Tweakers' Asylum: REVIEW: The Vibrapod Co. Vibrapod Other by S.J. Kremer

Tweaks. If there is one area in audio wrought with the danger of snake oil and outright rip-off, this is it. So, for a mere $24.00 I figured I could afford to try a tweak. So I became the proud owner of four Vibra pods.

Vibra pods are little footers that come in various stiffenesses to match the weight of the component which is to be placed upon it. They are vibration absorption devices. And they were more or less discovered by accident if company lore is to be believed. The company made vinyl grommets for tents and tarps. A few were placed under a mis-tracking CD player in to try to isolate it from the heavy-duty industrial vibration present and it worked. This led to other experimentation, which led ultimately to marketing the Vibrapod as it now exists.

For me, vibration has proven itself to be real with the howl of demon acoustic feedback to a poorly located turntable in the past so I was ready to believe.

I have acquired several incarnations of CD players so I stuck the Vibra pods under an older Pioneer PD 7030. The effect was immediate if not extremely profound. The d to listen a bit more background to everything became quieter, and the dynamics of most performances seemed to expand just a bit. It resulted in being able to hear a little more detail in the various recordings, subtle things that were not as apparent in recordings that I am extremely familiar with.

Under a new Rotel RCD-991, which is a much better CD player, the effect was not as obvious, but it was there. It seemed as if the background was deeper and more silent. I had to listen a bit more carefully to accurately determine the effect.

So why does this thing work so well on the supposedly immune digital medium of the CD? I have noticed that CDs donâ€™t exactly spin smoothly. The spindle hole may not be quite centered, causing vibration in the disc mechanism and making the tracking mechanism work harder and maybe even kicking error correction circuitry. The edges may not be especially true, causing the same problems. The tracks may not be exactly be pressed concentrically on the disc, causing difficulty in tracking. The vibrapods soak up vibration and may allow for better tracking and less error correction. It doesnâ€™t so much improve the sound as prevent degradation of the sound from unwanted resonances and vibration. At least thatâ€™s what I think.

I have noticed one or two reviews on various web sights that were extremely negative, including one where the individual claimed that the Vibrapods bled on his wives favorite bedsheet. I canâ€™t imagine what he was doing with a vibration absorption device in bed. I think he may have been a. sampling too much of the local herb b. confusing the Vibrapods with another device that may take batteries c. just giving a negative review to amuse himself d. all of the above.

Anyhow, for $6.00 each, you can afford to experiment and they may just work as well as some $399.00 tweak. You just about canâ€™t go wrong.

REVIEW: The Vibrapod Co. Vibrapod Other Review by S.J. Kremer at Audio Asylum