sound|kaos Vibra 68 and Vibra 30

by Dawid Grzyb / December 25, 2024

The Swiss company sound|kaos is primarily known for its unusual speaker designs. To support them, it launched two anti-vibration isolators named Vibra 30 and Vibra 68. Now it’s time to find out what they do and how. Enjoy!

Strings attached

Early on in our audio journey, a system’s primary building blocks in the form of a source, amp and speakers come before all else. When these bases are covered, we remain happy for as long as we don’t think about getting the most out of them. Safe are those who know how to enjoy what they already have. Meanwhile, curious individuals who don’t will quickly discover a rabbit hole with multiple twisted tunnels to explore. Although each is appealing in its own way, they still combine into a maze. In order to not get lost in it, we have a progression route to follow. Room acoustics have a significant impact on sound quality, so are the first and luckily reasonably easy target. It honestly doesn’t take much to tame the soundwaves that bounce off the walls and arrive to our ears delayed in relation to those generated directly by our speakers’ transducers. The resulting temporal blur causes spatial confusion that steals from clarity and accuracy. A rug, shelves with books and careful speaker positioning are minimal financial and time investments which can go a long way in alleviating that.Once acoustics are done, it’s time to support our electronics by providing them with a proper power distributor and cords that to my experience yield more audible gains than any other cables. Power components meant for audio limit the noise seeping into our equipment from the mains and provide unobstructed current flow to it. Wider dynamics, finer colors, higher spatial complexity and better bass are some of the usual upshots. While the most potent power accessories are extremely costly, many entry-level cords and juice bars already make a difference in comparison to standard-issue IKEA offenders. By executing the two steps as explained, we essentially tap into our audio system’s performance reserve that was previously masked under a layer of spatial and electric noise. Only by subtracting as much of it as we can, we get to hear what that setup can really do. This MO applies no matter how fancy our key components are. The most luxurious hardware enjoys noise-free environment as much as the affordable stuff, in many cases even more so. Without isolating the main culprit they’re all bottlenecked.With all the above done and dusted, in no particular order we can consider upgrading the remaining cables, introducing artificial grounding boxes and network switches, replacing record clamps, adding linear PSUs for DC-powered stuff and so on so forth. The list of means which may audibly impact our system’s performance is long. At this stage however I strongly suggest taking the fight to the mechanical turf where unwanted resonances live. I mean the tiny oscillations that our sensitive electronics and speakers generate yet very much dislike. Here decoupling accessories usually in the form of footers come into play. Their role is to siphon input resonances from an audio component’s enclosure and prevent from bouncing back up by quickly turning them into heat. To simplify, we can think of these supports as directional sinks for vibrations, which are yet another source of noise that limits sound quality.While all anti-vibration isolators serve the same purpose, the means for achieving it are diverse and far more sophisticated than in the past, when ordinary spikes with steel washers reigned supreme. This product group divides into two categories, determined by their either soft or hard main decoupling ingredients. The former type incorporates rubber, foam, springs, elastomers etc. to essentially damp vibrations, while hard materials which forbid any springy actions and reactions are the base of the latter. The harder they are, the quicker they can intake and convert minuscule oscillations into heat. Extreme hardness gets us extreme performance gains at extreme cost. Here Ansuz Z2S footers come to mind. Each comprises six tungsten balls in-between three zirconium discs with tungsten, titanium nitride and additional zirconium skins etched into their primary surface in a Hi-PIMS (High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering) machine. Each new layer applied to the core material during this costly processing method makes it harder and harder, so it becomes more and more effective in audio applications. To add salt to injury, zirconium sells for about 11x more than the already very expensive titanium. Should you want the best however, to my experience Ansuz Z2S is it, priced at €3’500 per one tiny footer. A single component needs at least three of these, so that’s math for millionaires. Ouch indeed.Luckily Carbide Audio decoupler pucks are a more affordable alternative that also works wonders. The roster’s largest – Base – is a hybrid design that combines soft and hard bits which separately tackle vertical and horizontal oscillations. Inside its bulky body hides a large tall elastomer ring aka ViscoRing that acts like a spring with a low spring rate, while the upper and lower enclosure parts house decks with zirconia balls between synthetic diamond-coated ceramic races. The manufacturer’s more compact Base version named Micro can accommodate above the primary ball-bearing stage either soft tiny ViscoRings, or bullets based on a very hard highly reactive manganese-copper alloy named TwinDamp. Pick your poison. More importantly, ball bearings inside footers by Ansuz, Carbide and many other manufacturers concentrate the weight above them into theoretically infinitely small contact points that form an