Reviewed by Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound
September 2012
"Frankly, I'm a bit chagrined that I've been reviewing for 23 years and it took me this long to discover the benefits of no-holds-barred vibration-isolation technology. It's a new trick that this old dog was thrilled to learn."
Fully loading a system with Stillpoints technology – the ESS racks, Ultra SS under the power amplifiers, and, especially, Ultra 5s under the loudspeakers – transformed my system far beyond anything I could have imagined. Whatever the music the change was always the same – hearing more music, more realistically presented, and with vastly deeper involvement. There’s simply no going back.
~ Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound, September 2012
For the past year I have been completely fascinated with the music of Melody Gardot …
… She breathes and enunciates in a musical way. Getting this close to the performance is made all the simpler by adding Ultra 5’s to the system. Their impact is profound.
~ Chris Thomas, HiFi+, Issue 101
There is no Stillpoints white paper and to do the detailed science would be a huge and costly undertaking, but what seems certain is that the products are able to drain resonances from equipment to differing levels of efficiency, leaving a more pristine, less polluted signal, depending on exactly which of them you employ and exactly how and where you couple them. By far the most important thing though is the truly significant musical benefits that they bring.
~ Chris Thomas, HiFi+, Issue 99
Adding the Ultra 5 devices under the Lansche No.7, after I had installed the ESS racks and Ultra SS under the power amplifiers, was revelatory. All the qualities I’ve described about the ESS racks were taken to another level. The increase in resolution was mind-boggling. I’m not talking about hi-fi resolution or the presentation becoming more forward or etched, but rather that about hearing more musical information.
~ Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound, September 2012
During the more than thirty years of experimenting with cones, footers and spikes I've come to the conclusion that many of these products shift problem from one frequency to another. Most of them sound like they look or feel, the pointy ones are sharp and the soft ones soft. Sure, some exception as it's interactive with the equipment you put it under but this observation is not far wrong.
For turntables I've had a long running problem finding a device that maintains clear, sharp imaging, great dynamics and transparent high frequencies without sounding artificial, hyped or bright. The solution is the Stillpoints adjustable riser combined with Stillpoints Universal Resonance damper.
Not only will this combination allow you to precisely level your turntable and reduce interaction with the environment, it lets the music flow in a clear natural way.
We often forget that a turntable is a purely mechanical device. Not only the motor but also the mechanism of picking up vibration from the groove with a tiny polished diamond. This is possibly the most demanding place to test the ability of an isolation device and Stillpoints is the clear winner.