I was shocked by the build and finish of your thick carpet piercing heavy foot cone points yesterday when I received them in the mail. It is rock solid and the heaviest cone point I have ever used in my system. I never expect a cone point is this heavy.
I have been using a set of three (feather-like) plastic and metal combined cheap cone points underneath my new Manley Lab Steelhead. It made slight improvements. But after I installed your Heavy Foot cone points, the improvements were shocking.
- Kenneth
I'm a believer. Just received a set of Ultimate Triplepoints and set them under my Ayre CX-7. The improvement was remarkable: Bobo Stenson's "War Orphans" (ECM 1604), a disc I have listened to dozens of times, was "brand new". Imaging was more solid, the timbre of the instruments more real, Jormin's bass notes rock solid with no mush and VERY obvious distinction between Christenson's two toms and the snare. I have now had the same pleasure revisiting numerous other favorite discs. All of this for a mere $100.00!!!
Associated equipment: Ayre K/5, Bryston 14B SST, Magneplanar 3.6s, Zu Libtec biwires and jumpers, Kimber 1111 interconnects, Sanus cabinet.
Now it's time to move into the Samson stands and a Mapleshade amp stand.
- Joseph
I purchased a set of Surefoot v.3 footers with trepidation. "Miraculous" musical wonder cures/gadgets bite me in the wallet frequently. The sonic improvements of these other products are usually subtle, if any.
These footers improve the sound of my $500 cd player/transport to a remarkable degree. This improvement is immediate. The listener moves closer to the original event, be it studio or live. The music has more dynamics, air, etc. I will purchase more sets and/or upgrade to the heavier ones for my other components as soon as the budget allows.
Many thanks for a fine product. I also appreciate your "free audio improvements." They really, really work (to paraphrase an old tv ad.)
- Mark
Thanks for all the trouble it took to get the custom threaded feet for my preamp. The first set came without the threads - they looked too cool to send right back, so I unscrewed the cheap plastic feet from my Pioneer DVD 525 (cheap) DVD player. Just for the heck of it I stuck in the Prince Of Egypt DVD. I couldn't believe it! The picture was WAY clearer. No joke.
The sound improved as well, in all the usual audiophile ways - improved clarity being foremost. NO WAY I was sending these back. Instead I ordered another unthreaded set for my amp. The whole system is now sitting up on SUREFEET. Not only does is sound better, they really, really look great. The quality and heft of these feet is impressive. I can only say that I heartily recommend them. The woodscrew threaded set under my preamp made the biggest difference of all.
Anyhow, great product. When I get some extra cash I'm thinking of giving your interconnects a try...
Thanks again,
Chuck Drake
I recently purchased a set of Surepoints, Ultimate Triplepoints, Heavyhat Triplepoints, and Isoblocks. The only configuration I've tried so far is with the Surepoints, Isoblocks, and one Heavyhat on the CD Player and the rest on the Preamp. The improvement was astonishing. In fact, I could hardly believe what I heard. I have been fighting a sibilance in female voice for months. It is nearly gone now. Instruments have more air around them and more body than ever before. The only thing I really need to decide is if the Ultimate Triplepoints and Heavyhat Triplepoints offer enough improvement over their less expensive brethren (Surepoints and Heavyhats) to justify the cost.
P.S. I started a thread (Mapleshade Vibration Control) on www.audiogon.com to discuss your products.
Galen
I was delighted to get my shipment of triplepoints the day after I ordered them, and outright glee ensued when I installed them under my CD player. In A-B testing against my Black Diamond Racing footers, the triplepoints outperformed by a tremendous margin in base -- this was an immediate an obvious change. Upon further listenting (in particular, tracks 1 & 4 on the M'shade sampler, as well as Miles Davis, Cassandra Wilson and Patricia Barber), I also noticed slightly improved depth and positioning in
the soundstage. The other notable improvement was that I could sense the shape and space of the individual instruments, particularly saxophone, low brass, and female vocals. An excellent addition to my system, though not as shocking an upgrade as the Ultrathin cables. Definitely recommended.
Ted
I recently received two sets of your smaller footers and two sets of weights as well as bottles of MicroSmooth and Optrix. In reverse order, I have been using Optrix for years to good effect but have to say that the combination literally has transformed my CDs (that have now been double treated, of course!!) to a much more than just listenable level (this from a diehard analog fanatic with more than 5000 records) - probably a bigger difference than going from the CD to SACD track on a dual layer disc.
I already use custom composite carbon fiber footers and pucks as well as Townshend air bases and wasn't expecting much with the brass footers. With only two sets of footers I could only substitute those under my turntable and Audio Note tube CD player and put the weights on the CD player and my (tube) SP-10 pre-amp. All I can say is "WOW" and won't bore you with the *details*!
Ken Ballentine
This platform is a must for all hi-end CD or DVD players. I use it with the triple point footers underneath my Sony scd777es with great improvements thru out the audio bandwidth. Two thumbs up!
