"The welded cable ends didn't happen as it wasn't feasible to manufacture to 30mm length. So I went with hydraulically crimped ball ends. The manufacturer guarantees 100kg on the crimp. Breaking strain on the 19-strand 1.5mm stainless wire is around 135kg. The only caveat is the up to ¾mm tolerance of the crimping process. This could effectively have one dumbbell take more strain. Hence my built-in 50% safety factor is a very conservative 90kg per footer until I have time for further tests. The previous iteration had a stainless body which proved a bit ringy. That would have needed some internal damping. So I went with a carbon-fiber prepreg tube with 2mm wall. The dumbbells are the only parts under tension. All others are under compression. The carbon tube comes standard in 60 or 70mm diameter so I reduced that spec to 60mm but height went up a tad to 45mm. Unfortunately 68 stuck to the name as it was a better year anyway."

"I've had twin Gravitas D15 go out yesterday so got a chance to do some side-by-side testing with the much larger Carbide footers. In my view the Vibra 68 is on par. But of course I would say that. If anything the sound was a little crisper and not as laid back. This was more pronounced under the Vox stands which makes sense due to the wider bandwidth." Each final Vibra 68 measures 60mm Ø, 45mm tall and weighs 210g. Both M6 and M8 adapters are supplied. So is a small felt washer if components place directly on top rather than interface by bolt.

Martin dispatched two quads to go beneath a pair of speakers; underneath my two subs; even under two standard components, possibly three if I divided my loaner loot 3 + 3 + 2 and a small deck like the Gradient Box smart xover proved stable on just two.

In their sliding-lid pine boxes and most fastidiously packed, delivery suggested elite edibles from a foreign micro boutique. Norwegian Gravlax? Nope, Ireland catches its own wild salmon. French truffles? Ditto. But hifi manufacture? Not in the Irish EU part. Belfast at least has Titan Audio Labs. On said score the Republic needs serious help. Red Cross? Make it a white cross rescue with swish Swiss isolators. My desktop shows a raw quad to the left; then M6 or M8 bolts plus protective washers mounted; finally the remainder of the threaded adapters and washers.