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Best way to isolate glass shelves.

Discussion in 'audio' started by Lowdenbill, Feb 11, 2019.

  1. Lowdenbill

    Lowdenbill Member

    I've recently suffered a bout of upgradeitis and need to pick some brains. Cyrus CDi and Naim Nait 5si need to be on separate shelves so.....

    ......Has anyone replaced the small hardish pads which keep glass shelves from direct contact with metal stands?

    Any advice? Any suggestions?

  2. venton

    venton pfm Member

    I bought some sorbathane sheet, 3mm I think, and popped a small rectangle cut out under my shelves in three places. At the time I noticed a difference but perhaps it was psychological. They remain in place though.
    Lowdenbill likes this.
  3. Dougie2404

    Dougie2404 pfm Member

    I use little cork pads, works ok for me. Or! Soft close drawer pads?
    Lowdenbill likes this.
  4. Suffolk Tony

    Suffolk Tony pfm Member

    Make up some "Ball-Nutters". Sit ball bearings (12mm's a good size) onto nuts' internal threads so the glass can rest on them.
    Lowdenbill likes this.
  5. Yomanze

    Yomanze pfm Member

    I use large Bright Star IsoNodes under most of my components, or Black Ravioli under the case of my amp. I use a Mana rack, which is a device that rigidly couples to the floor, but I ended up preferring decoupling all components in my suspended wooden floored living room.
    Lowdenbill likes this.
  6. DavidS

    DavidS pfm Member

    You could try the felt pads stocked at Wilkos
    Lowdenbill and Chops54 like this.
  7. Big Tabs

    Big Tabs hearing problems

    i cut a synthetic bouncy ball in half. voila. looks spacey.
    Lowdenbill likes this.
  8. Lowdenbill

    Lowdenbill Member


    There's a broad range!

    I've got some cork coasters which will be sacrificed and some sorbothane from some old running shoes so I'll give them a listen first.
  9. mercalia

    mercalia pfm Member

    felt pads from Poundlander worth a try
  10. Tarzan

    Tarzan pfm Member

    Could you replace the glass shelves with something less resonant?

    Just a thought.:)
    Lowdenbill likes this.
  11. zippy

    zippy pfm Member

    I've always found BluTac useful for this sort of thing...
    Lowdenbill likes this.
  12. lazycat

    lazycat pfm Member

    Weigh your kit and shelves and buy the appropriate size sorbothane,

    Or use blutac.
    Lowdenbill likes this.
  13. Iceman16

    Iceman16 pfm Member

    +1 for sorbothane under glass shelves. For use under components just search ebay for “aluminium isolation” from China. They’re under £12 (set of 4) solid cnc machined aluminium which also look elegant in various colours.
    Lowdenbill likes this.
  14. H20GNA

    H20GNA Member

    I use half squash balls, 3 per device auto levelling.

    Available in different grades.....:)

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  15. AKG

    AKG pfm Member

    I had a dealer subcontract a bespoke custom made glass shelves stand to incorporate the same principles as a NAIM FRAIM

    The tempered glass shelves resonate differently depending which side you tap on. The audible differences are there and not subtle for proper placement purposes
    Then the glass shelf rests on machined ball bearings wherein the rack has a shallow “ dimple” depression in each corner for the ball bearing to actually sit in

    From the NAIM FRAIM commentary on the NAIM website: https://www.naimaudio.com/product/fraim-0


    Done properly ..... highly recommended.
    Lowdenbill likes this.
  16. booja30

    booja30 pfm Member

    I can envision rigid cup and ball designs isolating movements in the x and y axis, but doing nothing for the z axis (up-down) which would seem to be problematic. What am I missing?

    The rubber half ball solutions seem like they would work for all 3 axes and be a much more economical option. Then again, I haven't done any isolation (despite what Naim suggests) because I don't have a TT or any valve devices.
    Lowdenbill likes this.
  17. Lowdenbill

    Lowdenbill Member

    Thanks AKG.
    That's very interesting. I hadn't thought to explore the Naim site.
  18. Steve Taylor

    Steve Taylor pfm Member

    Naim sell “ball retainers “ (probably not the proper naim) to stop the shelf sliding.
  19. h.g.

    h.g. pfm Member

    Possibly trying to find a technical solution to a problem/issue that isn't a technical one?
  20. booja30

    booja30 pfm Member

    What kind of a problem is it? Aesthetic?

    Or are you saying isolation isn't a factor for SS?

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