Vibron

Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Sonoma 14), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Singxer SU-6 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Laiv Audio Harmony and Sonnet Pasithea; Active filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Power amplifiers: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos & Gold Note monos on subwoofer; Headamp: Kinki Studio THR-1, Enleum AMP-23R, aune S17Pro Evo; Phones: Raal 1995 Immanis; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Kinki Studio Fire, Furutech; Power delivery: Kinki/Vinshine Tai Hang on amps, Furutech GTO 2D NCF on low-level gear; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, LessLoss Firewall for loudspeakers, Furutech NCF Signal Boosters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
2nd system: Source: FiiO R7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to COS Engineering D1 DAC/pre; Filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-M7; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Loudspeakers: MonAcoustic SuperMon Mini + Dynaudio S18 sub, sound|kaos Vox 3awf, Albedo Aptica; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra, Akiko Audio Corelli; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Audioquest Fog Lifters; Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
Desktop system: Source: HP Z2 work station Win10/64; USB bridge: Singxer SU-2; DAC: iFi Pro iDSD Signature; Speakers: DMAX P61; Headphones: Final D-8000 & aune SR7000 Audeze LCD-XC
Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7; Headphones: Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3, Raal 1995 Magna, HiFiMan Susvara
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: Zu Soul VI; Subwoofer: Zu Submission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail: starting at €59/4

As regular readers know, the speakers in my bigger system are Qualio IQ designed by Marek Kostrzynski and Grzegorz Rulka, the two men also behind widebander house Cube. What the same readers may not know is Greg's side hustle, his own micro brand Virtual Hifi. It currently offers multi-paralleled opamp sets to experiment with in gear which runs socketed operational amplifiers; and the new Vibron, a thermoplastic polyurethane-based isolation footer in three weight ratings. These footers with hex inserts for M6-M10 and ¼" threaded posts are created by fused filament deposition aka 3D printing. A quad of M supports up to 15kg, a set of L up to 40kg, a set of XL up to 80kg. Wallet load is €59, €99 and €159 for sets of four.

When a speaker is in-room furniture, it makes perfect sense if its surfaces diffuse/scatter sound waves rather than reflect them. Et voilà, a 3D-printed cab. If one did the same on the inside, internal wave propagation would disrupt likewise.

Now that we just shot admiring eyeballs at BabyQ—possibly Greg's personal desktop speaker or a prototype, my name wholly fictitious—let's give a shout-out to 3D printing as a newer hifi frontier. Be it Node Audio's radical Hylixa speaker cab, a finely filigreed phono head shell from Japan, the meta-material absorbers which aune and Dan Clark embed in their headphones to retire the back wave, a wickedly shaped gasket, IEM shells… modern 3D printing goes places which classic multi-axis CNC cannot once geometries become too complex. But even if it's just for sped-up prototyping before injection moulds get ordered, printing in materials not classic ink has opened up new possibilities. Even printed concrete housing is a reality by now.

Here we see how a hexagonal shaft inside the Vibron footers becomes the retainer for various threaded posts.

Here come two of Greg's components isolated on his new footers.

When he asked whether I could lend an ear, I immediately agreed. I already love the Qualio and Cube speakers. I love cleverness. I love it even more when that's not priced for moguls and tycoons but as a trepan of mass seduction. At €99 to support 40kg which ought to cover most applications in this sector, Greg's Vibron pricing is definitely giggly not grim. Given that I already practice rigorous vibration attenuation with engineered hifi racks by Artesanía and Hifistay, playing footsies with electronics no longer pulls. I alerted Grzegorz that I'd focus instead on floorstanders, stand mounts plus subwoofers. Speakers all sit on the floor where decoupling by proper isolation becomes mandatory to disrupt structural resonances. He agreed and confirmed that his experience mirrors mine. His best results also come from isolating transducers not electronics. So I asked for two quads of L and one set of XL for my heaviest 2×15" cardioid subwoofer.