Symposium Acoustics

[spiritofmusic]

Frank, I'm not sure if there's ever been a comparison to test ranking. But my assumption is that the rack is optimal w modules. And since one set of modules can isolate three tiers at a stretch, more cost effective as well.

This is what I did, went for Isis three-tier w one set of Modules, then three, then shelves upgraded to Ultra spec, and then RB HDSEs under gear.

 

[F208Frank]

So I called Peter and spoke to him, and I'm not posting this to "correct" you but just to get information out there. What you have is optimal anyways having both roller blocks under each shelf as well as each component. Peter mentioned that roller blocks under components is more bang for buck versus under each shelf of the rack but of course, one should strive to get both if possible.

I myself, will take this in a step by step process and try to get under components first, see if I notice any differences, and then go roller blocks under shelves in a step by step upgrade to appreciate the process.

Thank you for replying and being so responsive spiritofmusic. I do not doubt I will join you in being a fan of the company. Peter gives VERY detailed answers.

I just wish he would update his website for a more modern look (this is for himself more than for myself, I can care less) as I feel he would attract EVEN more newcomers to his products. He does seem to have a good healthy following/fans of his products as he was a pioneer of the roller block stuff.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Frank, there's a lot to be said for being a tad staid in a modern "hundred miles an hour" marketplace.

The market in racks and especially footers has increased exponentially. For Peter and Symposium to still be punching their weight w so many competitors and isolation methods out there is telling.

A lot of that is word of mouth, solid engineering, fantastic customer service, and very competitive pricing.

And after trying so many racks/footers/specialist passive and active isolation solutions in my systems over time, for me to have settled on Symposium for the vast majority of my gear, and no itching to try something new, is testament to my deep satisfaction w the product.

Good call on gear on RBs > rack Modules.

 

[F208Frank]

Spirit which roller blocks do you have for your modules and for your components? Also which ball bearings did you end up with?

 

[spiritofmusic]

The RB HDSE w Grade 10 ball bearings. The Modules, I'm not sure on different specs, whatever matched the set already in my 3-tier Isis when I bought it, and then replicated on the other two tiers, and my ampstands.

 

[F208Frank]

RB HDSE w Grade 10 ball bearings, these are the same exact ones that I am eyeing, what is the retail for them per 3 set? Thanks.

 

[spiritofmusic]

I really can't remember Frank. I got a little discount since the UK had no distrib at the time. Was over 5 years ago I got the RBs, a decade for the rack. I'm sure Peter will give you a quote.

 

[F208Frank]

Sure thing, thanks for the friendly exchanges, and enjoy your rack. (and as many racks you can get your hands on, assuming your partner permits)

Lol.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Frank, that kind of talk can make you seriously have to self-isolate Lol.

I can really vouch for Peter's gear. It's seriously impressive by way of really not adding any discernable signature. So many things in the vibration isolation world, especially footers, euphonically color the sound. In this category I include Stillpoints Ultra 5s, Shun Mooks Diamond Resonators and IsoAcoustics Gaias. These products all initially sounded promising, but all proved to dominate presentation over time.

My Symposium rack and RBs under gear are totally self-effacing and gently revealing. At no point have I felt the need to move past them, and that's after a decade of ongoing use.
The only exceptions was a more complex dedicated system I need for my tt (150 kg combination Stacore passive pneumatic/mass loading/CLD isolation platform w inert slate single-tier stand) because of my hugely challenging floor, and replacing RBs/Svelte Shelves under my Zu spkrs w Arya Audio Revopods footers, again floor-related, but also because fixed footers are still the best solution for spkrs (despite RBs seemingly being an impvt on the original spikes).

 

[Minnesotafats]

So I called Peter and spoke to him, and I'm not posting this to "correct" you but just to get information out there. What you have is optimal anyways having both roller blocks under each shelf as well as each component. Peter mentioned that roller blocks under components is more bang for buck versus under each shelf of the rack but of course, one should strive to get both if possible.

I myself, will take this in a step by step process and try to get under components first, see if I notice any differences, and then go roller blocks under shelves in a step by step upgrade to appreciate the process.

Thank you for replying and being so responsive spiritofmusic. I do not doubt I will join you in being a fan of the company. Peter gives VERY detailed answers.

I just wish he would update his website for a more modern look (this is for himself more than for myself, I can care less) as I feel he would attract EVEN more newcomers to his products. He does seem to have a good healthy following/fans of his products as he was a pioneer of the roller block stuff.

I encourage anyone to just call Peter whenever you have any doubt about prioritizing his product line. He is honest to the point he has coached me away from purchasing more expensive solutions from him. He is a straight shooter that will always give you the right priority chain of purchases to pursue for his gear.

 

[spiritofmusic]

+1, Peter is a fantastic fellow, always with best advice. I also have him to thank for pointing me away from the world of pain that is tape.

 

[DeadWax]

I just noticed this thread for the first time. I have a Symposium Foundation rack and use an Ultra platform under my amp and Svelte shelf under smaller components. I've tried other platforms but keep coming back to the Symposium for many of the sound improvements others stated above. The only product that I felt deteriorated my sound was their precision couplers placed under components - in my system they sound very bright and thin, draining away some of the best dynamics. Perhaps they work well for others.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Have you tried them against the Rollerblocks? Jnrs and HDSEs?
I only have the Couplers under my passive Entreq ground boxes.

 

[DeadWax]

Have you tried them against the Rollerblocks? Jnrs and HDSEs?
I only have the Couplers under my passive Entreq ground boxes.

