The Stillpoints Difference:
Understanding Isolation versus damping....
From the Stillpoints Website:
"Damping: a decrease in the amplitude of an oscillation as a result of energy being drained from the system to overcome frictional or resistive forces.
Isolation: The act of isolating. The quality or condition of being isolated.
Isolate: to cause to be alone or apart
If you have a device that has direct contact from top to bottom, (12 o’clock to 6 o’clock) like single bearing devices, no matter what the materials used, it is damping -- not isolating.
True isolation does not have a direct path between surfaces. Stillpoints patented technology stacks bearings such that there is no direct contact between the component and the surface upon which it rests."
My Thoughts:
So enough about science... what difference does all of this make in the music that our high end systems produce??? That is the "real" question that we really care about. Well, after playing around with these Stillpoints for several years with different gear I can say with confidence that Stillpoints remove unwanted noise from the sound stage. Instruments are more accurate. Bass is more well controlled. You hear more of the individual elements in a recording. If your system has a considerable amount of grunge and poor bass control, placing Stillpoints under components and speakers will change things. You may find yourself increasing the volume because distortion levels go down. You will hear more mid-range and stronger vocals because the noise veil has been lifted. So many systems out there can perform better with appropriate isolation! It is definitely worth the effort and experimentation.
-Deva