In one of his earlier emails Jeffrey suggested that I try Micro under my Pacific DAC and 915R pre and that using them under my speakers was up to me. Considering the previous pages, his recommendations were spot on. The man knows exactly where his latest footers work best and excel. In my previous Carbide review I opined that tubed products for low-level signal are ideal candidates for the large Base Diamond. Today I stand corrected. Without spikes they're awesome for speakers, particularly those shy on bass. On pointy TwinDamp supports they become highly useful across the gamut. Meanwhile my DAC and pre were most pleased with Micro. I have a theory as to why. It seems that the quicker the vibration dissipation is, the more tubed devices benefit. TwinDamp bullets siphon off minuscule oscillations faster than ViscoRings so do more for microphonic hardware that's sensitive to speed. When and if Jeffrey decides to make internal TwinDamp interfaces for his largest Base, that tide may turn. For now Base Diamond rocked my speaker world, Micro with rigid bullets my DAC and pre. That's why in my system of today I'd use Micro under these decks, Base Diamond under my monitor speaker stands and the Innuos Statement which very nicely responds to anti-vibration upgrades. On top of that, I'd use TwinDamp spikes wherever possible.

The size of Carbide's Base and Micro suggests that they're top and mid-tier specimens respectively. Not. These are equals where it matters, just applicable under different hardware to maximize potency. Now you know where each worked best for me so pick accordingly. Personally I'm chuffed with Base Micro. In their standard/maxed-out version they remain €100/50 below Jeffrey's largest which I think is accurate and fair considering their visual, behavioral and mechanical excellence.