and texture, w fantastic agility and discrimination.
Listening to Jonas Hellborg, one of my most fave bassists, and the layering of his bass lines is something to behold.
This is beyond the normal kind of component upgrade epiphany, more an expansion of the whole sound palette, more colour yet more linearity and neutrality.
To maintain the tonal balance I've always loved in my system, but get all parameters to outperform w no change to the basic signature of my sound, is a kind of magic trick.
I'm afraid this stuff is badly in my bloodstream now, I need to Stacore the whole system progressively.
Aiming for two more Stacore Advanced early next year for cdp and preamp (the one I'm currently using under cdp going under tt soon), then later next year remaining three to monos and preamp psu.
Good thing other than all Elites PCs to rest of gear, SR B fuses, modest streamer/dac and ultrasonic lp cleaner, that I'm planning no more purchases, all big ticket components spends are superfluous.
That's a real testament to how radical the Stacores are proving to be.

Thank you very much Marc for sharing the impressions! This is something that motivates us
to work even harder and move forward [I recently moved basically single-handedly 960kg of slate plates
for the new batch, this was hard;] From my experience, when both the electrical power
and the mechanical ground are clean there appears some higher order harmony in the sound,
transcendent to the usual listening experiences when these two factors are not met simultaneously.
And yes, it is highly addictive

Will be happy to serve you - we are starting a new batch now, the stone is here already and is very very beautiful
[I keep being fascinated by the subtle elegance of this Italian slate].

Cheers,

 

[spiritofmusic]

Ron, I conspired to break my cart/phono just before you and Tinka visited the London apartment a couple of years ago, got it fixed, 3 months later put everything away for my big move/audio room project, 18 months later set everything out, then proceeded to commit yet another act of vandalism on the cart, just got it back, but need to wait for that new psu which will prevent future faults.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Jarek, yes this epiphany of combining vibrational and electrical noise reduction simultaneously is really something, and highly addictive.
All w the major plus of not altering the basic tonal character of the components.
Will be in touch w you in due course, and will report when my tt gets installed on the Stacore Adv.

 

[Stacore]

Sure Marc, would love to hear how the tt reacts.

 

[adyc]

After Marc's positive experience of Stacore products, I have ordered two Basic+ platforms for my monoblokcs and advanced platform for my DAC. The platforms have arrived. I have spent one week of listening with these platforms.

A little bit background of my room. I am living in suburb and away from traffic. My listening room is in the ground floor with marble flooring.

I first put my monoblocks on the advanced platform. Pump in air and do the levelling. I do not expect much improvement as I am living in a quiet area. However, I am so wrong. From the first note, I notice the bass of the sound has tightened and less bloated. It is faster and more articulate. In other words, the bass becomes more accurate. The music becomes more foot tapping. I can't believe isolation on my monblocks has so much influence on the bass quality. I suspect Stacore platforms does an excellent job of isolating vibrations from the speakers.

After a few days, I put my DAC on the advanced platform. This time, there is no change in bass quality. However, midrange becomes purer. The voice becomes more addictive to listen. Keep on listening track after track. I echo all Marc's positive experiences on these platforms.

Vibrations isolation is a real deal. The effects are as great or more than cable upgrade. It is also much cheaper. Stacore platforms are winners. Now, I am thinking to add more platforms under my external crossover boxes.

 

[PeterA]

After Marc's positive experience of Stacore products, I have ordered two Basic+ platforms for my monoblokcs and advanced platform for my DAC. The platforms have arrived. I have spent one week of listening with these platforms.

A little bit background of my room. I am living in suburb and away from traffic. My listening room is in the ground floor with marble flooring.

I first put my monoblocks on the advanced platform. Pump in air and do the levelling. I do not expect much improvement as I am living in a quiet area. However, I am so wrong. From the first note, I notice the bass of the sound has tightened and less bloated. It is faster and more articulate. In other words, the bass becomes more accurate. The music becomes more foot tapping. I can't believe isolation on my monblocks has so much influence on the bass quality. I suspect Stacore platforms does an excellent job of isolating vibrations from the speakers.

After a few days, I put my DAC on the advanced platform. This time, there is no change in bass quality. However, midrange becomes purer. The voice becomes more addictive to listen. Keep on listening track after track. I echo all Marc's positive experiences on these platforms.

Vibrations isolation is a real deal. The effects are as great or more than cable upgrade. It is also much cheaper. Stacore platforms are winners. Now, I am thinking to add more platforms under my external crossover boxes.

Congratulations. I noticed similar improvements when I installed Vibraplane platforms under my SS mono blocks.