Not seen much about these on here so thought i would give my bit of recent experience with them.
Bit of background , i have happily used Townshend Isolation platforms under my Rega Isis and Osiris for a good few years. Liked what they did but was never too keen on the looks. After a lot of research the HRS E1X Isolation Base seemed a likely replacement candidate.
All i can say is although the Townshend Platforms work very well , the HRS is in total different league.
Just a few notable improvements are… [Michael Latvis of HRS words]
• Drop in the noise floor revealing a new level of inner detail
• Elimination of glare in digital signal quality without sacrificing resolution
• Improvement of bass response and bass resolution
• Larger soundstage with increased space between instruments
• Significant increase in system musicality and performance veracity
all of which i fully agree with.
No downsides at all. I did read a review where someone thought the tonal balance was shifted down , which concerned me. But i did not find this to be so.
One big improvement i found , which is hard to explain is in the openness and imaging , comparing to the Townshend. With the Townshend you get a big open sound with good imaging and depth. But with the HRS you get an even more open sound stage and better width and depth. But whereas the Townshend openness is empty , on the HRS the sound expands to fill the openness , but still keeping accurate image size and location. Difficult to explain , but for me its a major step forward to a lifelike re-creation.
Guess i will have to try it under the Osiris sometime !
Still. Would be a definite worthwhile adventure to try the single one under either at a time.
Pop the amp on top with the HRS - with the source below.
You really deserve to shrimp your options.
My Naim boxes sit on granite shelves on a well-made rack. We tried the HRS Nimbus (I think) rubbery feet between Naim and granite.
We all thought that there was a modest improvement on some music at higher volume. We have not tried rival products of a similar sort, but we have put Isoacoustic Gaias under B&W 804 D3s. The effect of those was a dramatically bigger upgrade than the HRS rubber ware.
HRS also offered some chunky metal weights to dampen microphonic or case-rattling effects. They have a positive effect if the volume is really high and you listen carefully.
I am not sure about having any of this under boxes that also have suspension (experiments continue), but the weights seem to improve modestly anything olive with a big transformer.
Years ago I bought an HRS record weight but it’s been of very limited use. You can’t use it with an Aro as they collide before the end of the leadout groove, the same goes for a G style Ortofon SPU. It is usable with a more conventional headshell and a 1/2” mount cartridge but mostly I find it overdamps and robs the music of life, the only exception was with the original rubber mat on my Lenco but I prefer the TEAK Washi paper mat white side up on that deck and no added weight. It’s never been of benefit on either my Townshend MK 2 nor Artemis SA-1 with their acrylic faced platters. The Rock is best with its screw down clamp and the Artemis with its 100g delrin weight so the HRS live in its box.
I use an HRS R3x isolation platform under my Clearaudio Innovation. It was factory tuned specifically for that load (the TT is 63 lbs).
It’s a complete game changer. Adding it was like getting an upgraded cartridge. Everything improved, and a huge benefit is how much better the soundstage in my room is after integrating the HRS base. I agree with all the bullet points in the original post above.
Previously I used a isoAcoustic Delos.
Next year I plan to get a Boulder 1108 phono-stage and I expect to put that on another R3x base.
I fully agree that the HRS base is a game changer , under the Isis its like ive got a new much improved player.
Have also tried it under the Osiris amp . Not expecting much improvement but totally shocked at what it does. Infact there is an equal or probably greater improvement than with the Isis.
Seems i need another one then !
Btw the HRS Nimbus previously mentioned are not actually for isolation . They are designed for bottom chassis damping , ideally in conjunction with an HRS base.
