The Ukishima 8 is here
We have introduced an upgraded option for the range of small feet. By having some new magnets specially made, we can offer a 30% more powerful foot in the same body package as the popular Ukishima 6. It gives a bit more load headroom and can be mixed with the “6” feet if you have a heavy corner, or an opening lid on a record player that makes one area work harder than the rest. We can also offer the new magnets as an upgrade for Ukishima 6 feet already out there working hard for your listening pleasure.
Wooden Feet
We have been experimenting with different types of decorative woods to offer a new aesthetic for people wanting something a little unusual.
They work well as expected and look interesting. We are looking at woods such as burr oak, to give more detail and interest in the grain. We also have a master wood-turner on board to help us out. We will offer some new products soon.
Speaker suspension bridge testing
We took a variety of of our new speaker suspension bridges to Falmouth, to see what the great speaker guru, Julius Hyde, would make of them. Testing went very well on the bridges. The difference was instantly clear and substantial. The sound was not only significantly better with the feet under the speakers but the smallest details could be heard that had been previously unnoticed. The staging was precise and the bass powerful and crisp. The whole sound was sharper, yet more rounded and less shrill. Really quite delightful and easy on the ear. It was a revelation, as if you had been listening to a fabulous voice with some of the audience joining in and then suddenly, you were hearing it on it’s own. Julius commented one would have to spend many thousands of pounds in upgrades to get a similar performance improvement by another route. We were very pleased and relieved after all the hard work.
We also wanted to hear what would happen downstairs, to see if we had managed to reduce the sound transmission to rooms underneath the music room. The music was definitely quieter and less intrusive and with the suspension bridges in place, it sounded like distant music rather than a bass heavy noise. I made an attempt to be more scientific using a decibel meter; same track, same volume and found typically about 3dB less noise. This equates to about half the power transmission through the floor of the speakers without the suspension bridges. So good news for your neighbours too!
91dB in the listening room
77.8dB downstairs with supension bridges
81dB without suspension
The speaker suspension bridge has arrived.
We have just finished and tested the second incarnation of the speaker suspension bridge and the results have been really pleasing.
They can comfortably take speakers up to 80Kg in weight with two units, perhaps a bit more, with two bridges, with no stability problems either with tall narrow speakers on top.
The sound improvement was quite noticeable, they lifted the sound, it was higher in the room, with a warmth and roundness that wasn’t there before. It took the sound out of the floorboards and let the speakers sing. All in all we are very confident that people are going to like these. It’s been a very satisfying day.
The bridges will be available in a variety of lengths to suit different speaker designs. The first set should ship out next week, so we are looking forward to some independent feedback on this new design.
Michell Gyrodec platform
We are now making a specific platform for the Michell Gyrodec. The feet are specifically placed to go under the the three turntable feet and under the centre of the motor to give extra isolation and noise reduction to this hifi icon. It has the added advantage of settling the turntable quickly, with it’s added damping. It can also be used with the Solidair Audio Michell Gyrodec Performance Pack for double isolation which gives really black silence and the performance of a far more expensive system.
New magnets
Our new specification magnets have arrived for developing the speaker suspension bridges. We tested some prototype feet at the local gym, where 4 feet floated 100Kg of stacked plates. They should cope with most speakers.
The new design suspension bridge is production and should be ready for trials next week. We have redesigned it to be more rigid and robust to take on some seriously big speakers.
The aim here is to reduce feedback through the floor, which can produce all sorts of upsetting sound interference, boom and vibration in the rest of the system. It will also upset your neighbours less too and bring more harmony to the world.
Suspension Bridges
We have been looking at ways of using the feet under speakers, without raising the speaker too much or making it unstable.
We have been testing the new suspension bridge under a pair of tall horn speakers, about 40Kg in weight. the front is heavier, so the height adjust ability of the feet is really useful. They certainly reduce the vibration in the floor. At present they do bend more than is desirable, but I have a solution up my sleeve, which I think will look quite funky.
