DubStars and Decibels
Decibels are odd things and though objectively or scientifically easy to measure, they can be confusing. How an individual hears them is not a constant, it is very subjective. An increase of 3dB doubles the sound pressure, and requires 3 times the acoustic power, though perceived doubling in volume takes 5 to 10db depending on the listener.
However we can say that more decibels (tenths of Bells) are louder.
Cutting to the point of this post, we recently had a set of our DubStar feet, the set made for the Technics 1210, tested under probably worst case scenario conditions. Our feet were compared with two other brands and the standard feet in a Dub Reggae type venue by DJ and sound engineer Prince Fatty (Mike) with an array of powerful subwoofers as part of the setup. (I need to go and hear it myself – Fox and Firkin, Lewisham High Street.) Noise control scientist Ray was helping with the experiment. As far as I can ascertain, music was played at increasingly loud volumes until feedback was detected in the turntable stylus.
They conducted the experiment on the different brands and then combined some of the feet.
The Solidair Audio DubStars “reigned supreme” 4dB ahead of the closest and 11dB better than standard feet. Our feet also showed no weakness at a particular frequency, or resonance, which was very pleasing to see.
I think Ray liked the runner up as they cost less, which is fair enough. We always aim to make the best here, with no compromise in materials and craftsmanship. We want to offer the best for every audiophile and their HiFi, so you only need to buy once.
Apparently with our feet combined with the top runner up another 3dB was possible, but at this point they were setting off the car alarms outside the venue!
So it’s official, Solidair Audio DubStars are seriously good turntable isolation feet.
Some of the testing can be seen here.
Michell turntable Gyro/Orbe performance pack now available in Black Aluminium
The ever popular Gyro performance pack for Michell Gyrodec and Orbe turntables is now available in a Black Anodised finish. The motor spacer is also available in the same black finish to go with the dark finished machines. The option can be found here (don’t tell Jonny).
New upgrades for Technics turntables
We have been working with Sonik cables and accessories and one of our customers to produce a range of isolation feet for some of the Technics turntable range. We are pleased to announce the new isolation feet upgrade to fit the SL120 and SL1100 models. They offer a tighter bass and smoother treble for an all together more satisfying listening experience. They can be seen here.
Spike taming feet
Many Hifi products use spikes as a basic form of isolation. They do have advantages in that they offer some sound improvement, their cost is low and they are easy to make height adjustable. We can now offer a product to offer much better vibration isolation for your spike mounted HiFi components. Our Dark Star Spike docking feet are designed to go under the spikes. They can take a lot of weight, so can be used under speakers and HiFi racks to offer exceptional isolation . They are easy to install, with no modification needed to your equipment.
String Theory
We have been looking at an alternative to magnetic levitation for HiFi isolation. Our aim is to give a wider load range and more stability under tall or heavy speakers. The feet have a variety of cool materials. A carbon fibre main body with ebony and brass centre, suspended on a braided nylon web. Our testing has been giving exciting results with string theory feet performing to a very high level and doing just what we hoped.
Under speakers they were really very exciting, with comments like “where did the speakers go?” and “It’s just a wall of sound!”. We are now working on a Speaker suspension bridge with these feet. It also gives an option for those who are suspicious of magnetic fields. Take look here.
Solidair Audio Pylons
Our new Solidair Audio Pylons are going down well. We are delighted to hear that our customers are as pleased with them as we are. These are one of the upgrades we do for the Michell Gyrodec and Orbe Turntables.
Some lovely reviews from our customers:
“…the pylons are”something else” beautiful, organic, well made and boy do they do the job. The platter now has a much more solid, positive feel, with no bouncing and the quietness between tracks on a record is scary. Excellent product all round.” RQ
“I love the new pylons for the Gyrodec, they are a big improvement over the original springs. Easy to fit and well made, they stop the deck from bouncing around all over the place when you change a record and they look great too. The sound seems a lot clearer, especially through the mid range, allowing more detail through than before. Vocals seem more real with added texture, the sound as a whole is a step up with the pylons fitted. They certainly work as claimed and I would happily recommend them to any owner of a Gyrodec. Many thanks for introducing yet another way of improving a great deck still further. Well worth the money.” AR
Solidair Audio Pylons for Michell Gyrodec and Orbe
We have developed a new product to replace the spring suspension in the much loved Michell Gyrodec and Orbe turntables. They offer a significant improvement in the sound quality that the machines can deliver, well woth a look if you are lucky enough to have one of these delightful turntables.
Solidair Audio Pylons – Spring suspension upgrade for Gyrodec and Orbe
A new style Speaker Suspension Bridge
We have just made a set of speaker suspension bridges, destined for life under a pair of classic Lowther horn speakers in Kuala Lumpur. We are very pleased with the black anodised look, which compliments the brass so well, they should look fabulous in action. We have a review coming out soon in HiFi Pig, the online HiFi magazine, which includes a look at what the speaker suspension bridges do. We have not seen the review yet, but the reviewer was very complimentary, so we think he liked them as much as we do.
The Aluminium version of the Michell Gyrodec performance pack is now available
We have been asked if we do a silver version of the Gyrodec performance pack by several people now, so thought it about time we came up with the goods.
The polished aluminium version of the popular turntable upgrade works just like the brass version. The feet simply screw on in place of the standard cone spike feet to give you an altogether better listening experience. The platter settles quickly with the damping afforded by the magnets and the sound is altogether sweeter, easier on the ear and more detailed.
If you own a Gyrodec, Orbe or Transcriptor these feet feet will give you a very noticeable performance upgrade. They are the best value for money upgrade available for these turntables and that’s not just our opinion.
A new range of more affordable feet
We now have a new range range of more affordable feet. We have redesigned the feet slightly and made them out of aluminium to reduce the cost. They have a silver grey anodised finish, so no need for polishing or lacquering and they also offer a different choice of colour from the other feet in the range, which may suit some equipment better. They still offer fabulous isolation, but with a much less labour intensive finish and lighter weight, we are able to offer these at a lower price than than the other feet.
The feet come in a box of four with each foot supporting 0.5 to 6Kg for the Ukishima 6 Aluminium feet (2 to 24Kg for four) or 2 to 15Kg each for the Ukishima 15 Aluminium (8 to 60Kg for four feet).
We can offer 8Kg and 20Kg magnets or odd numbers of feet aswell if necessary.