Back to Testimonials/Press List
Every now and then, Phil from Cheshire Audio comes to visit me.
Sometimes he brings a piece of Hi-Fi kit around to see what I think
of it. Occasionally, a bit of kit makes my system sound better at a
cost which seems to outweigh the benefit but, usually, there’s not
much difference. In either case the bit of kit goes back home with
Phil. The last time we went through our little ritual things didn’t
turn out the way that they usually do. In fact, they turned out very
differently indeed.
The piece of kit in question was a Sonority (standard) roller platform designed to draw unnecessary vibrations away from and out of the piece of equipment that sits on top of them. This one, Phil told me, had originally been designed with the CDS3 in mind – and I just happen to have a CDS3, which I held up in the air while Phil assembled the platform underneath it. We put the music back on and the result was little short of astounding. No, that’s not quite true – it was astounding. Individual sounds from instruments were suddenly better defined; the soundstage became broader and deeper and, most notably, volume was increased! I said to Phil at the time – ‘this is not going home with you!’ It didn’t and it’s still under the CD player.
Now the effect may not have been as good as I’m making it seem – after all everything to do with Hi-Fi is subjective – and some people may not like depth in the soundstage, or the very clear separation and definition for each instrument. But to me everything about the music was suddenly much, much better. I had never imagined that anything could make my CDS3 sound better – unless I went out and bought a CD555, but here I was listening to an obvious, very real improvement in the quality of sound. It was an amazing moment. So amazing, that this was just the start of the story; I went on to get custom-made platforms under My Tom Evans pre-amp and phono-stage, with equivalent improvements in musical quality. Then I bought Sonority cones to go under the platforms and again the sound of the music got better.
Convinced that I was on to a real winner, I got all the MDF in my old target stand replaced with custom-made Sonority shelving. This didn’t bring about any really startling improvements in the way that the platforms had – but it did make enough difference to justify the not-too-high cost – and it made my target stand look like a very sophisticated bit of kit indeed! The sonority finish is as good as its function! I went on to add roller platforms under my Trichord D300 power amps achieved the same effect; a subtle but audible improvement all round.
Finally I came to the piece de resistance – the icing on the cake, or to be more accurate the custom-made roller platforms under my Vienna Strauss speakers – sensitive, difficult beasts that can sound gloriously musical or very overblown in the bass if badly positioned. Once again, as had been the case with the CDS3, the result was astounding. The bass was finally and forever tamed and the speakers’ truly musical voice was heard in its full glory. Their overall sound was better than I had ever heard it before; I like to think they now display the quality of mid-range of my old S.F. Cremonas but with the bass that they could never quite deliver! For these latter additions I was helped by Steve – the owner of the Sonority Company. Yes, he came round personally to make sure that everything was right and performing optimally. Customer support at its very, very best!
I cannot, however, say all these good things without mentioning the downside and there is one; well two actually. In my case nearly all the platforms had to be custom made – at no extra cost, which is very good – but, as a result, non-transferable which is not so good. There is also an issue with cabling. It’s important to take great care that your cables aren’t creating a drag on the platforms or they will be pulled out of line and lose some of their ability. It takes time and patience to get this right and I’ve discovered that with some very heavy cables it takes a lot of time and a great deal of patience. But, once you’re there, so long as you leave well enough alone everything is fine and the improvement in musical quality, relative to the overall cost is, to put it simply, unparalleled. In short Sonority roller platforms are the best thing since Nordost came along with Valhalla - at a fraction of the price! I absolutely, honestly and truly, love Sonority!
The piece of kit in question was a Sonority (standard) roller platform designed to draw unnecessary vibrations away from and out of the piece of equipment that sits on top of them. This one, Phil told me, had originally been designed with the CDS3 in mind – and I just happen to have a CDS3, which I held up in the air while Phil assembled the platform underneath it. We put the music back on and the result was little short of astounding. No, that’s not quite true – it was astounding. Individual sounds from instruments were suddenly better defined; the soundstage became broader and deeper and, most notably, volume was increased! I said to Phil at the time – ‘this is not going home with you!’ It didn’t and it’s still under the CD player.
Now the effect may not have been as good as I’m making it seem – after all everything to do with Hi-Fi is subjective – and some people may not like depth in the soundstage, or the very clear separation and definition for each instrument. But to me everything about the music was suddenly much, much better. I had never imagined that anything could make my CDS3 sound better – unless I went out and bought a CD555, but here I was listening to an obvious, very real improvement in the quality of sound. It was an amazing moment. So amazing, that this was just the start of the story; I went on to get custom-made platforms under My Tom Evans pre-amp and phono-stage, with equivalent improvements in musical quality. Then I bought Sonority cones to go under the platforms and again the sound of the music got better.
Convinced that I was on to a real winner, I got all the MDF in my old target stand replaced with custom-made Sonority shelving. This didn’t bring about any really startling improvements in the way that the platforms had – but it did make enough difference to justify the not-too-high cost – and it made my target stand look like a very sophisticated bit of kit indeed! The sonority finish is as good as its function! I went on to add roller platforms under my Trichord D300 power amps achieved the same effect; a subtle but audible improvement all round.
Finally I came to the piece de resistance – the icing on the cake, or to be more accurate the custom-made roller platforms under my Vienna Strauss speakers – sensitive, difficult beasts that can sound gloriously musical or very overblown in the bass if badly positioned. Once again, as had been the case with the CDS3, the result was astounding. The bass was finally and forever tamed and the speakers’ truly musical voice was heard in its full glory. Their overall sound was better than I had ever heard it before; I like to think they now display the quality of mid-range of my old S.F. Cremonas but with the bass that they could never quite deliver! For these latter additions I was helped by Steve – the owner of the Sonority Company. Yes, he came round personally to make sure that everything was right and performing optimally. Customer support at its very, very best!
I cannot, however, say all these good things without mentioning the downside and there is one; well two actually. In my case nearly all the platforms had to be custom made – at no extra cost, which is very good – but, as a result, non-transferable which is not so good. There is also an issue with cabling. It’s important to take great care that your cables aren’t creating a drag on the platforms or they will be pulled out of line and lose some of their ability. It takes time and patience to get this right and I’ve discovered that with some very heavy cables it takes a lot of time and a great deal of patience. But, once you’re there, so long as you leave well enough alone everything is fine and the improvement in musical quality, relative to the overall cost is, to put it simply, unparalleled. In short Sonority roller platforms are the best thing since Nordost came along with Valhalla - at a fraction of the price! I absolutely, honestly and truly, love Sonority!