I'm sold on Symposium Acoustics

[JohnThomas]

Well I always believed in vibration control and use to have Starsound's sistrum under all my Mcintosh system and enjoyed what they did. Well 9 months later after the switch to Burmester I was ready to start tweaking and try something new.I picked up two Symposium black stealth Ultra Platform on audiogon last week. Boy are these things sexy to look at. Well then I called Peter at Symposium for a lesson on what the HDSE's could do. He recommended putting them under my dac. Also a pair under the preamp on top of ultra platform and couplers under the amp with a ultra pad. Well I listen to what he said but also wanted to try the new super perscion super couplers on the preamp since I was trying to avoid the rolling effect. First I put the super perscion couplers under the preamp with the ultra. Listen to Liz story's solid colors things sounded sweeter bass was tighter. Then I switched to the HDSE on top of the ultra boy was the a major league improvement. What I found out is, I should have listen to Peter the first time about using the HDSE over the couplers. I tried the same experiment with the amp and everything just gets sweeter and tighter another major leap and I mean major. I haven't even got to try the HDSE under the dac, power conditioner, or the mac mini yet. I would have but I didn't have any more HDSE's. So I called Peter yesterday and had a another long discussion. He must get sick and tired of repeating himself to new people. Anyway I decided to buy 1 set of the rollerblock 2+ with an additional tops since his current batch of HDSE's were out of stock. He says and what I read in reviews that this will be even better allot more resolutions. Is that possible? Addiction overkill ought to be my middle name. So when they get here next week I will put them under the preamp first then the dac and either the dac or preamp will have the rollerblock 2+. I have to say like Dan said in his review these HDSE's are addicting. To me its like chocolate nice and sweet.

[f1 fan]

John...the more Symposium products you use in your system the better it gets. They made a huge difference in my system and Peter is a great guy to work with. Highly recommended.

Dave

[j3brow]

John....my experience parallels yours. I have Rollerblock 2+ under my cdp and preamp and HDSE under my amp in combination with svelte and super shelves. The shelf + rollerblock combo cannot be beat. I too experienced a remarkable improvement in my system after installation of Symposium products. Can you say resolution? In spades. The Ultra shelf under my suspension-less VPI turntable along with "mini" svelte shelves under the turntable motor was a major major upgrade to my analog rig. Addicting? You betcha. Worth the dollars? No doubt. If you get symposium shelf/rollerblocks under your power conditioner, please let us know the results. I wonder if the result would be audible with my PPP

Jason

[JohnThomas]

Update on the symposium ultra platform, HDSE and the rollerblock 2+. My scenario power amp sits on top of an Ultra with HDSE in between. I used the preamp sitting on top of an Ultra to gauge the difference between HDSE and the rollerblock 2+. I used Keiko Matsui Deep Blue album the song Across The Sun. First was the HDSE against rollerblock 2+.The HDSE is 90% of the rollerblock for sure. Then I tried the sandwich rollerblock which is a juggling act to setup. I was surprised to my ears but sitting on top of the ultra the rollerblock seem to loose some of the precision and pinpoint imaging and became fuller. Then I tried the rollerblock inverted. Wow that's the ticket in my system. Things got scary now. I start to hear things that weren't there before. My take on the HDSE is yes they are like potato chip but if you eat to many you don't feel to good. I think you need a balance of HDSE, rollerblocks and platforms to get to your goal. Lastly I had extra pair of HDSE and rollerblocks sitting on the side. I tested them under the power conditioner with everything else in tact. I preferred the increase resolution with the rollerblocks. You may ask why haven't I tried symposium under my dac. I have but the wavelength only weights like 6 pounds since it has a 3 pound external power supply. I'm not hearing any dramatic improvement like the amp, preamp or conditioner so weight helps the sound. You mac 501 guys should throw the HDSE under those bad boys. I think you will be highly wowed.

John

[Omerta]

Originally Posted by j3brow

I wonder if the result would be audible with my PPP

Jason

I found HDSE's under my PPP did make an improvement to the treble. They improved a slight his in the top end I did not realize was there until I kept A/B-ing the HDSE's.

[j3brow]

Awesome guys. Thanks for the follow up. Lou,glad to hear you liked what hdse did for your PPP. Future upgrade awaits....