Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming Revelation in Sound

Cod move in mysterious ways. May be a typo though
Hector

Not quite, there is a significant analogue component in this equation.

Regards,
Carl

Kerry, try out to make a solid base not your Harmonic resolution system to find out its a vibration question or just the distance-its easy.
Next thing is to let the MS600 on the R-1 base and put a vibrating device(dont smile) like a bass shaker on it with the MS600.
Then carefully turn up the shaker you should get an effect when the vibrating is the issue.
Be carefull not maybe to overload your speaker here when you generate maybe a deep frequency.

robert

Everyone: it's not just about vibrations having bad influences or degradation due to RFI etc. In my experience you can hear whatever a component sits on. Every material has its own characteristic sound signature that it adds to the mix and this goes some way to explaining why the Finite Spider racks tend to colour so little, even less than the much more expensive Pagode stands. Yes, some people may find Spiders to sound lean but that's probably because they're used to the added colouration (good or bad) from more solid racks. But I digress. The MS600 in my experience turns out to be exceptionally sensitive to placement. It shouldn't be but it is. My advise: use your ears and don't worry too much about the explanations!

I dunno, for me, I suppose, common sense prevails here. Don't put sensitive components in places when amplifier heat or magnetic fields can affect performance; and try to avoid excess vibrations, especially with component that rely on mechanical movement.

I can never decide whether to be envious of or sympathetic to people who claim they can 'hear what a component sits on'! I certainly cannot. My experience with the MD600 is that it is indifferent to location or placement (within reason). I'm generally not one to cry 'snake oil' with these things, because I have personally had experiences where things that I doubted would matter have indeed turned out to matter - but those experiences tend to be exceptions rather than the rule.

Taking a look at the interior shots of the ms600, it doesn't look like Meridian went nuts to block any sort of rf or other interference. A single twist between the power supply and components along with little to no shielding. Would be interesting to see if the application of some cheap rf/emi blocking tape/sheets would replicate your findings.

Assuming that the platform does make an audible difference, I'd make sure your home and contents insurance is paid up. It could be the eigenfrequency (or a harmonic thereof) is within the audio band or it could be the bearing in your central heating pump/air-con compressor is about to let go...

+1 Mudge !

Just wrote an impressive rant about mechanical isolation, but had second thoughts about posting & deleted it... didn't want to offend anyone who's spent lots of money on "magic racks"...
Very odd that the MS600 is so susceptible to EMF interference if that's the case, very odd indeed, but of course totally logical & believable.
I'd forget about the fancy platforms (doh - I'm off again !) & just try to keep your kit separated and your well-shielded cables tidy...

I thought the side fins were for screening and there's a ferrite on the power cable, presumably thought through.

As they've moved this from the "noisey computer", you have to believe it's well screened.

Do you know who would sell these rf/emi blocking sheets? I'm sure they'd be WAY cheaper than the isolation platform.

Locating your MS600 well away from your amp is easier said than done in many systems, I suspect. I guess at least if you had an audio rack with 4 shelves you can put your amp on the bottom and put your pre-amp and CD transport/DAC between the MS600 and the amp, effectively separating the two. Or if I had a dedicated listening room my amp could go on the floor. In my living room set up, though, I've only got two levels to place components on my audio cabinet so the best I can do is move the MS600 to the other side of the top of the cabinet above my pre-amp on the first shelf (rather than above my amp). I'm going to give it a shot on the weekend to see if that gives me the same results at the platform. The rf/emi paper, if inexpensive, might be another thing for me to investigate (compensating for the lack of shielding in the MS600).

Regardless as to whether my issue was related to rf/emi from my amp, vibration from my cabinet or some other unknown issue, things are working out nicely with the isolation platform (other than the price of the platform!).

Thanks for all your comments!

The chances of these products having an effect in an acoustically, mechanically and electrically quiet room is teeny tiny.
So if they have an effect that's noticeable, the room must be buzzing/humming/shaking to a degree that is noticeable by its reduction.

Far better to decouple the room, use earthed foil backed sound proofing as insulation etc. I've seen installs where the cost of the build technically exceeded the components (figuring in labour) because they were done correctly. I've also seen ripoff jobs where someone blew �250k on kit that will never sound good no matter how much snake oil is applied.

Too bad, I always enjoy a good rant. I think anyone who has been in this hobby long enough has fallen victim to the 'well, just maybe' syndrome and ended up spending good money on silly things. Not magic racks in my case, but super tweeters - that are neither super nor, frankly, audible at all. Should have known better (sound of self kicking self). Rant away!