Coincidentally I ordered Rollerblock Jr HDSE's a couple of weeks ago to use under my amp as supported by my Ultra platform. They haven't arrived yet but I am anxious to see how they perform. I've read many good reviews.

 

[spiritofmusic]

They've been fantastic here. I've trialled quite a few footers, from the Symposium HDSEs, to Shun Mook Diamond Resonators, Stillpoints Ultra 5.s, IsoAcoustic Gaias, and the newly released Tungsten Grooves.

The HDSEs are the most self effacing, least characterful footers I've auditioned, and thus have been the ones I've kept. Being the least expensive has helped Lol.

Several years of going thru numerous combinations of footers, equipment racks, cables and power treatments, now in a hugely revealing acoustic, and I've settled on brands I'll never switch from. Once you find a tweak that truly allows music to emerge with no character imposed on it, tonally and timbrally distinct from album to album, that tweak becomes a no brainer. No other footer I've tried QUITE manages the self effacing trick as well as HDSEs.

The only place I've removed them from was under my Zus to replace the stock spikes. Here, hard coupling is preferable, and I'm using Arya Audio Revopods instead, another killer product.

 

[bazelio]

The Rollerblock Jrs work surprisingly well in my system as well. Though I only have them under my phono and under its power supply, while I have a 1" steel plate under my amp. My rack is 1 1/4" high quality birch plywood, which is sonically dead. And, as I've learned, not dead in a good way. But it seems the Rollerblock Jrs perform best atop a dead substrate (like the symposium platforms), so the plywood works well in conjunction with them. And I found the Rollerblocks better than other (far, far) more expensive footers, including those particularly popular on WBF. It was really remarkable at first listen. The appropriate analogy between components directly on my rack shelves vs using Rollerblocks in between would be 8-bit color vs 24-bit color. You just get more - in a very natural / realistic way. I was so surprised at first listen that I sought out reviews of these things to validate what I was hearing. I found one that nailed it (from a site that I never otherwise read) ...

"Rollerblocks decompress the internal musical structure and release more details, subtler inflections and finer gradations of tonal colors" -Srajan Ebaen

^ This. This was exactly what I'd heard.

On the flip side, I've heard some complaints that Rollerblocks make things like bass too tight, transients too sharp. It doesn't have to be the case, though. Hard to believe as it is, the bearing quality actually makes a difference there. There are some very good quality, inexpensive bearings at McMaster Carr that don't, to my ears, sound like the Symposium bearings. I hate going down the path of evaluating bearings ... but it was cheap and easy to do, and I stopped there. I've picked up numerous sets of Rollerblock Jrs used on Audiogon now. The investment is so minimal compared to the performance I get from them. Recently, I picked up a set of HDSE to compare to my "standard" Rollerblock Jrs. Haven't tried them yet, but will sometime soon.

 

[fayerichard]

Hi @spiritmusic and all,

I am currently using Stillpoints (different models) in my system under speaker and components. I can clearly hear what do well, the resolution is much higher, better blacks between instruments and clear highs. However, I can also hear what they take away or not focus on, which is the mid-bass and lower mid-range. Now I would like to try the Symposium equipment. I am just wondering why it is suggested that Rollerblocks Juniors HDSE perform better than the series 2+? Is it because of their design? It seems that the 2+ is even higher up the range.
Secondly, how do they differ and compare against the Arya Revopods? Which I also have in my system now, but thinking of placing them under speakers instead. The Rollerblocks will then slip under the components, which rest on SRA platforms. Would they increase the performance of the SRA’s as well? So many questions.

 

[bazelio]

I haven't tried 2+ but I'd think that there will be a noticeable difference. For one, the 2+ looks to provide partial damping, while the juniors do not. Second, with the 2+, the bearing directly contacts the component. I suppose you could sandwich the bearing between two sets of 2+ blocks but that's not how they're sold. Also, I suppose we could emulate the 2+ with the junior by not using both pucks and placing the component directly on the bearing, but I haven't tried that. And regarding damping, I am fairly certain I don't want it - at least it hasn't worked out with other products I tried. Still, maybe the 2+ is different somehow. I'd be willing to try it. The opportunity hasn't come up. But, "higher up the line", and "more expensive" ... these don't automatically mean better.

 

[fayerichard]

I haven't tried 2+ but I'd think that there will be a noticeable difference. For one, the 2+ looks to provide partial damping, while the juniors do not. Second, with the 2+, the bearing directly contacts the component. I suppose you could sandwich the bearing between two sets of 2+ blocks but that's not how they're sold. Also, I suppose we could emulate the 2+ with the junior by not using both pucks and placing the component directly on the bearing, but I haven't tried that. And regarding damping, I am fairly certain I don't want it - at least it hasn't worked out with other products I tried. Still, maybe the 2+ is different somehow. I'd be willing to try it. The opportunity hasn't come up. But, "higher up the line", and "more expensive" ... these don't automatically mean better.

Yes, exactly. I like to learn more. I definitely agree with you that more expensive does not always mean better. Sometimes, the effect is a little bit of too good thing. I have found out that everything is system dependent, however, there are also products that will work great no matter what since the know-how they put in there is high-class. For my situation now, I would definitely like to know how the Rollerblocks 2+ and HDSE compare to my Stillpoints and Revopods footers for components. I might move my Revopods to the speakers like @spiritofmusic.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Can't offer a comparison on the 2 v HDSE, budget constraints pushed me twds the latter. And since they work so well, I've not been tempted to worry about what I might be missing out on.

Revopods under my spkrs was just one of THOSE moments in my evolution of tweaking, like Stacore platform under tt and Bocchino Sablon Elites pwr cords, that immediately spoke to me.