The first mystery to solve was going bi – directional that is. My techno-peasant brain couldn't wrap itself around the 'how'. It turns out that it took Martin some time, too. "Now you just want me to divulge all tech of Vibra 30. Ah, what the hell, it'll be out there soon enough. The inversion trick actually works on the 68 as well. So here goes the photo.

◊ base with tower transfers load from the top of the tower to the bottom
◊ the threaded support ring suspends from the top of the tower via the dumbbell
◊ the load-bearing outer housing screws onto the support ring whose 10mm thread allows for up to 8mm of stable height adjustment.

As the lower ring has a gap to the base and the top doesn't touch the tower, the load is transferred down to the lower ring back up to the top of the tower and down again to the base. It's a bit of a detour but works a treat. Now turn everything on its head and the same thing happens in reverse. Don’t worry, it took me a while as well to work it out. More facts. The dumbbells are crimped with M3 set screws. The clearance between parts is just 1.5-2mm but any actual movement triggered by input vibrations is minuscule. Lowering the load transfer to the bottom of the cap makes this small unit more stable."

To that I say, "Swiss Engineering at its finest". It's so simple once seen but as a concept rather tricky to pull from the aethers of nothing. Ideas. We all have them but only very few are truly great. I think Sherlock would agree that for the obscure sector of no-compromise hifi, this is one of the few. Even Mr. Holmes didn't think of it. If we add the handsome and compact form factor, its fine machining, anodized skin options and Swiss fabrication, even the ask seems very fair. Now that we understand the 'how' in either direction, it's time for the 'what'. What does this do to and for the sound, under our electronics and speakers?

Watson, where's my hearing aid? To stay in character and be all he's on-crack'd up to be, I'd look at these under my Qualio IQ speakers in lieu of my Hifistay roller-ball isolators; under Mon Minis instead of Carbide Micros; under both subs replacing Vibra 68; under a Sonnet Pasithea DAC in lieu of Carbide's biggest; and anywhere else I might spot an op to replace or sidestep stock footers. The worst mechanical noise offenders are subwoofers then speakers. Shuddering woofers generate the biggest mechanical motion and associated forces. Not doing vinyl or reel-to-reel tape and CDs only very rarely, in my experience the most responsive to vibration attenuation is digital, be it a server or DAC. I find solid-state preamps less susceptible, amplifiers the least. Once tubes are involved, tables turn. No matter in what component category, tubes move kit to the front line. That's particularly so for direct-heated hence innately microphonic triodes. Since I no longer do those, I'd focus on transducers then digital.

A set of 8 offers a 10% discount over acquiring 8 individual units.

It goes without saying. Resonance-attenuating shenanigans are all about helping gear we already have perform its best. From a performance perspective it's irrational to chase shinier hardware if we've not first made our best effort at maximizing present possessions. Resolution as the ability to 'hear everything' relies on the broadest possible signal-to-noise ratio. Effective noise killers are thus resolution enhancers. They open up space for ever finer low-level detail to emerge without mandating high SPL to push the quietest signal above our noise floor. True high resolution is in place when we can listen at even modest levels and not have things fall away. Playing lower has us last longer because our ears get stressed less. We also get to do it more often—earlier in the day, later in the evening—because we leak less SPL into our environment to bother co-dwellers and neighbours. And shouldn't enjoying our hobby more often and for longer deeper sessions be at the core of why we're into it in the first place? Let's raise another pint to that. Cheers.

The end of my prelim investigation. Time to await deliverance and get hands on.

… to be continued…