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Dirt cheap support arrangement for solid state amps that worked for me

Rana

Rana

pfm Member
Both my heavy solid state amplifier setups are in cabinets, however I use 10mm thick perspex sheets supported by Michell Tenderfeet or wood cones to separate them from the cabinet. Someone on here posted recently about the old Townshend inflatable supports and that got me thinking. My wife ordered some fancy honey that arrived in two inflated plastic air bag type packaging so I tried them under the perspex sheet supporting my Linx mono amps....

nfLyO5Q.jpg


All I can say is wow, I was not prepared for such an improvement. The music had much better bass definition, more clarity in percussion and voices...the words that kept coming to mind were..."this sounds like I would imagine the master tape would".

Okay, so I went onto Ebay and ordered two of these. They arrived and today I inflated them and placed them under the perspex sheet supporting my main AudioNet amp.

ttdFomr.jpg


Wow - even more difference than my Linx. Again the words "master tape" kept coming to my mind.

If you have a hard support with heavy SS amps and feel like experimenting for peanuts, try them out. I guess you might need revealing speakers and I'm not sure whether these would work with valves or less heavy digital amps, and whether you need a perspex sheet like me, so "YMMV" as they say.
 
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Thanks Rana. That's very interesting.......partly because many would tell you that solid state stuff is unaffected by vibration and also because I always have some of those inflatable packing things around..... It's got to be worth a try.
 
If you use a wheelbarrow inner tube you can try it inflated to different pressures to see which is optimal.
 
Arkless Electronics said:
Checks calendar... no not April 1st....
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Yes I can understand your scepticism Jez, however I've often found supporting amps can make a difference with thick perspex being my personal preference given that I have to use cabinets and not purpose-made equipment supports. I've found with my latest speakers, small tweaks are even more noticeable and, in this instance, I would be happy to double blind test this. But as I wrote, if you have a different system YMMV, especially with speakers that are not sufficiently transparent.
 
Rana said:
Yes I can understand your scepticism Jez, however I've often found supporting amps can make a difference with thick perspex being my personal preference given that I have to use cabinets and not purpose-made equipment supports. I've found with my latest speakers, small tweaks are even more noticeable and, in this instance, I would be happy to double blind test this. But as I wrote, if you have a different system YMMV, especially with speakers that are not sufficiently transparent.
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There is no possibility even of it having any effect. I'd also love to see you differentiate it in a double blind test!:)
 
Years ago for a time, I had a similar arrangement with glass and then particle board and thought they were good things. Now my amplifier lives directly on a regular coffee table and I'm entirely happy with its performance. In fact for the last couple of days it's even been sitting atop another amplifier (I've been comparing them) and sounds no different AFAICT. Can't get cheaper and simpler than that!
 
Arkless Electronics said:
There is no possibility even of it having any effect. I'd also love to see you differentiate it in a double blind test!:)
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Whilst I agree with you on many things, here I am happy to take a double blind test on my own equipment when lockdown and pandemic allow. BTW, the Townshend bladder rack made an impact in this review with Job amps, so I'm not the only one hallucinating!
 
Durmbo said:
Years ago for a time, I had a similar arrangement with glass and then particle board and thought they were good things. Now my amplifier lives directly on a regular coffee table and I'm entirely happy with its performance. In fact for the last couple of days it's even been sitting atop another amplifier (I've been comparing them) and sounds no different AFAICT. Can't get cheaper and simpler than that!
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Out of interest, what amps and speakers are you using Durmbo? For many years I was influenced by this test ( I also had lower end ATC speakers around that time) but as my speakers improved I found I could hear a lot more in terms of upstream changes.
 
Rana said:
Whilst I agree with you on many things, here I am happy to take a double blind test on my own equipment when lockdown and pandemic allow. BTW, the Townshend bladder rack made an impact in this review with Job amps, so I'm not the only one hallucinating!
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On that we agree in this instance. Some people even believe that magic kettle leads and connecting your hi fi to a wooden box full of soil makes an improvement.... Some think 5G masts enable Google to control your mind... Others that the royal family are lizards.... A world where 52% thought brexit was a good idea makes me think of Lou Reed's wise words "Don't believe half of what you see and none of what you hear";)
 