escape path for vibrations through friction. The tinier they are, the quicker is this action. The hardness of ball raceways is crucial to preventing dents from forming on their surfaces upon applying weight. When that occurs, the key contact points become larger and uneven. Then the entire footer becomes less effective at its main task.Wire-suspended isolation is a niche solution that allows for lateral movement just as roller-ball isolators but opens up a different route for oscillations. As these parasitic vibrations travel through the steel wire, friction between its individual strands dissipates them into heat along its length. As the sole component connecting the load to the surface, that wire in a tensioned state is the only path for vibrations to go through. Elastomers have to match the weight they carry. Ball raceways must remain free from indentations to provide efficient contact pathway. Wire suspension doesn’t care about any of these things. It is however highly effective. My first rodeo with this rare isolation method dates back to 2014, when I ordered a set of floor-suspended SwingBases for Boenicke Audio W8 floorstanders I owned back then. These supports proved very impressive on sonics and looks, so they remained with me upon upgrading to the W11 SE+ speakers some four years ago. Today’s story is about two conceptually alike products whose arrival I was truly looking forward to.Established in 2010 by Martin Gateley, the Swiss company sound|kaos is a boutique speaker house in the full sense of the word. Among enthusiasts it is known for top-shelf wooden cabinets, exotic bespoke wideband drivers and high efficiency, so very much non-mainstream choices all around. Martin’s designs always blend them in unique fashion. DSUB 15 and Gravitas 12 are rare dipole/Ripol subs. Wave 40 was a ported wideband/ribbon affair. Libération parked these drivers atop a 18” woofer in an open-baffle frame. The SK16 rocked bass cones on the back and dome tweeter/widebander combo on the front, while a pair of optional standalone subs for it could convert into one isobaric support. The arguably most interesting from this lot – the Vox 3afw monitor – combines a full-range driver on the front, a ribbon tweeter on top and twin side-firing woofers in a very compact solid-wood 90dB-efficient enclosure busy with LessLoss Firewall filters and prohibitively expensive Jantzen Audio Amber Z-Caps. Since September 2020 I’ve been using this marvel as the reference that works exceptionally well in my listening room.Martin takes his time with each new product. When it finally lands, it’s always a treat for those interested in his work. Speaking of, somewhere in 2022 we got several shots of the upcoming flagship floorstander named liber|8. It packed a ribbon tweeter surrounded by eight paper cones in an oval open-baffle frame that was bolted to Carbide Audio Base footers that I also use. This tells us that Martin is one of those speaker makers who take vibration attenuation into serious account. It makes sense to do so because speakers and subs in particular vibrate more than any other audio product. Instead of settling with Carbide’s pucks like I did, the sound|kaos founder further researched that subject and eventually landed two his own wire-suspended designs; Vibra 68 and Vibra 30. Recently I was sent eight of each to play with. So I played and will say as early as now that I got far more out of them than I initially anticipated.From Srajan’s own Vibra 68 review we learn what came before this device, and how it evolved into its final form. The short version is that Martin steered away from soft PU foam with hard ball bearings towards only wire isolation that to him proved more effective under his subs and speakers. The challenging part was in dressing it compactly. Conceptually alike products out there on the market are large and not many to begin with. Boenicke SwingBases built upon two tall pillars with a floor-suspended strut that slots into the back of the company’s W8/11/13 models make a very appealing view with these narrow slightly angled solid-wood floorstanders. Should we want to use SwingBases under an electronic kit, that’s doable, but their large towers have to position on its sides and eat up extra shelf space. That solution looks and works great, but all by itself is hardly small. While the Japanese Wellfloat roster lists several wire-suspended designs meant to entirely hide under most components, they’re not compact either.sound|kaos Vibra 68 measures 60 x 42mm (⌀ x H) and weighs 210 grams, so is sized like a regular isolator and, not that it matters, enjoyably light. Three short 3mm-thick 2g steel-wire dumbbells inside it are strong enough to safely handle up to 60kg. Three footers will thus support any component or speaker that doesn’t exceed 180kg. Add one more puck and that’s 240kg. With load capacity this stout, many racks busy with several audio boxes will still comply. Vibra 68’s exterior comprises a nice round carbon fiber enclosure in-between anodized aluminium top and bottom plates. The interior packs a machined stainless-steel frame and tall supportive legs with rings that hold the key wires in place, while small balls welded to their ends prevent them from falling out of their guides. Without a load these short dumbbells aren’t under tension so can freely move up and down. With it applied they have far less lateral play than ball bearings. All that is by design. Vibra 68 sells for CHF270/ea., while a set of eight priced at CHF2’000 saves you 10%. Threaded top and base caps with anti-slip cork pads respectively accept M6 and M8 screw-in adapters included in the set. By turning them we regulate a footer’s height up to 8mm. It’s also worth knowing that it will perform the same when