Finally got around to buying some Rustins G Shield last night.

Other than the black grounding boxes, where else is it effective?

A quick tip I may have shared before.  If you're going to be using self-adhesive copper tape for shielding "stuff", then check out the price of adhesive copper Slug tape.  It can work out much cheaper then buying "audiophile" tape, or even the tape you can buy at places like Screwfix.  It's a trick guitar-techs have been using to shield the cavities in guitar/bass bodies for years.

That's exactly what I used to screen my Croft phono stage, also the power & phono leads the relatively cheap slug/guitar tape from fleabay has an advantage in that  the adhesive is conductive thus causing no problems when I spirally wrapped the leads which are grounded to the 13 amp plug earth pin, fuses are 5 or 3amp only,  whether the audiophile stuff is the same (cynical moment) & just re packaged & up-priced I don't know.   

What does that entail, Brett?

Power it from a good LPSU and it should.

I have experience of a varied range of footers, having used Stillpoints, Black Ravioli, Finite Elemente and Clearlight Audio RDC Cones.

Recently, I have been demoing (on a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee) an incredibly well-priced equipment footer from a UK manufacturer - Stack Audio.

Better known for their range of Auva 50, 70 and 100 speaker feet (rave reviews online that compare them competitively with Townshend Seismic Podiums), Stack Audio have recently been garnering favourable reviews for their height-adjustable, Auva EQ Isolation footers, with a purchase price of under £200 for a set of four!

They have an upper housing, that makes contact with the underside of the supported component, which contain dozens of small synthetic balls and a mineral compound, which are excited by vibrations and dissipate it as heat. The lower half of the footer is made of a silicon compound which is weight bearing specific.

All Auva EQ Isolation footers are priced the same and the weight-bearing ranges are:-

CSA 1 - 0 to 4 Kg per footer
CSA 2 - 4 to 10Kg per footer
CSA 3 - 10 to 15Kg per footer

I initially ordered a set of 3 x CSA 3 Auva EQ footers for underneath my TW Acustics Raven One non-suspended turntable, which weighs in at 30Kg including arm, cartridge and Stillpoints LP1 record puck.

Each footer has a range of height adjustment of about 3mm and it was a doddle to position them underneath my turntable and level it.

I was really impressed by the performance of these economical footers, with gains in bass weight, soundstage and detail resolution, being easily detectable.

Stack Audio do not recommend their application with turntable suspensions, due to the compliancy built into each footer by the silicon component.

I received a follow-up email enquiring about my feedback on my purchase from a very amiable guy, named Josh, who looks after the company's customers.

I happened to mention that I belonged to a few online audio forums and attended as well as hosted, regular "bake-off" meetings with other members.

As a result, Josh has set up a further discount on their already competitive prices, for anyone to enter a code at the checkout on their online ordering system.

Simply add "7.5wigwamgroup" for an additional 7.5% off the purchase price, which covers their whole range of products.

I used the discount to order a second set of 4 x Auva EQ CSA-3 footers (total capacity 60Kg) to go under my D'Agostino power amp, where they also perform superbly!

I don't know how they can maintain the low cost of these footers, and I'm sure that when word catches on, there will be a price increase.

It would be interesting to see how they compare to the latest Black Ravioli Plus footer, at twice the price!

Why not use the discount code, try a set and return them if you don't like what they do?

image1 by , on Flickr

In situ and looking good, under my TW Acustics Raven One turntable.

image0 by , on Flickr

Ok, I've placed an order for 4 x CSA 2 using the discount. This is for my secondary rack (a plant pot tall table) which is currently sat on sorbothane pucks.

I have tried the Stack Audio EQ in a direct comparison with the Black Ravioli Big Feet. I sent them back and stuck with the Big feet, Wooden comes were also used once I heard then Stack Audio.

Here is my feedback I sent to Josh at Stack Audio, I tested them under my Lyngdorf processors, which is DAC and Pre-amp.


In my system the key element that did not work for me was the effect of moving the sound stage back behind the speakers. This wasn't just making the sound stage bigger, in fact the Black Ravioli gives a slightly larger sound stage. It was more the effect that I was more of an observer to the sound than being involved and entertained. It made me less attached to the music than the wooden cones. Now there was more detail than the wooden cones and things were sharper for a better word. That sharpness reminded me of Nordost Pulsar Points, of which I have a set which sit under the Sky Box as they work really well there. They do not work well under anything else as they thin out the sound a little. They use to work well under my old CD transport, but that was a good 6 years ago and I know feet have moved on a lot since then.

In comparison the Black Ravioli (BR) are the opposite that really bring the music into the room, while also giving them a larger soundstage. They also give slightly more detail. It is much easier to hear different elements of the music that with the Auva's I felt I had to turn up the volume, but still then was struggling to hear. Couple of examples, Eva Cassidy, Fields of Gold, with the guitar in this song on the BR's I can clearer hear the leading edge of the strings vibrating, giving it that real and natural sound. On the Auva's this was much harder to make out and having only heard it on the BR's did I know to listen for it. Another example if The XX, Performance. On this track there are lots of low level sounds which only on a high resolving system can you hear. With the BR's they jumped off the background and were really easy to hear. With the Auva's again much hared to make out and I had to really listen to them.

Re-reading the HighFidelity magazine review after listening there are a coupe of comments that do fit with what I heard, which is "...the apparent sound sources were located a bit further away from me, behind the line connecting the speakers. This will appeal to all those who find strong and "tangible" sound overwhelming or tiring" I guess I fall into the "tangible" category.