Tom Pho
Asked for and received from my lovely wife Isoblocks and Ultimate Triplepoint footers for Christmas.... [I had some hard maple made up (2 1/2" thick, 18" x 15") and this went under a Nottingham Spacedeck turntable. By the time I got the lumber cut in the southern part of the state and then planed at another lumber yard and back home to finish, I now realize why your maple costs what it does. I have several other maple slabs and I ordered another set of the Triplepoints and Isoblocks today. My LP's sound VERY MUCH BETTER !!!] Thanks Mapleshade for taking the time to come up with this combination. The new platform will go under my Sony DVP S7000 which I am using as a CD transport along with a Bel Canto DAC 1. Until I get the new points and blocks, the maple is between some Vibrapods and some small brass conepoints that I had....even this sound better. I really like the maple, but the Triplepoint footers and Isoblocks make the whole thing work.
Thank you. Dudley Miller
Just letting you know that i got (my order) christmas eve. The Surefoot is a revelation...(there's a) noticeable difference compared to Tiptoes, Tiptoes II, Golden footers...I like them very much...
Dennis Yanos
Superb - both in construction and sound quality.
I own three sets of these [the Ultimate Triplepoint footers] and have been evaluating them under differing electronics for some time before I decided to take the final step and recommend these fabulously wonderful sounding (or better - lack of coloration) points. I've tried many different types of vibration control products and without question, the Ultimate's are the ultimate sonic vibration improvement.
At various places on the front end electronics I heard a lot of promise, specifically under my DAC and CD disc drive, but it was not until I placed the final set under my tube preamplifier that I heard the culminating effect of the three.
Simply put, the sonic improvements were NOT subtle, nor of the type we con ourselves into thinking we heard, or wished the new component offered. No, this was as real and distinct as removing a very thick wool blanket between the listener and the music. Basically, a significant step forward in bringing that elusive "live and you-are-there" quality to a recorded performance.
Improvements that were significant included a markedly larger and more "open" and transparent soundspace, even on CD's, with a much deeper soundstage presentation. The rear corners of the soundstage finally came into focus and precision. Image stability became rock solid stable with a dramatic improvement in image body. Voices felt far more like a human being ad a voice resonating off their chests, the subtle movements of the person as they sang came through. The same was true for all frequency extremes. There was no improvement in just a single area - the entire frequency range was similarly improved. A case in point is one of my favorite late evening discs by Patricia Barber (I love all her recordings) "A Distortion of Love". On each track locating her on the front to back plane was significantly improved, as was the soundstaging. Impressive instrumental timbres came through that I had never heard before and I thought I knew every single nuance. A total revelation.
Power and dyamics are substantially improved, as well. The control over low frequency transients is phenomenal. The "rolling average" I was so accustomed to on the bottom end had finally been resolved so that subtleties came through with immense micro and macrodynamic clarity. Shocked and very, very impressed at the same time. Let's just say that further purchases of Ultimates will be forthcoming in the future when I can afford additional sets for my A/V system in another room. I can't bear to take them out of the tube system to try them even for one moment, although I am certain the improvement in solid state electronics will be somewhat the same.
I must also state that the front end electronics were already resting on a Studio Tech rack that has spiked feet through my carpet into the concrete slab and each shelf, coated with anti-resonance material, is also restind on a spike at all four corners to reduce vibration to an absolute minimum. I found the best combination for the tube preamp to be on the afforementioned rack plus a Brightstar Audio Big Rock 3 underneath the Ultimate Triplepoints with the preamp resting on top. Further, the entire system utilizes PS Audio's ultra fantastic Power Plants - a P300 driving the front end and a P600 driving my tube amp, with an Ultimate Outlet 20 amp outlet between the wall and the Power Plants (alternatively, I just use the 20 amp U/O without the P600 on the power amp, as well). Suberb job, Mapleshade! I can see why your recordings absolutely walk on the vast majority of your competition.
Richard Byers
I thought that by having a Bryston 9BST Amplifer, a B&K Reference 20 processor, Denon 5000 CD/DVD player, Monitor Audio Studio 50 speakers, and the better Tara interconnects and Straight Wire speaker cables, it would be difficult to improve the sound of my system. This past Saturday I placed 3 triple point footers under the Denon 5000 and 3 triple point footers under the Bryston 9BST.
The sound was unbelieveable! All aspects of the music were crystal clear, tremendous base & punch.
I would never have said such improvement could be made without hearing it myself. I still have the speakers and sub-woofer to place the the triple point footers under. Also I have ordered a set of triple point heavyhats to see how may enhance the system. Buying these footers was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Jack Frame
I have already appreciated a clearness of sound and much improved bass articulation with Ultimate Triplepoints under my CD player and power amps. Your maple blocks are quite effective as well.
