Addis Pads - probably the greatest hifi upgrade... in the world!

[windhoek]

I stumbled onto this incredible upgrade a couple of months ago when I began experimenting with interfaces that might reduce the amount of energy going into the floor from my Tannoy Legacy Eaton speakers. Among a few things I tried were pieces of Addis sink mat protection stuff (see pic below).



Not only did placing pieces of this stuff beneath my speakers reduce the amount of energy going into the floor, it also had a remarkable effect on the presentation itself: everything seemed to have much more clarity and focus, including the bass, which was now firmly planted within the soundstage. However, something wasn’t right. I couldn’t put my finger on it at the time but I now have an idea as to what it was: the Addis pads are fairly firm so I reckon there was microscopic ‘bounce’ going on.

So I went and took some sticky-on bumpers (you know, the sort you put inside kitchen cupboard doors to stop the doors from banging when they close too fast) and put them on the Addis stuff and tried that. Wow! With the speakers now sitting nice and flat, like they’re perfectly seated in a bespoke saddle, the Addis stuff instantly worked its magic. And it is magic! For the record, I’d already tried using those sticky-on bumpers by themselves and the results were okay, but nothing special.

So what does it sound like? All that focus and clarity was back but with a compelling presentation that simply sounds magical, almost as if fairies had sprinkled magic dust on it. I say magical because music now seems to be matierialisng from another dimension. I know, that sounds like crazy talk. But that’s how it sounds.

I now realise I was onto the right idea with talk of an interdimensional presentation, but I had it the wrong way around. It’s not that the Addis pads and sticky-on bumpers make music materialise from another dimension - it's that they take you to another dimension: they take you into the recording room when the music was recorded!

Like I say, I know this sounds like crazy talk, but there really is something magical going on with the Addis pad + sticky-on bumper combo.

I’ve put this combo under the speakers in my bedroom and I’m getting the same results. And I’ve also put this combo under my turntables as well. Basically, I’ve put it under everything with moving parts.

The Addis sink mat protection stuff is available at B&M for £2.50 - that’s right, two pounds fifty, and the bumpers are available from B&Q (link) for £1.53. ! Am I crazy? Or have I just discovered probably the greatest single upgrade ever... in the world???

Here's the 'User Manual':

- Affix 8 bumpers to 8 pads and then place the combos beneath the corners of your speakers (or 4 pads and bumpers beneath your turntable or CD player etc). You can even double up on pads and place an extra pad beneath the other so that you've got two pads per bumper (for really heavy speakers you probably should double up on pads). Allow at least an hour for adhesive setting time to ensure the pads don't slide should lateral force be applied when tilting speakers backwards and forwards during installation.

- In general, I prefer to affix pads to bumpers but sometimes you might need to affix bumpers to equipment and then line things up after that.

- The combo has to be the only damping interface between the supporting structure and the equipment/speakers. Otherwise, you'll get diluted results. In practice, this probably means removing the feet from your equipment.

- If your speakers are on carpets then you'd need to find a way of bypassing the carpet. You can't put the combo on top of a carpet and expect to get results. If you can't install a platform that takes the carpet out of the equation then forget it, it just won't work.

Information: the pads are made from PVC and the bumpers are made from EVA. Together, they produce a sprung damping effect. The trade off is that you lose a bit of the visceral experience. If putting the combo beneath your speakers means you lose too much then you can just put the combo beneath your equipment. That way, you get the benefits without changing how your speakers deliver music.

Here are some pics:









As you can see, I've even gone and removed the stock feet from my 1210GR and used M6 bolts (and nuts) and then put the combo beneath the bolts.

Oh, I'd previously tried using these Sound Damped Steel plates which use constrained layer damping (CLD) technology but there was no contest, the pads and bumpers combo was far superior.

If I had to quantify the improvement I'd say it doubled the quality of everything in my system: my speakers are now twice as good, my turntable is now twice as good. Everything that's electromechanical is now twice as good.

[windhoek]

One thing I forgot to say is that the combo also produces a somewhat warm and somewhat softer presentation. That's not to say music becomes soft and glowy, but things like sibilance and shrill female vocal moments are brought nicely under control.

[Jimbo]

Leftfield acoustic isolation. Like it.

[hifinutt]

very nice ... think i will stick with my nice isopucks under the eaton legacy ... been there for some years now and sound is superb . especially with new pre i got a few months ago

[Barry]

Good thread Derek - thanks for posting your findings. I expect others might also benefit from this.

One thing you say is that you now feel you have been transported to the recording venue. This is the correct goal to achieve: you are there, not they are in your listening room.

As the late Peter Walker of Quad said: somewhere near the plane of your speakers, the walls of your listening room should appear to vanish and be replaced by the acoustic of the recording venue.

[windhoek]

very nice ... think i will stick with my nice isopucks under the eaton legacy ... been there for some years now and sound is superb . especially with new pre i got a few months ago

I used to have Gaia 2s beneath the Atacama stand my Eatons used to be on and I never got to hear music anything like it is now. I sold my Gaias when I changed stands (I'm now using mana acoustics) so I can't say I've experienced a like-for-like comparison between the two. But the fact remains, there's no comparison to how my speakers deliver music now with the pad and bumper combo in place with the Mana versus how it used to sound when I had the Gaias and Atacama stands.

Which Isopucks are you using, Indigo?

[windhoek]

Good thread Derek - thanks for posting your findings. I expect others might also benefit from this.

One thing you say is that you now feel you have been transported to the recording venue. This is the correct goal to achieve: you are there, not they are in your listening room.

As the late Peter Walker of Quad said: somewhere near the plane of your speakers, the walls of your listening room should appear to vanish and be replaced by the acoustic of the recording venue.

Yeah, the change has been that transformative. Watching films is now an incredible experience as well because like music, the speakers now take you on set. Just crazy!

[Sherwood]

Windhoek?

[windhoek]

Windhoek?

Windhoek: the capital city of Namibia, the country formerly known as South West Africa. I use windhoek because I spent three months in Namibia in '97 and it was the best three month period of my life, and also because when I first chose it as a forum moniker, I accidentally typed it as windhoek... and I've been windhoek on forums ever since. But my name is Derek and I'm from Glasgow

[Sherwood]

Windhoek: the capital city of Namibia, the country formerly known as South West Africa. I use windhoek because I spent three months in Namibia in '97 and it was the best three month period of my life, and also because when I first chose it as a forum moniker, I accidentally typed it as windhoek... and I've been windhoek on forums ever since. But my name is Derek and I'm from Glasgow

I worked in Ovamboland in 1990, and spent time in Windhoek just after Independence. I lived in Windhoek (Ludwigsdorf) for 3.5 years between 1998 and 2001. I also lived in neighbouring Botswana at various times in the 80s and 90s. Both amazing countries