I still enjoy my Oladra upgraded CX/EX/P2 setup, now with AMS v5.
I can’t say the v5 changed that much in terms of SQ in my Squeeze config but it certainly looks better…
However, I just added some Ansuz Darkz damper feet or resonance control as they call it and WOW that really upped the game of my stack! It’s the Darkz S2T stainless steel variant so not even the most exotic of the range yet the impact is phenomenal, removing them now makes the sound quite dull !
I’m a big fan of the micro-vibration and microphonics control products from Herbie’s Audio Lab. I use their Tenderfoot isolation feet under all my gear, and have used a variety of their other products. Highly recommended, especially for the cost.
An honest question, does anyone have a credible explanation of how digital devices with digital only outputs such as the Antipodes server/streamers can be affected by resonance control/damping feet?
For sure I get the ‘it sounds better to me’ reasoning but people have put forward credible reasons why squeeze sounds better than Roon rather than just relying on subjective assessment.
I just did a search on “oscillator sensitive to vibration”. A few articles came back that suggested that but oscillator performance “can degrade under vibration due to the mechanical coupling between the crystal and its environment”. Apparently vibration can cause a measurable increase in phase noise. This is essentially an increase in timing instability, as I understand it. That can lead to an increase in jitter.
I next asked about oscillators in a computer. Search assistant replied with “A computer typically contains at least one oscillator, often a crystal oscillator, which generates clock signals to regulate the timing and speed of the processor.”
I believe that crystal oscillators are used for reclocking in Antipodes.
Seems that the more sensitive a system is to timing, the greater the need to keep vibration from harming the performance of oscillators.
No, because it would offer no path out for vibration. The better footers - especially the footers that provide the greatest benefits - essentially drain off vibration from the two surfaces the footers contact (the equipment chassis and shelf the component would otherwise rest on). They do this by converting vibrational energy into another form (like heat).
A path for vibration out from components is most beneficial when components are bombarded with airborne vibration from speakers. In addition there are components inside a component that vibrate when power passes through them. Power supplies do this, which is a big reason why solid state power amps benefit so much from footers that offer a path out. Less so with music servers though given their smaller power supplies.
It’s not a binary thing. An effective footer needs to quickly respond and not add anything back. It’s a basic engineering problem to solve and better engineering can achieve better results. It’s up to every listener to determine whether the results justify the cost. The Stillpoints under my Antipodes offered an improvement over the G4 footers, but it was not enough to justify the retail price for Stillpoints. I had some left over from another component so I kept them as the improvement justified the amount I would have gotten for selling them.