Received my Ingress Audio Engineering Isolation Roller Blocks for my Anedio D2 Dac and also my Zu SuperFly Speakers.

One word: WOW.  :)

This is the biggest tweak I have made to made system to date. They are also beautifully made and hand polished. For $65 per set of three standard roller blocks, they are a real bargain. Here are pics before I get to how they sound:

I ordered one set of three for my Dac shown here:




I also ordered 2 sets of four for my speakers with threaded holes on the top of the upper cups to thread into my speakers:




Here they with the threaded insert installed:




Upper cup threaded into the Zu SuperFly:




Installation complete:




Under the Anedio D2 Dac:




Another view:



Ok, they look good, how do they sound: Wow. When I said this is the single biggest tweak so far, I mean it. It is on par with the difference the Audiophilleo with PurePower made to my system. They are extremely neutral and not tone controls. There is a very noticeable increase of transparency and resolution, both high and low level detail. I also noted a more focused and cohesive sound stage, but more importantly for me, a much more fluid, organic and relaxed sound. No trace of the 'digital' harshness or edge that I cannot stand.

Interestedly, the improvement is very similar to the benefits of low jitter with the addition of the Audiophilleo and battery PurePower. That change was especially obvious for me with high resolution recordings. It made them sound glorious, so natural, organic, fluid and relaxed. I found compelled to listen to music louder then my CD quality music. Zero irritation for long listening periods. The Ingress Audio's Isolation Bearings has now brought my regular CD quality recordings up to almost the same level as my high rez music. I can no longer hear such a large difference between the two.

I am so impressed with these babies. The best $65 tweak, I have tried. It very cool is touch the speakers or dac and see them rock back and forth effortlessly. They feel like they hovering in mid air.

Mike is a pleasure to deal with and he gladly made custom threaded ones for my speakers for a small machining cost.

I have not tried them under the Torri yet, but somehow I think Herbies Iso-Cups just can't be beat for open chassis tube amplifiers.  One day I will try them out. I think though, I will order another custom threaded set for my heavy Balanced Power Transformer. I never felt the standard spikes did much.

Here is the website: http://www.ingress-engineering.ca

I believe he offers generous return policy if you don't like them.

Thats awesome Lon, I think you will really like them. Not sure how he makes money on these. I think they excel for digital components and speakers. Even though they are similar to Symposium RollerBlocks, Mike has put his own time and research into getting these just right.

The tried different spikes on my speakers and they all sounded harsher. I tried magnetic levitating feet and they sounded dead and dull. These do not seem alter the tone of the speakers, just increase the speakers resolution.

The threaded option for speakers makes it much easier to tweak speaker placement if you are by yourself.

Let me know if you try them on the Torii as I won't have any more time to play until the holidays. Have to go work to pay for all this stuff

I agree that cones don't cut it, and I had Herbie's Gliders under the speakers for a while but wasn't really convinced they improved the sound, they did make them sound different. As I said, my rudimentary roller block attempts (inspired by the system engineer Barry Diament uses) do make a similar difference, not altering the tonal balance but smoothening and deepening the sound. I'll post my impressions.

Probably won't try them under the Torii or elsewhere if they make a noticeable difference under the speakers, I'm very happy with the Iso-Cups there. Probably in time will order a few more pairs to try under CSP2+ and ZP3 if I like what these do.

Those r sweet! Exactly what i was looking for.  They really class up the speaker...and they sound good? Gotta give em a try. Thanks OC  

I was planning on ordering eight Herbie's gliders for my Decware MG944's,  but after reading this thread I'm not  interested in the gliders anymore.

Definitely will order eight of the Ingress Roller blocks in the near future.
Just debating if I should get them threaded with inserts? or not?

Mike in Seattle area

Still waiting for mine. . .

Yesterday I removed my homemade roller bearing setup just to see what an impact it makes on the sound. Put them back in really quickly! They really do make a difference, and I'm eager to hear what the Ingress Audio roller blocks do under the same speakers (HR-1).