I appreciated the tips you gave me on cross-bracing the Arcici stands on my Quad US monitors. Then I thought to try the triplepoints under the speaker stands as well. Wow! I have been enjoying a tremendous increase in focus and body. Every musical piece offers more clean detail, from deep, yes deep, bass all the way on up.
Congratulations on another incomparable product.
Gerald Grochowski
I started tweaking my Sennheiser HD-600 system several years ago.I started with the Wheatfield HA-1 tube amp. with upgraded tubes.Since I started,I added an EVS Millennium 1B Dac,a GW Labs Dsp upsampler, Z digital cables, Stefan AudioArt HD-600 cable, BPT Power conditoner and Homegrown Silver Lace interconnects.
I was very happy with my system. The last thing I would consider was Vibration Control. BIG MISTAKE!!!! I placed the Millenium Dac on top of a set of Ulimate Triplepoint Brass footers and a 15" x 18" finished Maple Block and a set of Heavyfeet. My system transformed into a pathway to hear a clear image of music I did not think possible.Crystal clear images,tightly focused, Dynamic and Real. Thank you Pierre Sprey for yor time and expert advice.
Mark Rubin
I've been using the Mapleshade isolation system (4 inch maple, Ultimate Triplepoint footers and isoblocks) under two components: my Accuphase DP 90 transport, and my Berning Siegfried 300B amp. Let me be very clear. In 12 years of audiophilia, I have never heard a more impressive upgrade. We are out of the land of tweaks and well into the realm of alchemy here. Pierre has artfully tuned brass, wood, rubber and cork and breathed real life into the silicon, glass, metal and ABS of my system.
The Mapleshade system retired the Vibraplane that had graced my system for 5 years—easily. It took just 10 minutes of listening--the easiest A/B comparison I've ever done. It outclassed a new cone product that uses ceramic balls much like the Aurios.
What's special about it? Everything. The first time I listened, it was visceral. The muscles in my temples just relaxed and went "AHHHHH." Hey, I didn't think they were tight before, but you always realize these things retroactively. Color, dynamics, bass, articulation, treble extension—pick any audiophile goody you choose. It digs into the message of the music deeply. It didn't matter what disk I spun, I was riveted. I'll close by stealing a line from Frank Doris a few years ago: "It blew me away to a point I thought I was too jaded to reach anymore."
David Z.
I must admit, I was a little skeptical about the maple platforms, but over the course of several days (listening sessions) and some experimenting, I have to admit, Pierre is right, the maple does offer the best of all sound worlds. It clearly made my Pioneer Stable Platter, Model PD-65 sing!!
...The best way I can describe the sound of the brass footers/maple platform/w isoblocks is that I can hear much deeper into the sound stage. Everything is much clearer now with the brass footers. I can hear triangles and other bells that I never heard before, and it makes a singer's voice sound much smoother and actually does kind of clean up some of the harshness that is inherent in most CD's nowadays. The bass is much more defined now (more solid sounding). A more fuller sounding bass. When I order my next platform for my tube amp, I think I'll order an unfinished one and (finish) it myself. Not that the finished maple platform isn't nicely done, it's just that I've decided I can put a hand rubbed finish on just about as well myself and save the extra cash for more CD's.
Bottomline: I don't think you can go wrong buying the 2" maple platform with the isoblocks, and small brass footers. It's probably the best thing that I have done to my system in quite a while. It has restored the excitement back into my system. I had gotten away from listening to music for a while there, but now have gotten back into listening to my system more, because the sound is that much more alive sounding than before. And, isn't that what all of us audiophiles want out of our systems to get that "you are there" live sound? I think I may eventually try your power strip out also and see how much better it makes my system sound than my old Chang Lite speed power line filter... Again, I want to thank you for all your help and explanations you gave me in earlier emails.
Bob Matthews
Fairfax Station, VA
These brass babies are amazing. I inserted a set of the Utlimate Triplepoints underneath my Technics amplifier. I was absolutely blown away by the 100% improvment in the sound. I listened to Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" CD and every moan of the fluglehorns & brush of the percussion section was in front of me perfectly suspended in the air sourrounding it. This is the most life I have ever encountered in a favorite CD. The results were equally stunning with classical music. The hushed opening of Stravinsky's Firebird ballet was breathtaking. The low bassoons, double basses and other assorted woodwinds have always been muddy and vague sounding outside of the concert hall but now they are perfectly clear in both tone and perspective thanks to these footers. I consider this the best investment I have ever made for my audio system and I have spent lots on it over the years. I intend to buy brass footers for every component and the speakers in my system. Thanks Mapleshade!
Michael Parr
I got my triplepoint footers today and wow that was fast service. I don't know how these things work but WOW!!!!!!!! they do. What detail I am I can hear things I am sure I have not heard before. You have a awesome product there and great service so keep up the Good work. Thanks again.
Mark
