HRS Damping Plates

Way back in 2009 I think I bought an ex dem Accuphase E450, and was persuaded by the eulogies of the dealer to add a couple of these....the amp remains wonderful & the damping plates remain at the back of some cupboard, so useless I haven't got the heart to sell them to someone else. There may have been subsequent versions, but to my ears they did absolutely nothing!

I would suggest some form of proper energy dissipation under the Esoteric. The ones that make the most sense to me, from an engineering standpoint, are the Magico Q-POD’s. It is my opinion, that with a device creating energy at 60 cycles per second, dissipation is what we want, rather than isolation. With isolation, the energy returns to the device and over time, results in a “dead” sound. With dissipation, the energy is allowed to escape. In the case of the Magico Q Pod’s for example, the energy is turned into heat and escapes through the solid copper ring. In addition, I have found proper dissipation to be most effective under digital devices. YMMV.

I will be getting some of the Artesania damping plate gizmos to try in a month or so.

I use a Symposium Svelte shelf on top of my Esoteric K-01x. I think it is similar principle to the damping plates. I hear an improvement in sound quality. It is very easy to A & B the difference. I also use Stillpoints and a svelte shelf under the K-01x. Every little bit helps for me.

Try Artesania dampers above and Shun Mook diamond resonators below.

Mike said:

I would suggest some form of proper energy dissipation under the Esoteric. The ones that make the most sense to me, from an engineering standpoint, are the Magico Q-POD’s. It is my opinion, that with a device creating energy at 60 cycles per second, dissipation is what we want, rather than isolation. With isolation, the energy returns to the device and over time, results in a “dead” sound. With dissipation, the energy is allowed to escape. In the case of the Magico Q Pod’s for example, the energy is turned into heat and escapes through the solid copper ring. In addition, I have found proper dissipation to be most effective under digital devices. YMMV.

I will be getting some of the Artesania damping plate gizmos to try in a month or so.

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I have both the HRS and the Artesania damping plates. While difficult to say to what degree they “work” I can say I use them and do not find them to adversely impact the performance of my system. For what it is worth, the Artesania dampers aesthetically appeal to me more. Hope this helps...


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La Dolce Vita said:

I have both the HRS and the Artesania damping plates. While difficult to say to what degree they “work” I can say I use them and do not find them to adversely impact the performance of my system. For what it is worth, the Artesania dampers aesthetically appeal to me more. Hope this helps...


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So (and I don't mean to be impolite) you bought these things and in spite of their cost, you're basically happy they haven't made your system sound any worse?

I Placed an HRS plate on my K-03X to quench a vibration of the top cover I could easily feel when Music was playing. Seemed a simple enough and good looking fix. I also put Stillpoint Minis under it but the vibration is still there without the HRS plate.

Of the two, the HRS plate seems more important to my ears.

magoo said:

So (and I don't mean to be impolite) you bought these things and in spite of their cost, you're basically happy they haven't made your system sound any worse?

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LOL!!! Well, perhaps it’s a low bar but I’m sure I am not the only one here who in the past has spent some good coin for a product anticipating results/improvement that did not come. I am happy with my dampers. Surely they help I’m just not always able to measure the degree of improvement especially when considering other variables as well.


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Over the years I have most definitely been guilty as charged, back in the late nineties the UK HiFi press wash awash with glowing reviews of Nordost, and when a Thor came up ex dem I grabbed it, and to be honest at the time really thought it had improved the sound. As the years passed & I swapped out my expensive but utterly unbendable power cords for the flexible things that came in the box without my system "collapsing" into awfulness, when I finally needed 7 inpus rather than the 6 the Thor offers, I went to Maplins & bought a 20 quid 8 way gang....and remarkably (and tbh annoyingly!!), nothing changed in the sound, or at least to my 48 yr old ears that heard Motorhead at the Hammersmith Apollo! In the end, I have come to think that while things certainly make a difference, (copper & silver I swear differ for eg in cables), we adjust to the new sound within about a week, and stop hearing the difference, we go back to hearing music, in which case why worry. That's what we were doing before.

I dug out the HRS plates thou, and nope, still doing nada in my set up, which is in my sig & does reveal pretty decently imho

Re HRS dampling plates - I could not hear any difference in my system.

Put some of the HRS Nimbus footers under a component and you will soon hear a difference. I find they drain treble from the system and introduce a muddy bass. I find Wave Kinetics a much better solution underneath and have left the dating plates in place on top.