Ansuz Acoustics "DarCz" Footers Thread

[arcustic]

Since there are quite a handful of people who recently purchased the Ansuz Acoustics "DarCz" Footers from Bro Giraffe, I'm sure there will be a lot share on the experience with it.  I'm starting the ball rolling by sharing mine.

 

I collected 2 sets of the footers last Friday  What would be interesting for me is to see if 4 footers is better than 3.  Since day 1 when I got into this hobby, I have been using only 3 footers for every components.

 

I replaced the 3 Symposium Rollerblocks Series II under the CDP with the DarCz.  What was immediately noticeable was a significant increase in air, timbre and micro dynamics.  Bass is slightly extended.

 

I then introduced the 4th footer under the CDP and find that it is less airy.

 

Likewise for the amp, I replaced the 3 Symposium Rollerblocks Series II with the DarCz.  What I heard is pretty consistent with the CDP....except that this time, the difference is not by a big margin.  Introducing the 4th footer under the amp, layering and separation seem to be a tad clearer.

 

As for using 3 or 4 footers, from the initial listening, my guess....lighter components, 3 footers seem to work better.

 

Having said these, I do find the Symposium Rollerblocks slightly richer in the mid comparing it with the DarCz.

 

I'm sure that's more to explore with the footers....maybe a mixed of rollerblocks with the DarCz?  ???

But that will be for another time.

 

Cheers  ;)

 

 

[hotbird]

And let me share with all a recent comparison of footers made by a local and his conclusion

 

Readers hoping that I would crown one of the contenders here as being the best, will be sorely disappointed. None of the footers here performed consistently across all equipment, and weight loads. Some had a preference for lighter equipment, while some only shone under heavy loads.

 

Compared were the below

1. Aurio's Classic

2. Cold Rays

3. Finite Elemente Ceraball Universal

4. Golden Sound's DH Cones and Squares

5. Herbie's Tenderfoot

6. Herbie's Isocup with Black Lamp Ball

7. Kryna C-PROP Mini / D-PROP Mini

8. TAOC TITE-46GP

9. Valab ball bearing footer

10. Yamamoto Sound Craft PB-09 / PB-10 Ebony base

 

Check it out at

Footer shootout - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

 

Don't just follow the crowd, check out others' experiences with more footers.  ;D ;D ;D

[arcustic]

And let me share with all a recent comparison of footers made by a local and his conclusion

 

Compared were the below

1. Aurio's Classic

2. Cold Rays

3. Finite Elemente Ceraball Universal

4. Golden Sound's DH Cones and Squares

5. Herbie's Tenderfoot

6. Herbie's Isocup with Black Lamp Ball

7. Kryna C-PROP Mini / D-PROP Mini

8. TAOC TITE-46GP

9. Valab ball bearing footer

10. Yamamoto Sound Craft PB-09 / PB-10 Ebony base

 

Check it out at

Footer shootout - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

 

Don't just follow the crowd, check out others' experiences with more footers.  ;D ;D ;D

 

Hi hotbird, thank you for the article.  Yes, I have read it sometime back and agree that there is no best footers.  Well, I tried quite a range of footers and I have always like the rollerblocks until this came along.  Like I have always said to people....perosnal preference is highly subjective.  What is best for me, may not for others...vice versa.

 

I don't usually follow crowd.....I follow only what I hear.

 

Cheers.

[whie4x]

Since there are quite a handful of people who recently purchased the Ansuz Acoustics "DarCz" Footers from Bro Giraffe, I'm sure there will be a lot to be shared on the experience with it.  I'm starting the ball rolling by sharing mine.

 

I collected 2 sets of the footers last Friday  What would be interesting for me is to see if 4 footers is better than 3.  Since day 1 when I got into this hobby, I have been using only 3 footers for every components.

 

I replaced the 3 Symposium Rollerblocks Series II under the CDP with the DarCz.  What was immediately noticeable was a significant increase in air, timbre and micro dynamics.  Bass is slightly extended.

 

I then introduced the 4th footer under the CDP and find that it is less airy.

