Hi Charles,

Thought I'd respond with a little more info to the EML quest I have in my own thread.

I have always liked the sound of the Sophia "punched plate". It has a quality about it that is hard to describe. My EML (solid plate), KR (balloon) and WE each have their own uniqueness but the Sophia did something that drew me in a little more. I have a feeling it has something to do with the "holes" in the plate. With the EML's being a real woven mesh, this could be the holy grail for me. A few people I know say it's very close the the AVVT mesh that I've heard so much good about.

I always wanted to try the EML mesh but there were blocks to me getting a pair. They just got removed and I'll be getting them Wed. On paper, the EML "mesh" should kill the Sophia/TJ "mesh" but I will seen in real life soon. I'll let you know about it here.

Curious, have you ever heard the mesh/punched plate in your system?

onemug January 21, 2013 09:05

Hi Highend64,
Thanks for your kind comments on my room. I must admit I spend many hours there happily listening to music(I watch very little television).I`m sure you derive much pleasure with your system also.
Regards,

charles1dad January 20, 2013 17:30

Very nice looking system Charles1dad. I really like how your room looks especially the artwork. Happy listening

highend64 January 20, 2013 08:13

Roxy54,
Thanks very much for your input.I don`t doubt you,bill, andrew or any other opinion of these stands effect beneath speakers.Robert of Star Sound said they will work fine with speakers and also tube amplifiers such as mine. My concern is less speaker stability perched on this stand and unwanted increased height. The amps on the other hand would be very stable and presumably better sounding on these stands. It seems to me either use of the Sistrum will be a worthwhile benetfit.

Regards,

charles1dad January 20, 2013 02:28

Charles1dad,
I have sung the praises of the Sitrum SP-101 speaker supports before, and I will continue to do so. They are no BS, and make a truly amazing difference. I am familiar with the sound of your speakers, and I think they are great. I will go out on a limb, and say that you have not heard their potential without these stands, and as another member posted, no cones or spikes will do the same job.
As Grannyring said, I too will never use my speakers without them, and because they have the three upward -facing cones which can be moved, they can be adjusted to fit about any speaker.
The designer himself told me that the SP-101 is the real deal, and the simpler stands were reverse engineered to fit a price point. This is a solid case of painfully expensive, but worth the pain.

roxy54 January 19, 2013 20:20

Spirit.
I meant to also say that I believe the VSF capacitor (the middle choice in the Duelund line) is closer to CAST in performance and much better than the Alexander.
Regards,

charles1dad January 19, 2013 16:17

Spirit,
I just went straight to the CAST and did`nt bother with incremental steps along the way. I would listen to Grannyring(bill), he`s tried multiple capacitors and is a source of vast knowledge without the hype.CAST prices have come down recently and although still expensive(relatively so) they are superb.I doubt anyone who has actually used the Duelund CAST has had any regrets(well there`s always that one exception lurking out there I suppose).
Regards,

charles1dad January 19, 2013 15:55

The Duelund Cast product and a few others with their flat surfaces such as the Clarity Dtac lend themselves to resonance grounding dissapation methods and mechanical tensioning. Particularly beneficial when components are being bombarded with energy inside a speaker cabinet. Tom

theaudiotweak January 19, 2013 13:45

Spirit, I have compared the Duelund CAST to the Duelund Alexander in my tube preamp and there is a night and day difference. The Alexander is not in the same league. I used the Alex cap for two years and they were very good. Once the CAST became more affordable I replaced the Alex caps and the improvement was profound. The Alex caps are not as resolving or natural sounding. The CAST caps are also far more quiet and refined.

If you can afford the CAST nothing will come close based on my caps rolling endeavors.

grannyring January 19, 2013 13:29

Charles, I'm aiming to go down the Symposium Acoustics solution to spkr supports. Resting each of my 85kg Zu Definitions 4 spkrs on four Rollerblocks Jrs (ball bearing in recessed cup principle of isolation), this all sitting on a Svelte Shelf per spkr. A massive upgrade to the stock spikes.
In fact my system supports are upgrading to all Symposium, the only support/isolation product I've found that makes a significant contribution to clearing hash and maximising neutrality.
Another q re Duelund caps. Were you able to a-b the cheap Alexander v pricier VSF v priciest CAST Cu options? If so can you summarise the pros and cons of each?

spiritofmusic January 19, 2013 12:28

Agear is spot on. They are magic under speakers of your dimension. I actually secured mine to the stand using the threaded holes in the bottom of the speaker. I took a little thought, but I can show you how it may be possible.

