Base under amplifer

Hi guys, right now under my Nait 5si I’ve placed an Ikea bamboo chopping board, mostly for an aesthetic reason, wanting to make the little guy a little taller. The amp is placed on a living room piece of furniture that I filled and made deaf. I was wondering what I could put in place of the cutting board? Something more specific like Quadraspire Evo or Advanced feet? Thank you

I’m no expert but I recall a discussion about a thick glass shelf with cup and ball, similar to a Fraim set up, being used with some success as a base.

There are plenty of isolation platforms on the market.

You will find plenty if you put that in a search engine.

DG…

Certain. A few days after taking the Nait I had an Isoacustics ZaZen1 which however I sold. So there are many bases on the market but I was asking for info from direct experience.

I’ve tried a couple of things over the years Mission Isoplat and Fraim glass and balls.
They all make differences but I decided to leave it on the shelf for consistency.
Some do this and some do that just enjoy in the ears and not in the head. :thinking: :+1:t2:

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Bamboo composite can be remarkably effective so make any alternatives earn their place. One thing to try is three dome nuts (or ball bearings on ordinary nuts, otherwise known as ball nutters) under the board, no guarantees but cheap to try.

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I have an IKEA bamboo chopping board under my LP12. I took it away for a week and it’s back. Put some silicone sticky feet under it and keep it. As a tweak averse person (TAP), I surprised myself when I put it back. :wink:

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My turntable is made of solid bamboo ply and has solid cone feet on Fraim chips on a Fraim lite shelf. I changed the Fram chips for some Herbies Fat Grounding Bases expecting an improvement from increased isolation, what I got was decreased dynamics and poorer timing, the Fraim chips went back in place pretty quickly.

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this is the Ikea base that I use. Placed directly on the furniture. Do I have to put something between the base and the cabinet? I have the impression that the Naim PRaT was missing a bit, I don’t know if it depends on the base or not.

Try it without the base to see if the PRaT is there.

DG…

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You dont have to do anything. Just try and decide. If the sound improvement far outweighs the negative aesthetics, in my view, then decision is made.

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Ideally, the bamboo should be coupled to the component and isolated from the furniture. I use 3 silicone sticky pads under mine. The best way of coupling the component is to sit it on 3-4 small bamboo blocks but you could experiment. Might not be as effective with amps. Try under your source maybe?

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Thanks guys, I’ll have to be patient and do some testing. Since I got the Nait I placed it directly on the Ikea base to raise it a little. It’s a shame that Naim makes these amps so low :smile: I’ll have to get the SN3 to have it a little higher. In summary, I have to try placing it directly on the furniture or, if I use the base, put Sorbothane or rubber pads under it. Right?

Thanks, so do you suggest not using anything and placing it directly on the furniture? I will definitely do some testing but having feeds from those who have already tried is always enlightening

I’d suggest you are overthinking this. Just remove the chopping board and see how it sounds. Everyone’s experience is different. Many people think IsoAcoustic Gaias make a nice improvement, whereas I found they made things sound worse. The Quadraspire Q Plus Evo seemed to make little difference when I tried them.

The board rather spoils the look, so if I had your system I’d use it in the kitchen and just enjoy the stereo as designed. If you are not happy with it on the furniture, why not get a proper hifi rack.

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Herbie’s Audio Lab offers a range of decoupling products like the Fat Dot that uses a proprietary material and don’t cost silly money. I use four of their soft fat dots under my IKEA bamboo board that supports an olive 250. Yes, a Frankenstein solution but seems to work well enough until I can get a better rack.

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I found soft pods under a chopping block worked well for amplification but didn’t work at all well for the cd player.

Thank you, you were very valuable. As mentioned I will do some tests, unfortunately in this environment I cannot put any dedicated rack.

I’m currently using a granite chopping block under my pre amp for now … need to order a couple more glass shelves and the Fraim cups and balls. This is sitting on a thick Valchromat shelf with spikes and cups to the floor. Certainly solid and seems to be doing a good job, anyone else tried this under their boxes?!