Stillpoints....Audio crack?

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by robfine

“An idle mind is the devil’s playground”, or something like that. Talk about a truism in the “Land of the Audiophiles”! Here I am 56 hours after coming home from surgery on my rotator cuff looking at and listening to my audio equipment from breakfast to bed excepting rehab and the mind wonders (maybe wanders too but not as much). All this Stillpoints discussion has me wondering. A number of years ago I bought some gently owned Stillpoints Ultra SS, 2 quad sets, from a fellow AA’er. I had planned to use them under my Thiel CS 2.3s. Unfortunately, the Thiels did not have threaded holes for spikes that Stillpoints could work with. Not a terrible loss, they ended up under my PrimaLuna integrated amp and (for one set, later) my Holo Audio May dac and all sounds very nice. But this thread reminds me of reading back then that Stillpoints work best when, in a system, they go under speakers first. Now instead of the Thiels I’m listening to Dynaudio Heritage Specials on Dynaudio Stands 20. And I’m guessing Stillpoints has adaptors that would work with these stands.

So… has anyone experimented by moving Stillpoints between speakers and amp + source to see which configuration you liked best?

Well, I’m your huckleberry. Speakers w/ Stillpoints are the #1 place to start. Yes, I have all the adapters in stock for Dynaudio speakers too.

Amps are next in line, then preamp, and sources last.

I’m glad to hear you are already on the mend.

[Clyde2]

After reading about Stillpoints extensively here and elsewhere, I decided to see what all the buzz was about. A quick PM to Ivan and a follow up phone conversation later, a set of 4 Ultra minis and LPI v2 were headed my way. It was suggested to try the minis under my LFD Audio integrated amp which is on a Quadraspire rack with bamboo shelves. Obviously, the Stillpoints don't need to warm up or break in, so I knew the verdict wouldn't take long to reach. In fact, it was even shorter than I could've imagined. The greater imaging, both in size and focus, was immediately apparent. I'm not a reviewer by any standard but the presentation was much more natural. It was closer to music and further away from reproduced music. The LPI weight is no bargain certainly. But it had a compounding effect, on albums of course, and on top of my DAC and also Aurender W20SE server. That's when the title of this thread kicked in. It became much less important to understand why and how these devices improve the sound so drastically, I just needed more of them. Our leader Masterlu and the available info for Stillpoints implementation indicate the speakers should be first in line. I was a little out of order but another call to Ivan resulted in 2 additional sets of 4 minis in black arriving a few days later. I use Harbeth 30.1 monitors on Sound Anchor stands. I was very reticent to place the minis between speaker and stand as that seemed to be a gamble with stability. After being assured by Ivan this was the way to go, I put them in. They are a terrific match aesthetically with the stands and almost seem to be an extension rather than an accessory. Once they were leveled properly they are completely stable and do not move, even at high volume. But the sound...... The sound is now completely "untethered to the equipment". The effect of actual music vs reproduced music increased exponentially. I thought my system was great before but I've never enjoyed it more than I do now and I'm far from finished deploying Stillpoints. The clarity and organic "natural" sound of instruments and voices is incredible. My system is quite modest compared to many listed in the signature lines of the majority of posts here but the improvement was nothing short of amazing. I can only imagine what some of you listen to on a regular basis....(My gear for reference: LFD NCSE Mk II integrated Amp, Harbeth/SA stands, Palmer 2.5i TT with Audio Origami Arm/Koetsu Rosewood Sig, Sutherland Little loco photostage, Aurender, and Ayre QX5/Twenty DAC. Powered by a Shunyata Denali and various Shunyata PCs from Omega to Alpha NRv2, Digital Cables Shunyata Omega and Alpha, Analog ICs and speaker cables are LFD, Shunyata Altaira grounding SG/CG hubs with Omega/Alpha cables) Ultimately, I need to thank both Ivan for his considerable time and consideration, and all of you for posting your experiences (+ and -) with these and other products. You are great salesman and consultants for those less advanced people in this field like myself. If the minis can do this much, it's difficult to imagine what the higher end models can do for much higher echelon equipment. Thanks to all.

[Masterlu]

Ben… what a great review, thanks for sharing both your experience and the shout out to me.