CUSTOMER FEEDBACK ON OUR NANOMOUNT SYSTEM
Do not wait another minute (after) reading this comment. You should be enjoying your LPs on your old faithful turntable. If your not enjoying the music and your tired of trying one more tweak with minimal results and a maximum outlay of cash, then you owe it to yourself this last indulgence. I am speaking of Mapleshade's Record Coupling System and Nanomount System. It's all about vibration. These guys at Mapleshade are not messing around here, this is a serious upgrade. You must direct the vibrational energy away from the platter and LP surface you must also DRAIN the energy efficiently away from the cartidge and tone arm. Imagine the beautiful fountains in Italy with all the beautiful sculpture inherent in their design. Now what would happen if suddenly the fountain drains plugged up and the pumps went into overdrive. So much for beauty and design in the sculpture, totally awash in water and spray. Its what happens to your music, it becomes totally awash in unwanted vibration and the energy being generated at the stylus groove interface becomes muddled. This system works so beautifully you will not believe your ears. Thank you so much Mapleshade, rebels of the audio world, for such a great and effective audio product! – Michael
Just got the new Nanomounts package from Mapleshade installed on my tonearm. The $95 package includes a set of 4 very thin plastic washers with very tiny brass "footers" for placing on the screws that mount the tonearm to the table to better isolate the tonearm from the table.
Also included is a larger plastic washer with brass footers custom sized for your specific tonearm/cartridge set-up. (In my case the VPI Super Scoutmaster with JMW-9 signature tonearm and Shelter 9000 cartridge.) This larger washer is placed between the tonearm and the cartridge to better isolate the cartridge.
I must confess the washers look incredible flimsy and super-tweeky to no end. But Mapleshades power cords and cables look similarly flimsy and not so impressive to me but have yielded remarkable improvements for my system in the past.
In my case there are three wood screws that mount the VPI tonearm to the table. Removing them was a fairly simple affair. I first tried just the Nanomount washers here to check the improvements. Without a doubt the dynamics improved and the sound became much clearer, especially the highs. Cymbals were remarkably sharp and realistic. Piano tone improved quite nicely. I did not change my VTA, VTF, etc. as advised by Pierre of Mapleshade.
So far so very good. Next I tried the larger Nanomount on the cartridge/tonearm mount. Pierre includes brass mounting screws sized specifically for your choice of cartridge and even some crazy glue in case the Nanomount brass footers need to re-positioned for better contact with the tonearm. Of course mine needed to be re-positioned. It is rather tedious for my 41 year old fingers and eyes due to the thin washer and the very tiny brass footers but with time and patience all was well.
Most importantly Pierre urges the user not to tighten the brass mounting screws too tightly but just enough to snug in order to not to offset the gains of the Nanomount system at the tonearm.
Finally getting the Nanomount washer in place between my cartridge and tonearm and readjusting my cartridge for proper alignment I was ready to listen at last. Again no change in VTA but I did of course reset my VTF and azimuth.
Holy COW! And Holy Hog! as we say down south. I have never heard my system sound so stunning. At last I could hear pure music, real instruments, real voices in my room. So clear, so pure. Grade-A organic fresh from the farm. Easily the most bang for my buck I've ever spent on my system. Well worth the modest cost and the time to install.
The larger Nanomount really puts a shine to the music. I will avoid going into all the cliches because the Nanomount system is well beyond the usual Hi-Fi snake oil improvement. No exaggeration needed. No hype necessary.
As a fairly new convert to the joys (and pains) of vinyl I can heartily recommend this upgrade if you really want to get the best out of your vinyl. Whether you have a entry level or especially if you own a higher end system the improvements here are definite and substantial. No slight lifting of the veil. No slightly tighter bass. But a real and substantial improvement. The music just flows effortlessly as it was meant to be heard. Real dramatic dynamics but also real silence. Background is eerily quiet letting the music come to life at last.
Try it out yourself. With the 30-day guarantee you have very little to lose and a lot of beautiful music to gain. – David