For far less, Jeff's premium effort looks more parts intense and engineered. Granted, assigning value is emotionally loaded. Personal reactions fluctuate grossly. I'd simply say that for what we end up holding in our hands with Carbide's best seems far more substantial. Then it combines vertical/horizontal isolation for a 2-in-1. By far the worst structural exciters so offenders are loudspeakers and subwoofers. The amount of energy they sink into a floor when coupled dwarfs a CD spinner or vibrating power transformer. It's why to my mind, the best/first place to exploit properly engineered isolation footers particularly on suspended flooring is under loudspeakers; and turntables whose suspension or absence thereof can't deal with foot traffic. What to do about airborne vibrations which activate the moment we press 'play'?
Extremists might house their electronics in another room altogether; or hide them behind the solid doors of enclosed audio cabinetry. I give airborne vibes no second thought other than not play my hifi too loud. But that's to protect my hearing not to mollycoddle the gear. I focus on floorborne resonances with purpose-engineered racks and isolation footers from Spain and South Korea, a Swiss swing suspension beneath our bigger sub – and a quad of original Carbide Bases under the upstairs sub. On that score I'm a hifi extremist already. Would Jeff's latest brand me a lunatic?
It would be lunatic if a costly footer wasn't height adjustable; wouldn't deal with plush carpet; couldn't bolt to the kit it floats. On all three counts our Diamond Base has answers with a threaded base for perfect leveling up to +0.7"; optional carpet-piercing spikes to physically meet the floor beneath and insure stability; and the universal stud system at left which is based on standard flat-head machine screws of any length and a jam bolt. These screws can meet any spike or footer receiver. Alternatively we can install an upfacing spike to couple our component to the isolator footer; or remove the jam bolt to create a spike-receiving cavity, turning this Carbide footer into an isolator spike shoe.
Like a proper engineer, Jeffrey Jenkins thought of all the prospective application scenarios and what accessories those might need.
Finally there's a choice of black or silver finish shown in situ above.
For size comparison, here are some popular competitors side by side. It drives home how hulking these Texans from Llano really are.
Now that we have all the fine print on the Carbide Diamond Bases, it's high time to use them as intended; beneath hifi gear. With a tracking number for my shipment on hand, I had just one more question. Roller-ball footers from different companies vary in the curvature of their races. Those from Ansuz for example are deeply concave. Jeff's original ones in the lower portion of the Base were flat. So I asked him to explain the design variables of race geometry, bearing diameter and how it all plays to isolation efficiency.
