Things I don't understand: Component Isolation

[George Hincapie]

I am sure I won't be alone in not understanding which components benefit from isolation and which are unnecessary. Common sense tells me that anything moving (TT/Optical Drive) and speakers would benefit, but a quick browse of the web reveal claims that DACs and amps benefit as well and I just don't get that at all. What is the reality?

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Black art - if you mean components in circuit design then it has been 40 years experience to understand this, so don't expect me to tell you. If you mean between boxes then if something creates a field of what ever sort then keep it away from things that are vulnerable / susceptible to field.

[Lindsayt]

For amps it's probably another one of those big fat "it all depends".

My CD players, tape machine, passive pre-amp, solid state amps don't seem to care two hoots wherever they're plonked.

However, I'm very happy to accept that other people may get different results with their systems.

[George Hincapie]

Thanks guys; I would prefer an absolute and am struggling. Obviously I am asking from the perspective of setting my system up to give the best sonic performance and am wary of buying anything unnecessary in pursuit of that. There's just so much 'noise' on the internet about this topic, with claim and counter claim I have no idea what is true and what is nonsense. For example, I read one thread some time ago where during a listening session someone lifted the DAC in the air and that gave an incredible performance improvement...I am just bewildered by the BS and want to understand what I should be doing and get it right.

I don't mind experimenting, but I want to have a solid basis for that.

[George Hincapie]

Some of the options seem insane as well. For example: http://www.townshendaudio.com/hi-fi-hom ... tand-rack/

[Lurcher300b]

Some of the options seem insane as well. For example: http://www.townshendaudio.com/hi-fi-hom ... tand-rack/

Well, it may be valid to question Max's sanity, but I dont see why you point those supports out as insane. I was convinced about how the unexpected can matter years ago when I put a old set of LP12 springs under a CD player and was a bit shocked at the result. You may be surprised to find how many electronics components can be measured and shown to behave like a microphone.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Transformers make field, larger transformer larger field. Some digital stage make field. Regarding the other side of the equation the yin (receive) to the yang (transmit) is anything adding voltage gain at below line level i.e. a phono stage or TT. Keep both of those away from large transformers. Also subtle interaction occurs depending on design and circuit etc which effects music and that is what I am talking about as the black art. If you have a badly designed whatever then it can in close proximity influence the music in other whatevers.

Field can also come from mains problems and airborne RF interference.

[George Hincapie]

Some of the options seem insane as well. For example: http://www.townshendaudio.com/hi-fi-hom ... tand-rack/

Well, it may be valid to question Max's sanity, but I dont see why you point those supports out as insane. I was convinced about how the unexpected can matter years ago when I put a old set of LP12 springs under a CD player and was a bit shocked at the result. You may be surprised to find how many electronics components can be measured and shown to behave like a microphone.

It was just the first of many possible links I could have chosen; no better or worse I am sure than any of the other expensive options.

So if it isn't clear, what I am trying to understand is what isolation do which of my components require and what type of isolation should that be. Where is the sweet spot between effectiveness and diminishing returns in terms of isolation style and cost?

[terrybooth]

I think there are simple, inexpensive things you can do. I had/have a 'hifi rack' with glass shelves. At the time I had a CDI and I knew that putting the CDI on one of those light turntable thingies seems to help. I also found that sicking the CDI on a chipboard shelf with four plastic BB pellets under on top of the glass made what I thought was a difference. I've seen squash balls cut in half suggested, but I haven't tried that.

If it doesn't make a difference you've lost a few quid at most. If it does make a difference, you've saved yourself a few hundred quid.

My hifi 'rack' is the floor (which has the power suppliers and the BMU sitting on it and some IKEA sten shelving which has the preamp and the Pi sitting on it. It will have the Phono 2 sitting on it when I get round to doing that).

[Geoff.R.G]

Any wire moving in a magnetic field will generate an EMF and we are sitting in a giant magnet so, in theory, just waving a piece of wire around create a voltage across the ends*. It will be a very small voltage but enough for some to suggest that every wire be prevented from moving.

*In practice it needs many turns of wire to create anything usable.