 

Likewise for the amp, I replaced the 3 Symposium Rollerblocks Series II with the DarCz.  What I heard is pretty consistent with the CDP....except that this time, the difference is not by a big margin.  Introducing the 4th footer under the amp, layering and separation seem to be a tad clearer.

 

As for using 3 or 4 footers, from the initial listening, my guess....lighter components, 3 footers seem to work better.

 

I'm sure that's more to explore with the footers, but that will be for another time.

 

Cheers  ;)

 

I currently place 3 footers under my speakers as its not balanced with 4.

 

I prefer the bass with footers on compared to the titanium spikes that came with the speakers.

 

 

Cheers...

[Guest durianlover88]

Not balanced, can slide 1/2 pieces post-it pad under. This is what we usually do. Unbalanced due to different weight distribution of the equipment. When all 4 stands feels tight and in place means ok liao. Another way is make sure you known where are the heaviest parts of the equipment, typIcally transport, transformer locatIons - then place the stands there.

[silencer13]

Just a note:

Reviews are meaningless without an equipment list.  :P :P :P

[hotbird]

Thank you Bro@HB for contribution, the article. It says great things about the CR.

If your budget don't allow you to buy a brand new DarCz, can cosider used CR.

It is very kind of you to tell others that the CR are really good stuff. ThanKz

The best sounding CR in my experience, has no hole at the bottom.

It is a resonance device, the hole has some effect on its performance.

 

Wah lau, you only see the roses but missed out the thorns, let me point out these deficiencies of coldrays in that review to the readers

Using the Cold Ray can be a bit of a hit-and-miss affair. It did not work well under my tube amp, or DAC, but was great under my Cary CD Player. Balanced throughout the frequency spectrum, it had excellent definition, extension and control. Instrument separation and composure under heavy mixes were outstanding

....

The Cold Rays have greater potential, but the Ceraball delivers more consistent results across a variety of equipment.

 

;D ;D ;D

[arcustic]

My apology,  I was reading through my first post and saw that I missed out something.  I have editted it.

 

Cheers

 

[arcustic]

Chill.....

 

Everybody has different views and preferences.  As long as it works and as long as you like it, that is good enough.  If I say that my wife is the prettiest woman in the world...that is for me.  It doesn't mean others' wives are not.  ;D

[naglfar]

Chill.....

 

Everybody has different views and preferences.  As long as it works and as long as you like it, that is good enough.  If I say that my wife is the prettiest woman in the world...that is for me.  It doesn't mean others' wives are not.  ;D

 

Pretty is not everything. Sometimes it is the things your wife can do that other people dunno  ;D ;D ;D

[arcustic]

Pretty is not everything. Sometimes it is the things your wife can do that other people dunno  ;D ;D ;D

 

Haha....  ;)

[francis wu]

Always remember that changes do not always mean better! ;D

[jeromelang]

Some cheapskates are just waiting for other people to dump their CRs....

 

Sad, but true.

[Eric Teh]

arcustic,

 

In my experience with footers, especially ball bearing based ones, the number of ball bearings, ball bearing material and footer material seem to have some kind of correlation.

 

This is a broad generalisation, but my general observation was,

 

1. Ceramic ball bearings are better than steel ball bearings

2. Aluminum is inferior to stainless steel

3. The more ball bearings used, the higher the load needed to perform optimally

 

If you look at Finite Elemente's range, the cheapest ceraball is made of Aluminum compared to the other stainless steel models. Their load chart suggests that their triple ball bearing model (the Cerabase) is optimal only at 40kg upwards, compared to the single ball bearing Ceraball which is optimal from 5-10 kg.

 

http://www.finite-elemente.de/en/accessories/cerafamily/efficiency

 

The placement for ball bearing footers is quite critical. Sometimes heavy parts like transformers etc work best. Sometimes the load needs to be evenly distributed between the 3-4 footers used.

 

Anyway, I have two sets of DarCz on hand. I will mess around with them over the next few days and report back.

 

[hotbird]

....grandmother story deleted.....

I read reviews until I don't want to read anymore.

I enjoy reading what @JTL say, mostly. Very Chimb.

 

 

老王卖瓜，自卖自夸

:) :) :D

[jeromelang]

I have a friend, his name is SIOCHIAO .............. he always talks like that, so you cannot BBQ him wan.