inverted.Considering its niche pedigree that elsewhere calls for larger means, sound|kaos Vibra 68 already is small. Meanwhile, the company’s Vibra 30 measures mere 29 x 42mm (⌀ x H) and weighs 52 grams, so is adorably tiny. So much so in fact that I’ve seen larger spikes under some components. Although Vibra 30 rocks a single 1mm-thick wire that doesn’t break up to 70kg loading, brass ferrules soldered on both its ends cap at 25kg and set the entire footer’s max weight limit. Three such isolators, available in silver or bronze aluminium, can therefore carry a speaker or electronic component up to 75kg, which is more than enough in most cases. Although the larger and costlier Vibra 68 wants more parts, machining and assembly time, they’re identical on audible performance. They really are. The difference between the two Vibra models thus narrows down to their looks and load capacity. Let me stress that 75kg per a speaker, DAC or amp is a lot, so from the practical standpoint Vibra 30 will be the right choice for most shoppers. It’s smaller, sells for less (CHF140/ea., CHF1’008/8) and does the same where it matters. It’s also very nicely made and internally elaborate. The base accommodates an internal cleverly machined post that locks the key wire’s one end in place, while its other end connects to a floating center piece that threads into the top cap. This knurled enclosure adjusts the footer’s height by up to 8mm and accepts M4 adapters, while M6 bolts go into the hole on the bottom section. Just like its beefier sibling, the topologically alike Vibra 30 also can be used upside down without any impact on performance.I was looking forward to this assignment for two reasons. One, Srajan already had his say on the Vibra matter here and here. One of these stories ended up with his award. That’s telling. And two, while Carbide Audio Base Diamond pucks are utmost effective for Vox speakers, they’re also very bulky so look way out of proportions under this Swiss load. I don’t mind that because the largest Carbide isolators do so well in there. The problem is that they don’t bolt to the Vox bases. Although they can, then these monitors with all the extra weight attached to their bottom plates become too difficult to safely lift and move around in my listening room, which actually happens quite often. To alleviate that issue and land some additional performance gains, Carbide footers enjoy TwinDamp spikes in their topmost parts and Vox sit directly on their pointy heads. This effectively means that I regularly spend time on setting up six large isolators, positioning two monitors atop these, adjusting this lot to cross where I want and only then listening. Let me stress that it’s a hassle I got used to and can live with. However, I wouldn’t have anything against a lighter more compact footer that’s as gifted on sonics as Carbide’s largest in its best Diamond form. Finding such a thing is the tricky part. Although Ansuz Z2S fit that profile, their staggering sticker removes them out of the conversation.Elastomers inside Carbide Base Diamonds are ace with the Vox because they make its bass just a touch fluffy and bloomy atop its inherently shredded firm core and other benefits. This gives the impression of a speaker that’s audibly more majestic, grounded and fuller than its petite frame would imply. The brilliantly supportive interaction between the Swiss and Carbide isolators nets truly awesome results in my listening space. Let’s now move to Carbide Base Micros infused with their maker’s Nano Diamond inserts, TwinDamp bullets and TwinDamp spikes. I use these footers inverted under my DAC and pre to not scratch their housings and secure additional performance hikes. Most importantly, if elastomers inside large Bases help Vox speakers, Micros loaded exclusively with various hard means do the same for tube electronics. Their comparison under the Innuos Statement server/streamer went as follows: “The latter acted like the accelerator and bandwidth normalizer. It trimmed the lowest bass, firmed up everything above and produced more articulated instrumental and vocal shapes. These sound sources now occupied a somewhat shallower space, as if it traded in some of the bubble-like intimacy for a more distant horizontally uniform spatial perspective. All in all, with the Micros the view was sunnier and happier. The original Base Diamond footers had their revenge on a more expansive deeper sound field, closer more intimate vocals and the sensibly increased saturation and moisture the Micros didn’t have. The resulting organic texturally ripe vibe, beefier bass and larger imaging busy with denser, more lifelike and direct virtual frames were the reasons why Jeffrey’s larger pucks easily got my unequivocal vote. It was high time to install his TwinDamp spikes under Base Micros and track any changes in their favor, if any at all. Bingo. That move brought a fair share of the substance and color back, but bass output remained as is. That extra saturation applied mainly to the midrange, sound sources felt more focused, bass was more on point and increased smoothness registered, too.”  