Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS) EXR Audio Stand
Damping Plates
As I applied the mid-size Damping Plates to the La Diva M2 CD drive, all of a sudden, Michael’s earlier remarks of calmness and quiet made sense. With the Damping Plate on top of the left side of the player’s chassis, the CD spinner did indeed sound calmer and more composed. The sense of urgency and vitality was slightly reduced but not the level of detail. In fact, I felt that the transparency had increased.
I also tried the smallest of the Damping Plates on top of the player’s sliding lid. Surprisingly, while this had a similar effect, it was smaller than the effect on top of the player’s chassis. On the whole, I must say I preferred the more lightfooted and expressive sound of the player sans Damping Plate, even if it was less clean and composed. I’ll admit to having expected this outcome as my system in general does not seem to work ideally when any kind of damping is applied which is why you don’t see any Artesania dampers on my components. But before jumping to a final conclusion based on experience with a single audio component, I felt that further experimentation was necessary.
More for the sake of completeness honestly rather than really expecting much, I placed the largest of the Damping Plates on top of the Antipodes Oladra Server, positioned front to back. You see, the Oladra’s casing is horizontally subtly curvy which makes the Damping Plates float at the extremes if placed left to right.
To my astonishment, this made an unexpectedly large difference, and a very positive one, too! The presentation is again calmer and less boisterous but not overly so and now with a very clearly cleaner upper midrange and treble. It’s as if the Damping Plate removes detrimental resonances to create more room for nuances in the upper mid and treble. Actually, this is probably exactly what happens, but now, it also sounds that way! There’s now undeniably higher resolution in the midrange and treble leading to a higher level of distinction of all the subtle sounds that are in the mix. Before, the sound was arguably bolder or punchier but more lumped together and more brash. Now, I definitely preferred the sound with the Damping Plate on top.
Having obtained such a good result, I wondered what would happen if I added more Damping Plates to the Oladra’s top. As it turned out, having all three Damping Plates in place works just as well as using only the larger of the three. It’s not better, but also not overdamped, as I was expecting.
Going to the other end of the scale and using just the smaller one instead of the larger one does lead to a slightly crispier and more lively sound, which I prefer. So, it appears there is an optimum which can be found empirically, by just trying it out. I’m sure the precise position of the Damping Plate would also matter but I did not go that far because it will be different for every component anyway.
And now for something that I really did not expect. As part of the Artesania racks I also have Artesania dampers that are supposed to be used on top of audio components, just like the HRS Damping Plates. But as mentioned, I’ve never had much success with this in my system. After the surprisingly positive impact of the HRS Damping Plate on top of the Oladra, I wondered how an Artesania damper would perform comparatively. I figured that they would do similar things, although I had mild reservations due to the different interface material that is used. Whereas the HRS Damping Plate has a very compliant and slightly sticky polymer, the Artesania damper has a Neoprene layer which is considerably more solid.
As I swapped the dampers, I felt my jaw drop as I exclaimed Whaaat? Really? Immediately, I replaced the HRS Damping Plate only for my observation to be reinforced. Interestingly, both dampers really do indeed dampen the component. I verified this by rapping the Oladra’s top side with my knuckles first without a damper and then with either the HRS or the Artesania damper. In spite of its thick and hefty enclosure, the Oladra server rings when rapped and both dampers kill the resonance seemingly equally effectively, making the knocks sound duller, shorter, and quieter.
But the real difference is in the effect on the music. With the Artesania damper, there’s a quieting of boom and a calmer sound, which in itself is a good result. But with the HRS Damping Plate, we get the same result, as well as a significant increase in transparency, clarity, and resolution. I repeated the experiment twice because I still could not believe it. But sure enough, the described differences are real.
So, what does the Oladra sound like undamped, I hear you ask? Well, “untreated”, the server sounds a little more exuberant and impactful but also rougher, less revealing, less well-resolved, and arguably a little “shoutier”. To be fair, it still sounds really good without any treatment, but it’s significantly enhanced by using the HRS Damping Plate.
I have to hand it to HRS: this exercise was enormously illustrative of just how effective their methods are. It also underlines the importance of a systemic approach: starting with the Audio Stand System, using the Vortex footers, and topping it off, quite literally, with a Damping Plate. As always in audio, it remains important to keep an open mind and simply investigate all variables, even those that may seem unimportant or superfluous.
Conclusion
As I have come to understand and accept at some point during my many years in audio, there is no one-stop solution. The best way to optimize a system is by zooming in to the component level and applying measures as needed. The beauty of the HRS system is that this is precisely what it allows to do whilst still keeping things very simple. This systematic and modular approach, the purposeful yet stylish appearance, and the sheer solidity, precision, and expression that the rack injects into the music whilst remaining utterly neutral and transparent combine into an irresistible combination.
A big surprise was to find that an HRS Damping Plate is not just applicable for audio components with thin chassis, but it can actually work enormously effectively with very thick, solid, and heavy chassis.
Sure, even though the EXR Audio Stand is HRS’ most economical solution, it’s not pocket change. But compared to the serious alternatives out there, they do offer very good value for money. In fact, I was so impressed by the performance that I decided to order two 3-level EXR Audio Stands to function as my new reference racks.
External Links
www.referencesounds.nl
HRS website
Once again, thanks for the in-depth examination of these components. i really like your short, astute, descriptions of how they sound.
I own CH Precision gear. The voicing of CH gear is very natural with its own support spikes in place. Music flows freely, as it does in nature.
I have tried any number of third party top plates and footers. Almost all introduce damping that clamps down and restricts flow, resulting in a loss of naturalism, and moves towards audiophile sound. None of these devices are keepers.
I gather you’re not a fan of the CH provided spike isolation system?
Artesania racks bypass component feet by design and over many years I got used to how that works and sounds. Outside of initial experiments on the floor and a few occasions where I heard my CH equipment with friends, I have no real experience using CH with its own feet or the CH Spike Option. I don’t have enough experience with it to proclaim being a fan or not. The HRS racks provided the first occasion where I seriously tried them and since I also tried a range of other footers with the CH and HRS, I would say my prefefence is more down to the combination of audio component and rack than the CH footers themselves. So, long story short, I don’t really have an opinion on the CH footers just yet.
This is a fascinating point about using HRS Chassis products with CH-Precision. I am the representative for HRS to many CH dealers in the USA. They have found that the Vortex and Damping Plates significantly improve when combined with an HRS Base. Please remember that the CH chassis design is not at fault but rather the extreme levels of fidelity that allow you to hear the results clearly.
How many Vortex footers (3 or 4) did you use under the Grimm? I’ve lately been using 4 of the Stack Audio AUVA footers to good effect with the MU1 on my HRS rack. And as you found I have been very pleased with 4 Vortex under my dCS Vivaldi APEX DAC for about a year.
Hi Steve, sorry, notifications ended up in spam somehow, leading to my late response. I tried the MU1 with 3 Vortex footers and 4 and did not discern a very large difference. Both work well but with 4 footers, I found it is very important to set the tension on the adjustable 4th footer very precisely to achieve even distribution. With the very lightweight Grimm, this can be a little tricky.
Mail filtering is unfortunately a common problem we’ve all experienced. Based on your review, and already having been using Vortex footers since late 2020, at the urging of Michael Latvis ( he’d already had experience using these under his dCS DAC with his racks), I went ahead and purchased a set of 4 and noted the immediate improvement compared to the Stack Audio AUVA feet I’d been using under the Grimm MU1. Your experience mirrors mine. I also tested the potential for additional benefit of some damping plates atop the MU1 in varied sizes and configurations to no clear effect.
Thanks for the feedback, Steve!