Introducing the All-new Center Stage Ultra TT Feet for Turntables and Center Stage Ultra TD Feet for Tape Decks

joelavrencikCMS

Industry Expert
Jul 30, 2021
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Center StageUltra TT​

Critical Mass Systems is proud to announce the launch of the height-adjustable Center StageUltra TT footer made for turntables. We considered designing a height adjustable footer for turntables the ultimate challenge. Executing this design ultimately led us back to our proving grounds for a footer requiring the ultimate in vibration mitigation; our LS series footers (now available through Von Schweikert Audio).

Loudspeakers are powerful machines whose function is to vibrate. Transferring mechanical energy out of a resonating enclosure without affecting the performance of the loudspeaker is no small challenge. But by building on our previous success with loudspeaker footers, we can offer a new form of excellence to you as the height-adjustable Center StageUltra TT footers for turntables.

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Dimensions and weight:

Center StageUltra TT is 2” in diameter with a height adjustment between 1.5” and 1.75" (50.8mm x 41mm to 45mm). +/- 5 microns. Weight: 7 ounces / 200 grams. There is no weight limit. Adapters are available.


A sidebar: My daughter-in-law, Ewa, visited recently. She made an off-the-cuff comment I found to-the-point and worthwhile passing along. Ewa is a Ph.D. Electrical Engineer as is my son, Justin. Justin’s field of expertise is photonics. Ewa’s field of expertise is making the lasers that create the photons. You don’t want to play poker for money with these two.

Ewa asked me what I was working on and before I could finish explaining she said, “Oh, this is very interesting. We have many problems with the power units we use with lasers. They tend to vibrate like crazy and calming them down can create measurable output issues. So, what you are trying to do is find the perfect balance point between not too much and not too little energy transmission; the sweet spot. You need the perfect balance point between push and pull. If you push too hard, the sound will become too brittle and if you pull too much, the sound will become too soft. Is that it?“ Yes, that was it.

Ewa stripped the complexity out of the problem (as brilliant people tend to do) and simply and clearly described the ultimate challenge; avoid over-damping and under-damping the turntable to find the “Sweet Spot”, as she called it.



A set of 4 Center StageUltra TT footers has over 30 contact points of differing diameter directly touching the bottom of the turntable. This is vastly more complex than the 4 contact points found on a set of 4 Center Stage2M footers.

Calculated to 1/10,000 of an inch over the surface area of the foot, these damping contact points transfer unwanted resonance out of the table without affecting its engineering qualities. The table, the arm and the cartridge retain their characteristics, the noise floor drops away to nearly nothing and the music leaps to life. In most cases the transformation starts immediately and is often breathtaking to experience.

The benefits of the height-adjustable Center StageUltra TT footer can transfer to electronic components too.



Center StageUltra TD​

Critical Mass Systems is proud to announce the launch of the Center StageUltra TD footer made for tape decks. You know that tape decks are motorized devices that function using constantly turning spindles powered by internal motors whose vibrations cause tape decks to be in a state of elevated internal resonance. Transferring mechanical energy out of the resonating enclosure without affecting the performance of the tape deck playback mechanisms was accomplished by building upon what we learned from executing the height-adjustable Center StageUltra TT footers for turntables. We eliminated the height-adjustment features and recalibrated the damping materials to account for the reduced mass of the foot.

Make no mistake, the Center StageUltra TD foot is just as finely tuned as its bigger brother. It delivers clearly audible excellence under tape decks with the same 30+ damping touch points of varying dimension built in.

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Dimensions and weight:

Center StageUltra TD is 2” in diameter with a height of just over 1” (50.8mm x 27mm). +/- 5 microns. Weight: 5.3 ounces / 150 grams. There is no weight limit. Adapters are available.

The benefits of the height-adjustable Center StageUltra TT footer can transfer to electronic components too.

What to Expect

We named these two footers "Ultra" for a reason. In both, the damping "sweet spot" achieved using 30+ touch points is so finely tuned, so accurate, so perfect for the weight, dimension and materials used to fabricate the foot that placing 1 set of either under your front end component is, well, amazing.

Amazing means an unexpected expansion of the soundstage in width, height, depth and image definition. Expect improvements in vocal expression and realism, and instrumental timber, separation and weight. Expect to hear new musical details previously obscured by an elevated noise floor. Expect greatly improved front-to-back layering and image stability. The bottom line: Expect your system to bring you closer to the original real event as it was originally recorded.
 

joelavrencikCMS

Industry Expert
Jul 30, 2021
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Critical Mass Systems is very pleased to announce that Artisan Fidelity has elected to use the Center Stage Ultra TT foot for a selection of there product offerings OEM. We are grateful to Christopher Thornton for extending CMS the opportunity to send our new product to his production facility to undergo his rigorous tests and personal evaluations. Thank you Chris!
 
