Yesterday I received two sets of four Stillpoints Ultra Mini's from Ivan. I already have four Ultra Mini's under the Esoteric K-03 in the studio system, and since installing them I have wanted to put the Ultra Mini's under my McIntosh preamplifier and controller in that same sound system. I finally made it happen.
I had been using Symposium Rollerblock Jr.'s for years under both the C1000 controller and the C1000P solid state preamplifier. I still remember the improved clarity and focus they brought to the sound system when I installed them. I previously had Rollerblock Jr.'s under the Esoteric K-03. Replacing them two years ago with the Stillpoints Ultra Mini's raised the performance bar even more than I had expected. So it was once again last night with the Ultra Mini's now under the two components that make up the McIntosh C1000C/P preamplifier.
After installing the Stillpoints Ultra Mini's in place of the Symposium Rollerblock Jr.'s I began to audition several very familiar recordings. The first was the high-res recording of Ottmar Liebert - Three-Oh-Five (24Bit/88.2KHz). I was immediately struck by the sharper definition and focus of the acoustic guitar strings, the depth and richness of tone in the electric guitar, and an improvement in the three dimensional aspects of the sound stage. I knew from previous experience replacing the Rollerblock Jr.'s under the K-03 that there was additional performance enhancements to be gained but it is still quite startling to hear an immediate improvement with the Stillpoints Ultra Mini's in place under the controller and preamp. I have a vague understanding of the science behind Stillpoints engineering but when you look at these isolators it is difficult to imagine they can bring about such a performance boost. Your eyes may fool your mind but the ears know exactly what is going on. A nice plus is no break-in required.
I went on to play Pat Metheny - Speaking Of Now on CD in the K-03's transport. Once again I experienced a more clearly defined sound stage. Piano, synthesizer, bass, and drums gained a fresh focus of each instrument's sound. The better sonic presentation isn't what I would describe as dramatic, more like a refinement to what was already a fine presentation. Everything just feels more real, more focused, clearer. At the level many of us enjoy with our sound systems, gaining any performance bump can often be elusive, but for me there is no doubt an improvement in my studio system's performance with the addition of the Stillpoints Ultra Mini's supporting the controller and preamp. I should have done this a long time ago.