99.99 % won't die, means have 0.01% can die. Vice Versa.

Like that, Die also argue until alive la.

I enjoy reading what @JTL say, mostly. Very Chimb.

 

You wan the JTL technique, you must chimb chimb put it the bird

Otherwise you neber be able to savor the real flavor.

 

[hotbird]

You wan the JTL technique, you must chimb chimb put it the bird

Otherwise you neber be able to savor the real flavor.

 

So turning this thread into a sex related thread like the other soon with your sex innuendos, sammyboy sex fore runner :)

[jimi1624705950]

How come you guys missed this bit from the CR review:

 

Balanced throughout the frequency spectrum, it had excellent definition, extension and control. Instrument separation and composure under heavy mixes were outstanding.

 

Honourable mention should go towards the sense of extension brought by the Cold Ray. It avoids sounding artificial, and has both speed, and natural decay and reverb - which cannot be said for some of the other footers on test here. When it works, the Cold Rays are one of the most impressive footers in this shoot-out.

 

Dunno how much he played around with it but the CR effect is immediately obvious whatever equipment it is under. I fully agree that its not great for light components, esp if those are joined to a fat power cable which is under a bit of tension (not ideal anyway, I know).

 

There are some footers which I really had to strain to hear any difference at all which made me feel like they weren't worth the bother of using them- my preference would be no footers always but the CR were too convincing (*heh* I sound like such a fan boy LOL!)

[jimi1624705950]

Why does the reviewer seem to compare most of the footers with CR? Could it be that it is his personal favourite?

[hotbird]

Why does the reviewer seem to compare most of the footers with CR? Could it be that it is his personal favourite?

 

This is to show that CR do not work in every application, so as to warn users to beware the hype.

Simple ?

[francis wu]

+ 1.  Didn't work for me.  I prefer the Taoc under my Shanling! :)

[joamonte]

arcustic,

 

In my experience with footers, especially ball bearing based ones, the number of ball bearings, ball bearing material and footer material seem to have some kind of correlation.

 

This is a broad generalisation, but my general observation was,

 

1. Ceramic ball bearings are better than steel ball bearings

2. Aluminum is inferior to stainless steel

3. The more ball bearings used, the higher the load needed to perform optimally

 

If you look at Finite Elemente's range, the cheapest ceraball is made of Aluminum compared to the other stainless steel models. Their load chart suggests that their triple ball bearing model (the Cerabase) is optimal only at 40kg upwards, compared to the single ball bearing Ceraball which is optimal from 5-10 kg.

 

http://www.finite-elemente.de/en/accessories/cerafamily/efficiency

 

The placement for ball bearing footers is quite critical. Sometimes heavy parts like transformers etc work best. Sometimes the load needs to be evenly distributed between the 3-4 footers used.

 

Anyway, I have two sets of DarCz on hand. I will mess around with them over the next few days and report back.

 

 

 

Eric, have you tried the roller block 2+ and cerabase classic before?

 

[Eric Teh]

 

Eric, have you tried the roller block 2+ and cerabase classic before?

 

 

Joamonte, I've not tried the roller block 2+, but I own a set of the Cerabase Classic. The latter is a very good footer, especially for heavy equipment. Its height adjustable footer and full set of M6 / M8 fixing attachments make it very versatile, like using it as equipment rack, speaker or speaker stand footers in lieu of spikes.

[joamonte]

Joamonte, I've not tried the roller block 2+, but I own a set of the Cerabase Classic. The latter is a very good footer, especially for heavy equipment. Its height adjustable footer and full set of M6 / M8 fixing attachments make it very versatile, like using it as equipment rack, speaker or speaker stand footers in lieu of spikes.

 

I  have both and some other lower cost footer .....

 

..... I can borrow you the similar price Roller block 2+ with Tungsten Carbide ball to try out if your want, curious how is you comment on it compare with the new footer you got..

 

.....I have stop playing with this footer things for quite sometime, I feel that no matter what type of footer always have some pro and con in sound quality, usually is increase clarity but loss some sound characteristic of the equipment itself.

[Eric Teh]

Joamonte,

 

Thks for your kind offer. Will arrange to visit you soon to pick up your footers.