I used them under several tower speakers to great effect.

grannyring January 18, 2013 14:55

Hi Andrew,
The Coincident Total Eclipse(T.E.)is tall(52") deep(22") but narrow with a width of 9". So for this reason Israel offers 4 braas spikes that screw into the lower cabinet and offer a wide and secure base(extened footprint and very stable). These narrow speakers(no way to attach them, they would just set freely on the stand) would be unsecured on the Sistrum stands(easier to tip over if bumped).Robert understands that I`ll use them with my amplifiers(he very confident in their effect).He did mention the need for settling in.
Regards,

charles1dad January 18, 2013 08:59

Hi Grannyring(bill)
I had wanted the SP-04 stands but robert said they`re no longer available.He suggested the 101 stands and says they can adjust to fit my amplifiers(I`d believed these were too large for my amps,he says they`re not) he says these are better anyway.Robert strikes me as sincere so I`ll go with it.Bill, when you described these stands as "Duelund like"(andrew agreed with you) that did it for me.

Two audiophile friends of mine came over last night, they had`nt heard the system since the Duelund insertion.We listened to music for over 3 hours(a variety of things). They were impressed with the improved overall resolution/detail combined with a pure natural-effortless sound, so organic with beautiful tone.One of them has Duelund caps but has`nt install them yet,I hope this motivates him(smile).The Duelund CAST most certainly improve openess,air and dynamic contrast. I know I sound like a broken record but the CAST is a brilliant product.
Regards,

charles1dad January 17, 2013 14:39

I have the SP 101's under my speakers and they will never leave that position. No footer has come close to what these stands do.

grannyring January 17, 2013 14:04

Try the stands under the speakers if possible just to get a taste. Subs and speakers have the most impact followed by amps. IMO, it is a foundational technology that should remain while components come and go.

Keep us posted. The stands have their own settle in time as well. I am sure Robert told you....

agear January 17, 2013 12:46

Charles, which amp stand model are you getting?

grannyring January 17, 2013 10:29

I`m going to order the Synergistic Quantum SR 20 fuses and the Star Sound Sistrum amp stands today.I`ve thought it over for a while(as I always do prior to a purchase) and it seems these are serious products. There`s so much hype about many audio products that just don`t prove out in reality.My gut feeling is these two products are proven and are well praised by many who`ve used them.

I had this same feeling toward the Takatsuki 300b tubes and the Duelund CAST capacitors and the resulting improvements were fabulous.I hope I can say the same again.Listening and time will tell.
Regards,

charles1dad January 17, 2013 07:00

Yes I do...it's evolved over many years in a direction that I like the sound of very much. The level of energy, musical realism and dynamics at both extremes makes me happy on a daily basis. Happy Listening!

zephyr24069 January 16, 2013 06:57

Hi Zephyr,
Thanks again for the compliments.
I took a look at your system and it`s very impressive and well thought out to say the least. Although our systems follow different approaches I`m certain you derive sheer musical joy every time you listen to your music.
Regards,

charles1dad January 16, 2013 06:40

You are lucky....I was getting impacted by the art glass in my frames and pulling them off the wall totally told the story. I then had the glass removed in all 3 and did A-B tests with many tracks over the next couple of days and the results (once the glass was removed) were equal. It was good to have my pictures back on the wall. Love the jazz artwork...your room is a great place to seek sanctuary and listen to tunes :-) !

zephyr24069 January 15, 2013 18:17

Zephyr,
Thank you, I really appreciate your kind comments.
Perhaps I`m just lucky but the sound is no different with the pictures compared to when the wall was bare.The Miles Davis was a gift from my sister in law and my wife and I selected the Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie pictures.
Regards,

charles1dad January 15, 2013 07:46

Beautiful room, system and artwork; you must be very happy! In the way of an unsolicited opinion, I had some audiophile friends over several months ago and we happened to try taking the framed artwork off the back wall of my room with great results in terms of center image precision and depth. I had non-glare "art glass" in my frames which was doing a bit of subtle harm to my system's sound. About 2 months ago, I had the glass removed and (no surprise at all), the image and sound stage depth returned to what is was with nothing hanging on the wall. You've got some beautiful artwork there which I really like; have you tried the same experiment and have you contemplated removing the glass from your frames?

zephyr24069 January 15, 2013 04:05

Charles, the Zu Def4s really are open and sparkling thru the treble. Hard to believe there's more openess to be had, but at £650/$1000, this is at the low end of any upgrade price otherwise. And I guess if they don't work the Duelunds could be disengaged.
I believe Sean at Zu is soon to offer cap choices as upgrades but at present the Mundorfs are the stock option.
Really hoping this all works to enhance the amazing synergy I'm getting btwn the Zu spkrs and Zu 103 cart, which as the main transducers of the system really are 'flavouring' the system beautifully.

spiritofmusic January 14, 2013 16:44

I agree with Charles. I was thrilled with the RP. . . until I tried the Takatsuki. Since then, the RP have sat in the closet; and I bought a back-up pair of Takatsuki. But it is twice the price of the RP.

gsm18439 January 14, 2013 14:35

Charles, the fuse takes a LONG time to burn IMO. 100-300 hrs. I noted changes at the 300 hr mark. Self-deception? Who knows at this point. A very impressive little tweak....

agear January 14, 2013 10:31