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gds7368

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My turntable is already sitting on a CMS Maxxum filter. What would I expect to hear differently if the footers are added? Isn’t it already pretty sonically isolated on the filter? Are the turntable footers more beneficial for different brand racks?
 

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Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
My turntable is already sitting on a CMS Maxxum filter. What would I expect to hear differently if the footers are added? Isn’t it already pretty sonically isolated on the filter? Are the turntable footers more beneficial for different brand racks?
I have all of my components on a CMS filter and each of those components have a set of Center Stage footers underneath. I have a total of 80 CS footers under each component and there is always an audible difference. I had that revelation this past week

There have been posts here as well that use of CS footers on a CMS platform tends to elevate that platform one level....IOW your TT is on Maxxum but putting CS footers on that platform makes it sound like it is on Olympus
 

joelavrencikCMS

Industry Expert
Jul 30, 2021
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My turntable is already sitting on a CMS Maxxum filter. What would I expect to hear differently if the footers are added? Isn’t it already pretty sonically isolated on the filter? Are the turntable footers more beneficial for different brand racks?
There's a lot going on in this post.

When I tested the TT feet under the last turntable on our racks I was surprised how much better the table sounded. I attribute the improvement to bypassing the stock feet of the table. Stock feet can get in the way of a table's potential. When the TT feet and the rack are combined in "direct contact" with the table, you simply get a much improved musical presentation. The rack and the feet have no thumbprint affect on the cartridge, the tone arm or the plinth. It is as if they are invisible. The noise floor drops to virtually nothing. The sound field jumps to a new level of performance in every way. You simply get a better performing table with the same attributes it was designed to provide. I think these feet are my best work......they had to be.
 
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joelavrencikCMS

Industry Expert
Jul 30, 2021
155
57
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74
My turntable is already sitting on a CMS Maxxum filter. What would I expect to hear differently if the footers are added? Isn’t it already pretty sonically isolated on the filter? Are the turntable footers more beneficial for different brand racks?
Rather than me saying what changes I heard and, in the process, use every descriptor you've heard used a million times over once again, I'd rather say that I heard a doubling or maybe tripling of performance. I'd say, in this case, a doubling for sure. And, this was a very good table.
 
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allvinyl

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Apr 10, 2013
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Burnsville, MN
Center StageUltra TT​

Critical Mass Systems is proud to announce the launch of the height-adjustable Center StageUltra TT footer made for turntables.
Center StageUltra TT is 2” in diameter with a height adjustment between 1.5” and 1.75" (50.8mm x 41mm to 45mm). +/- 5 microns. Weight: 7 ounces / 200 grams. There is no weight limit. Adapters are available.



How are adapters used?

I've not used any CMS product so I'm not familiar with the application of this new TT footer as a potential replacement for the Ultra 5s currently attached via 1/4-20 adapters to my turntable plinth.

I will need to assure the plinth's height position could be maintained to assure current integrity of the motor pod/belt to platter relationship.

P1010146.JPG
 

Bbock

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2022
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Illinois
In addition to @allvinyl questions, I would need an M6 attachment. Or, can they be used without attaching them to the turntable?

How do they adjust?

I don’t see anything on the web site yet.

Thanks

Bruce.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
In addition to @allvinyl questions, I would need an M6 attachment. Or, can they be used without attaching them to the turntable?

How do they adjust?

I don’t see anything on the web site yet.

Thanks

Bruce.
they work with or without adapters.
 

Bbock

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2022
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Illinois

allvinyl

Well-Known Member
Apr 10, 2013
359
80
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73
Burnsville, MN
they work with or without adapters.
Should I assume a user would employ an adapter of a desired length in order to achieve a desired position, height for instance, for the component?

Do you have pictures of the new TT footer?

What is the size of the footer's tap? (assuming it has one) For instance as you know, all Stillpoints products are tapped at 1/4-20. Then one can buy any size Stillpoints adapter, standard or metric. (1/4-20 to 3/8-16) (1/4-20 to M6)... etc.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
and most importantly here is what sets these footers apart from the 2M series........

"A set of 4 Center StageUltra TT footers has over 30 contact points of differing diameter directly touching the bottom of the turntable. This is vastly more complex than the 4 contact points found on a set of 4 Center Stage2M footers."
 

dts-99

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2018
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Is that mean the top is not a flat surface? How much are the Ultra TT? Thanks.
 

Bbock

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2022
147
146
50
Illinois
Center StageUltra TD is 2” in diameter with a height of just over 1” (50.8mm x 27mm). +/- 5 microns. Weight: 5.3 ounces / 150 grams. There is no weight limit. Adapters are available.
Steve, I need 1 1/4” height in order to clear the center bearing shaft. Is that an issue with these? Just want to confirm a height adjustment of 1.5-1.75 inches.
 

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