On a related isolation note I changed the interconnects I was using from ZP3 to CSP2+ from MAC Silver Quad + to my trusty old pair of TARA Labs RSC Reference. (Which was a very pleasing move). These form an arch between the two components because they are so stiff and rigid, and they sag apart a bit in the center of the arch. Just for grins I stuck a little isolation puck that I have from a Cambridge Audio DAC "Magic One" component I used to use in the gap between the two cables at the center of the arch. I noticed a subtle change, a tightening of the sound and a bit of bass warmth, welcome change. I wasn't sure I wasn't imagining it, but when my pal Dave was over last night I started with the puck out and when he went into the kitchen for a minute I slipped it in. About ten minutes later he said "What did  you do?" Well, he knows me, I like to do this sort of stuff from time to time, but he heard a bit of a change to the sound (we were listening to the Porcupine Tree "Anestethize" Blu-ray which is quite a hi-res sound). So. . . maybe this is something imagined. . . but it's a folie a deux.

Lon, Porcupine Tree? Nice, ive seen them live and they r awesome! Im still getting a hum in the speakers, not sure what to do.

Rockn, it is one inch. With the tapered slots, floor gap is not a issue as long as you have a minimum of 1/4".

From 6 moons:

The Grieve loading always relied on a precise floor gap to function properly. The Essence circumvented possible user error by fixing the gap with its lacquered twin plinth. For the Soul, that detail was too complex. "The Soul instead has asymmetric slots on the bottom. The only requirement is that the cabinet sit at least 1/4 inch off the floor. We recommend and show long spikes since the Soul simply looks cooler when floating above the floor."

Ok cool, thanks OC. Do u have any problem with any hum from your speakers with the tori? Was wondering since we have the same speakers.

The Zu's have a very high efficiency of 101dB so you will hear a bit of hum, but even so, I have to be literally right at the speaker to be able to hear it. There is a slight transformer hum at Torri itself.

I have had two bad tubes that caused audible hum, hissing from the speakers but it was easy to pin point as it was only one channel, so I could swap tubes from one side to the other until I found the culprit.

What is your audio path? Try starting over with just the amp connected to the speakers and then start adding components one at a time. Also, plug everything in the same circuit if you can.

Good point.

Most of the time i have the tube in the idecco powered off as this sounds better at times. Would it still be audible powered off? Something i could look into and maybe upgrade the tube while I'm  at it.

Hey, the way I look at it, these are conversations and they aren't always just strictly on topic!

I wish I had the answer about your hum. Perhaps Steve might have some advice, it's worth calling about.

Rockn, just in case you order what I have, please note I ordered 1/4-20 threads because I use adapters thread adapters for my Zu's. I believe the Zu's come with 3/8–16 threads.

Still waiting on mine, shipped November 12.

Thanks OC, I'll do that.

Nice report Lon. Very interesting, as my low range tends to lean toward being a bit to heavy and even a tad muddy at times. The isolation bearings have proven to be excellent in this regard. They really tightened up the bass in my room.

Lon, the tungsten carbide bearings are supposed to deliver extreme low bass impact and definition and even less edginess. Not sure if it worth trying them or not.

I'm living dangerously and ordered another set, will use it either under my PWD Transport or DAC Mk II.

Thanks Donnie. You're right, they're not cheap. I notice that Mike was at an audio show and was featuring ceramic balls as well, which makes sense as some claim some of these are harder still.

Right now very happy with the standard balls. It's not low bass impact I seek as much as it's a bit of mid and low bass emphasis perhaps. . . . But with a new speaker location the sound is pretty much tonally where i want it now. My homemade set up provided a bit more of this emphasis which didn't dull dynamics but did cloud detail just a smidgeon, which can be a good thing with most of the recordings I spin, but it's a fine line a lot of the time. Quite happy with these roller blocks, and the set up won't fall apart if bumped as my other set up does.

Yes, they are.

How many are there for 65C?

Are you using three under each speaker and finding it stable?

orangecrush wrote on 11/30/12 at 15:36:57:


I'm happy with the balls supplied right now. It's funny, Nordost seems to love ceramic balls.

Couldn`t resist this from a happy customer from Donnies thread  :)
We all know how difficult it is finding quality tungsten carbide balls. You go to your local tungsten carbide ball store and pick one up off the shelf, only to get home and find that your tungsten carbide ball isn't round enough, or it's not shiny enough, or it's not tungsteny enough. And there would be wailing and the gnashing of teeth, "Why? Why, Lord, can't someone produce a decent tungsten carbide ball?" I can now report that the Almighty has heard your prayers, and behold, the Small Parts tungsten carbide ball, grade 25. If you put a Small Parts tungsten carbide ball on an inclined plane, believe me, it will roll down said plane. Those bargain brand tungsten carbide balls: who knows what they'll do? These little guys are stiffer than steel, denser than titanium, and make excellent Christmas stocking stuffers. Tungsten carbide rules!

