This review page is supported in part by the sponsors whose ad banners are displayed below


This review first appeared in the July 2013 issue of hi-end hifi magazine High Fidelity of Poland. You can also read it in its original Polish version here. We publish its English translation in a mutual syndication arrangement with publisher Wojciech Pacula. As is customary for our own articles, the writer's signature at review's end shows an e-mail address should you have questions or wish to send feedback. All images contained in this review are the property of High Fidelity or Finite Elemente. - Ed

 Reviewer: Wojciech Pacula
CD player: Ancient Audio Lektor Air V-edition
Phono preamplifier: RCM Audio Sensor Prelude IC
Cartridges: Miyajima Laboratory Shilabe & Kansui
Preamplifier: Ayon Audio Polaris III Signature with Regenerator power supply
Power amplifier: Soulution 710
Integrated amplifier/headphone amplifier: Leben CS300 XS Custom
Loudspeakers: Harbeth M40.1 Domestic + Acoustic Revive custom speaker stand
Headphones: Sennheiser HD800, AKG K701, Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro 600Ω vintage, HifiMan HE6
Interconnects: CD/preamp Acrolink Mexcel 7N-DA6300, preamp/power amp Acrolink 8N-A2080III Evo
Speaker cable: Tara Labs Omega Onyx
Power cables (all equipment): Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9300
Power strip: Acoustic Revive RTP-4eu Ultimate
Stand: Base IV custom under all components
Resonance control: Finite Elemente Ceraball under CD player, Audio Revive RAF-48 platform under CD player and preamplifier, Pro Audio Bono PAB SE platform under Leben CS300 XS
Review component retail in Poland: 4.030zł for the platform, 3.290zł for Rollerblock Series 2/set of 3 + 1.660zł for double stack/set of 3

Symposium Acoustics have been distributed in Poland since 2009 and remain represented by the same company, audiofast from Lodz. I know their product from many shows and presentations where it usually appears as a full-fledged part of upscale systems alongside electronics, speakers and cables. But for the first time now I had opportunity to take a closer look at a complete set of Symposium Acoustic products in my own home.


Previously I'd used their devices only once during my report on Dan D'Agostino's Momentum Stereo amplifier when I used the Ultra Padz mini footers provided by the distributor. That's exactly the kind of company products from this American manufacturer are associated with. For this review I asked for a full set designed for a single audio component. It included an Ultra anti-vibration platform, Rollerblock Series 2+ with tungsten carbide ball-bearing isolation devices and a Rollerblock Series 2+ double stack kit. The platform thus sat on double Rollerblocks and the auditioned component on footers that came with the set.


In Symposium Acoustics’ portfolio the Ultra platform evolved from the Super to be the second from the top. It's a nice solid product made of several layers of materials with dissimilar density. There are no moving parts hence the platform can be used with turntables, even those with decoupled sub chassis. Whilst it's not designed to protect against infrasonic vibrations for which it would need to be combined with other products from this catalogue, it does provide notable isolation across the upper nine octaves of the audible range.


The Ultra has virtually no weight limitation with regards to what it can support. Its top and bottom layers are precisely machined aluminium plates for a distinctive look. The platform works on the principle of constrained-layer damping and its wafers are thus arranged in a specific order (from dense to more porous to dense again). According to Symposium this concept works bidirectionally, i.e. attenuates vibrations entering from both top and bottom.

To make the best use of its mechanical properties, care must be taken to provide good mechanical coupling in both directions – between the component and Ultra top; and between the Ultra base and support surface. Symposium postulates that it's best to quickly transfer vibration and suppress it in layers of different mass. Hence they avoid materials with high mechanical reactance like rubber or elastomers and favor rigid connections. Together with the Ultra I receive three large metallic precision couplers with perfectly polished top and bottom races to replace my component's own footers. Symposium recommend placing their couplers directly between the component chassis and top of the Ultra to rapidly drain vibrational energy from the component and prevent it from getting trapped. If we want more, it becomes inevitable to reach for what the Americans are probably best known for: their rollerblock isolation system.