Arkless Electronics said:
On that we agree in this instance. Some people even believe that magic kettle leads and connecting your hi fi to a wooden box full of soil makes an improvement.... Some think 5G masts enable Google to control your mind... Others that the royal family are lizards.... A world where 52% thought brexit was a good idea makes me think of Lou Reed's wise words "Don't believe half of what you see and none of what you hear";)
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Well, it is late at night - but I'm not drunk - honest! To be clear, apart from speaker cables of different design approaches and measurable electrical differences, I've never found that fit for purpose (interconnect and mains) leads never make much noticeable difference and I am also with you on the rest :)
 
Rana said:
Out of interest, what amps and speakers are you using Durmbo? For many years I was influenced by this test ( I also had lower end ATC speakers around that time) but as my speakers improved I found I could hear a lot more in terms of upstream changes.
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A&R A60 and Wharfedale Diamond 2s currently. I've had similar experiences with Heybrook HB2 S2s and other amplifiers. I'd expect your ATCs to be revealing enough.

The Diamond 2s might be old and cheaply had speakers but they're far from shit. Set up properly, they easily reveal differences in subtle TT and cartridge adjustments.

Speakers, even poorly made, absolutely respond to their supports.

As for the blind test, we all know system synergy is important. Perhaps that was missing from the expensive system but in terms of transparency etc. well made budget gear can offer all that expensive stuff does, IME.
 
Rana said:
Both my heavy solid state amplifier setups are in cabinets, however I use 10mm thick perspex sheets supported by Michell Tenderfeet or wood cones to separate them from the cabinet. Someone on here posted recently about the old Townshend inflatable supports and that got me thinking. My wife ordered some fancy honey that arrived in two inflated plastic air bag type packaging so I tried them under the perspex sheet supporting my Linx mono amps....

All I can say is wow, I was not prepared for such an improvement. The music had much better bass definition, more clarity in percussion and voices...the words that kept coming to mind were..."this sounds like I would imagine the master tape would".

Wow - even more difference than my Linx. Again the words "master tape" kept coming to my mind.

If you have a hard support with heavy SS amps and feel like experimenting for peanuts, try them out. I guess you might need revealing speakers and I'm not sure whether these would work with valves or less heavy digital amps, and whether you need a perspex sheet like me, so "YMMV" as they say.
Click to expand...


One of the very few 'enhancements' that I have come across on a hifi forum that I can thoroughly approve of ... pretty much free and if it don't help, it hurts no one and nothing and offends no one (apart from the miserable killjoys).

Usually I just stomp the bubble wrap to death before dumping it in the bin - satisfying pops and bangs to be sure - but this sounds like much more fun :)
 
miktec said:
One of the very few 'enhancements' that I have come across on a hifi forum that I can thoroughly approve of ... pretty much free and if it don't help, it hurts no one and nothing and offends no one (apart from the miserable killjoys).

Usually I just stomp the bubble wrap to death before dumping it in the bin - satisfying pops and bangs to be sure - but this sounds like much more fun :)
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Agreed! No miserable killjoy here, only an audiophile relating their experience. :)
 
miktec said:
One of the very few 'enhancements' that I have come across on a hifi forum that I can thoroughly approve of ... pretty much free and if it don't help, it hurts no one and nothing and offends no one (apart from the miserable killjoys).

Usually I just stomp the bubble wrap to death before dumping it in the bin - satisfying pops and bangs to be sure - but this sounds like much more fun :)
Click to expand...

Hmmm, never tried bubblewrap, this is the inflatable air-bag stuff used to protect glassware, it is my cheapskate version of the Townshend Seismic Sink!
 
I'm more interested in the "fancy honey". I hope it was British, and not the product of EU and other countries, or, even worse, that foul-tasting New Zealand stuff that the sellers make false claims about.
 
Durmbo said:
A&R A60 and Wharfedale Diamond 2s currently. I've had similar experiences with Heybrook HB2 S2s and other amplifiers. I'd expect your ATCs to be revealing enough.

The Diamond 2s might be old and cheaply had speakers but they're far from shit. Set up properly, they easily reveal differences in subtle TT and cartridge adjustments.

Speakers, even poorly made, absolutely respond to their supports.

As for the blind test, we all know system synergy is important. Perhaps that was missing from the expensive system but in terms of transparency etc. well made budget gear can offer all that expensive stuff does, IME.
Click to expand...

I am a ex-Diamond 2 owner myself (nigh on 30 years ago) and just treated myself to a set of mint ex-demo Diamond 9s going cheap at Richers (actually most of my current kit were bought at a fraction of RRP). Agree with system synergy bit but I do have to say that speaker transparency plays a big part in hearing upstream differences that would otherwise be less apparent.
 
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