Mike emailed me that he bought a new tool for machining the aluminum and now the spherical cavity is better machined and he thinks there's a new sonic benefit. New ones will be the new machining.

Talk about with friends

Thanks Lon,

Have not ordered yet, but hope too.

Cool! I'm still waiting on my second order. I'm going to try them  under the CSP2+ where I think they'll have a chance to shine. Don't think I'm going to spring for carbide balls.

If I can I may squeeze in another order at the end of next week. . . I'll be out of town for eight days which will help with the long waiting period for them to arrive.

Hey Lon, I can't say I can hear a difference with the power conditioner. I think, that because it's so heavy, the spikes did a good job. The biggest change was on the speakers and then the Dac. I am playing with the tungsten bearings right now.

Well, my next set arrived. I placed them under the CSP2+ replacing the Herbie's Audio Lab Tenderfeet there.

A disctinctly positive change to the sound. The root change seems to be a blacker background. Which means dynamics are a bit more pronounced and images a bit heftier. I'm going to order more.

That's awesome Lon. I have the same placement under my Dac. The tungsten bearings are a very subtle upgrade at best. Very hard to pick out the differences. I would stay with the steel bearings. I really want to try them under the Torrii as well, maybe over the holidays.

I received 1 set on Friday and was able to experiment a little over the weekend.  I found the component to benefit the most was my CSP2+.  I will definitely add another set either under my PWDmkII or Taboo.

Played around with all my isolation components some more. . .

I love these rollerblocks for speakers. I have them under the speakers in both my systems now. But. . . I've removed them from under components in the main system because I feel that even the Herbie's Audio Lab Tenderfeet work a bit better for me, and the Iso-Cups even more so. (My situation with my CSP2+ and ZP3 may be a bit different than others as I'm using really thick PS Audio power cables (AC-12) and they need a firmer, less jiggly, footer as the angle of the cord tends to pull on the component).

It's been fun playing around with these. They now are under most components in my second system.

Thanks orangecrush & Lon for your great input on this product! I look forward to trying them....and affordable.  -Stone

I agree 100% Lon. Under speakers there is nothing better. The only component I have them under is my very heavy BPT-1 balanced isolation transformer. But they are threaded in. No sure how much difference I can tell in that application.

Iso-cups sound best under my Torii.

I am trying those Waipuna myrtle wood feet under my DAC and so far I like them.

Interesting, looked those Waipuna up. Look as if they would be too lively for my system, both brass footers and myrtlewood footers have seemed that way in my system when I've tried them. But if they work they are certainly affordable.

Eric,
Yes, I've been using mine on carpeted floors. Works fine: the weight of the speakers flattens the carpet under the bottom piece and then the top piece floats on the bearing. I like what adding the Grungebuster does.

Oh that makes sense. Brass and myrtlewood were both too lively for me under SS source components in the past. I find the black Iso-Cup bases with the Deep Moss Quartz gemstone balls give the just the right balance for me, I'm sticking with 'em.

I have the clear bases with the high end base in my second system now. The differences between the balls are subtle, but real, the gemstone balls really do seem to subtly influence the sound the way that Steve Herbelin has described them. The black base sounds about the same as the clear base with the high-end base. I have had fun experimenting with the different gemstone balls, I've tried about four. I use the Mexican Agate under my PPP, the Deep Moss Quartz with all the other bases.

I've been using the Roller Blocks under my speakers. My speakers reside up near the wall just sitting on their bases when not in use or when in use when my wife is around (not ideal sonically). When I get a listening session I bring them out three to five feet from the front wall anyplace them on Ingress Engineering Roller Blocks. I've been using the steel ball bearings for a few years. I have four ceramic bearings Ingress sent me that sound a tad better (a tiny bit warmer and clearer) but I don't have enough to put under both speakers. My big pleasure in the Delrin platter I bought for my Rega turntable made me think to try Delrin 3/8" bearings, and I'm on my second day now and do like them. They close the gap a bit between digital and analog, and add a bit of warmth to analog. They are the opposite I think of the direction that Ingress and other roller block makers move, that is they are softer than steel, rather than harder than steel which the manufacturers seem to think is the route to better fidelity. Well, these Delrin bearings may color things a tiny thin hair, but that's what we are mostly doing with tubes and isolation components etc.: subtly coloring things as we like them. Anyway Delrin bearings are cheap and if you use roller blocks they are worth experimenting with.