The differences between large Bases and Micros under my 915R pre and Pacific DAC mirrored those with the Statement. Upon learning this, the route to maximizing their potency was straightforward. The former pucks armed with TwinDamp spikes faced upward remained under Vox speakers, while their smaller siblings augmented with rigid TwinDamp bullets and spikes have been assigned to support low-level signal devices. That’s the general lay of the land for today’s isolators. I had just the plan how to use them in this hostile environment. First Vibra 68 had to fight with the large Bases under Swiss monitors, and then with Vibra 30 just to map whether they truly behaved the same. Then I moved large Vibras under the 915R pre and Pacific DAC, where Micros awaited. Before any listening tests I asked myself only one question. Could a piece of wire stand its ground against a super-effective multi-stage isolator that’s twice as dear?The short answer is that it very much could and instantly at that. Prior to explaining what does this mean exactly, first let me shed some light on what we can expect from a high-tiered decoupling device. Early on their kind often manifests its presence as if volume was a bit lower than before. Then come easily audible changes built upon bass that extends its bottom reach and becomes quicker, more substantial, anchored, defined, composed, powerful, elastic and all in all dynamically willing. Any residual hollowness and boominess that contribute to room talk get noticeably reduced. Vocals strip from excess edginess and grain to instead develop the extra color, density, smoothness, outline specificity and articulation. Backdrop becomes darker, cleaner and busy with nuances that are easier to follow. The entire landscape grows in size and develops additional layers so raises its complexity, while all the sound sources present therein are more in focus, expressive and contrasting. While many top-tier anti-vibration devices provide these foundational qualities without any major downsides or sacrifices, the key difference between them narrows down to their efficacy. The higher it is, the easier it is for our ears to register and appreciate all the changes they make.As I’ve said before, Carbide Base Diamond footers under the Vox are extremely potent on that particular score. Vibra 68 quickly proved its alike status with this load. So much so that I considered them equals and in many ways similar. Here I mean that both isolators had all the above traits as pronounced, which made Martin’s more affordable design quite the overachiever already. That said, I didn’t detect any disparities between the two contestants on imaging size, saturation, smoothness, clarity or anything else other than bass. The Vibra 68 had that range leaner yet more guttural and precise, so sensibly stronger and raw, while the Base was fuller, rounder and more relaxed. Easily traceable meaningful changes no less, but not drastic overhauls by any stretch, so no valid reason to call out the clearly superior specimen. Both were too accomplished where it mattered to justify that, which I think says a lot about the Swiss isolator’s performance caliber. Although it struck me as a nice compromise between the large Bases and Micros on bass quantity and quickness, its easier use with Vox would be the main reason to replace my stationary Carbide footers.Upon comparing Vibra 68 to its smaller kin under Vox, these two models proved pretty much identical. The only barely sensible difference I could track was the latter’s a touch angrier more fierce take on bass. Other than this I had nothing, but that sparring gave me a firm idea of who is this review’s real hero. After sampling quite a few anti-vibration devices and some very costly, I find it quite mental that a footer as tiny and cost-effective as Vibra 30 can fare this well. I wish I had more to say on the subject, but I really don’t.While the brawl between large Bases and Vibra 68 was very much even Steven if not a bit boring, rounds with the Micros under my Pacific DAC and pre were spicier. In the context of the Vibra 68’s own contribution, this mid-sized Carbide affair clearly leaned towards precision, articulation, quickness, definition, outline specificity, illumination, freshness and enveloping imaging. I can’t say that I was surprised. To my experience, these traits grow more and more pronounced along with increasing material hardness and multiplying individual isolation layers based on it. Carbide Micros infused with diamond-tiered Nano inserts and TwinDamp steroids pack five such levels in total. Vibra 68 has only one that’s also hard by design. That elegant simplicity manifested as a more artistic perspective with higher perceived imaging depth, boosted saturation, softer outlines, a touch darker more organic vibe, wetter textures, higher relaxation and a tad lesser sheen upstairs.To simplify, the Minis packed higher horsepower and stiffer suspension, while the Swiss traded in some of its torque in favor of comfort. If the former were a DAC, it’d have the latest D/A chip and discrete output stage, so modern high-performance means all around. The latter would be a vintage R2R machine with tubed outputs, so a niche arsenal that packs its own unique surprises. That’s the gist of it. Since both footers had their foundational qualities fully sorted, I saw two equally valid and awesome options to enjoy, to a point where I couldn’t decide which one was the subjectively nicer fit for my low-level electronics. I think that this says a lot about how competent today’s Vibras are. If I were to keep them, the 68 version would now go under my speakers, the Micros would stay where they are and large Bases would migrate under the Statement that currently sits on its stock isolators. With two Vibra 30 quads left, I’d either use both under my monos, or one under a linear PSU and the other on standby for any upcoming electronic loaner. Knowing that both Vibra types perform the same, they could also swap places in my system. The 30s could also change places with Bases under the Innuos. The list of feasible use case scenarios is long and exciting. No matter how I look at it, bold performance leaps are all I see, courtesy of the extremely gifted Swiss footers. They’re way up there on the performance chart with the Carbides. That’s the most important thing and what I really want to say. Let’s wrap.

Martin Gateley designed his compact Vibra isolators with speakers in mind. Although they support such loads in spectacular fashion, their effectiveness under tubed components is as fiendish. Personally I’m chuffed with these Swiss-made beauts. Considering their price, mechanical cleverness, fit ‘n’ finish and wholly positive meaningful sonic gains, it would be a crime to ask for more. That said, Vibra 30 is the brightest star of this report. Don’t let its petite footprint fool you. In its financial turf and well above nothing comes any close to it. Just to give you an idea, the already highly effective €2’500 power cord does audibly less for my electronics than a trio of Vibra 30 sold for about €530 with VAT, import duties and shipping included. Let that sink in. Such an expense to improve a five-figure DAC or pre this significantly is peanuts. If Martin charged twice as much for his Vibra 30, I’d still consider it a major bargain that’s worth every penny. If it doesn’t meet the weight requirements of your hardware, the also competitively priced larger Vibra 68 will. What these footers do is identical, profound and truly wicked. So much so that after sorting room acoustics they’re the mandatory next target to spend your money on. Power can wait.

Associated Equipment:

Retail prices of reviewed components in EU (excl. VAT):

  • sound|kaos Vibra 68: CHF270/ea., CHF2’000/8
  • sound|kaos Vibra 30: CHF140/ea., CHF1’008/8

 

Manufacturer: sound|kaos

 

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