Here’s a relatively “short” impression of the Revopods which I eventually bought for my amplifier after I was hesitating between these and the Critical Mass Centerstage 2 footers (which I have not tried in my own system yet, but demo’ed in a showroom).
Experience First of all, I would like to say that me being welcomed by Marvel/ KK to the AE showroom was outstanding. Marvel was excellent in providing me a glimpse of AE’s way of working and took the time to explain to me their thinking. In my honest opinion, this is how business especially in audio should be done, because it is so much more than selling another piece of hardware or software, but more on that for another thread.
Context Before I go on I would like to mention that I have a very modest system probably compared to most of you out there reading this. However, it has been partially setup by using my audio consultant from the Netherlands for matching. This is a combination of using Monitor Audio PL100’s, Primare amplifier, Onkyo pre-amplifier (it’s an AV preamp, but with room correction, which according to my guy can compete with 20K euro pre-amps, you gotta trust the guy on this), Lumin as a source with modified sboosters.
I have tried the Revopods for about 2 weeks now in my system as I mentioned Marvel that I wanted it to “break-in” enough time to give a fair impression, as I know these things always take time to settle.
To compare I have tried: Stillpoints, Herbie’s Audio Labs, Ingress Audio, Sound Mechanics, Black Diamond Racing, Artesania Audio (rack).
Impressions All of the above did some things that I liked, but also disliked.
My mental notes of the Revopods where: 1. Less mechanical stress 2. Definitely more rounded voices and notes 3. Clarity 4. Does not seem to prefer any bandwidth 5. Better delineation 6. Keeps the image size, not bigger or smaller
Finally, I feel they are “safe” and should be installed OEM to be honest. With these in your system, I do think you can upgrade your system without them imparting any sound of their own (or at least as possible).
A long overdue picture (sorry Marvel) of the Revopods under my power amplifier. After Marvel's recommendation from my first audition of the Central showroom I try to focus on "following the power (supply)" to improve my system's sound. Also, in the picture is a DIY Dalby ground wire (unfinished) to try the effect of magnetic grounding. I can safely say that the Revopods minimise the effect of having a sound of their own, which they surely must have as every footers does, but in this case the impact is balanced and great if you're looking for wideband noise reduction without any frequency emphasis. So you'll learn in a more honest way what changes are when they're introduced to your system.
In addition, my lovely wife has gotten me some Wellfloat Delta's to try together with the Revopods soon, so again more experiences and pictures to follow :-)
Please reverse the RevOpod to have the teldrin pointing downward to maximize the benefits of these feet according to their engineering principles. Your current seating for them is not proper.
Marvel, Thanks for your advice. I have it this way as the Revpods are bolted onto my Artesania rack “arms“. I will see if I can place the Delrin safely on the rack arms.
While we do recommend to use RevOpods the way Marvel suggests there are certain situations where a “reverse” placement is favourable. In Forte’s case I believe it is indeed better to use RevOpods upside down for safety/stability reasons since it might be challenging to place the equipment right on the narrow beams. Btw. in the lab we could not observe much difference between using the feet with the Delrin facing down or up.
In my case at AE SW, pointing them upward under the preamp disrupts the flow of music in the lower mid range and upper bass. My subwoofer volume was +9db. After I reversed the ReVopods downward, my subwoofer volume was reduced to +4.5db to restore the balance.
Thank you for sharing your observations, Chris. That's exactly why in-situ tests are so important. Lab measurements are always simplified to a certain extent since you need to keep the number of variables as low as possible. When testing in a real environment there is a much higher level of complexity. That makes our job/hobby so interesting.
Can 4 Revopods support my Wilson Audio Sabrina X which is around 100lb each?
I see a lot of people using them with >100 lb speakers. But I am a bit hesitant given their size and the plasticky caps that has a tendency to come loose once in a while.
Can I trust them under the Sabrina X?
Will it be an improvement over the stock spikes which are quite substantial?
RevOpods can easily support 120kg (per set of 4) and even beyond. Some customers are using them under speakers like the Raidho 5.1 weighing in at 360lbs with great success. By the way the bottom part is CNC-machined out of Delrin which has great mechanical as well internal damping properties. As for the improvement with respect to regular spikes it is important to note that structure-borne energy (=vibration) is easily transmitted through solid structures likes spikes. They have no mechanism to dissipate vibrational energy and as such cannot isolate. To isolate vibration you need a dedicated damping mechanism as it is implemented in form of a miniaturised pot bearing structure inside the RevOpods (the only one on the market using this unique approach).
Thanks for the comments regarding load bearing of the Revopods.
I have 2 sets that I use for my Kondo Overture and Linn LP12.
My concern is the Delrin bottom seems to be removable from the bottom and trends to gets out of alignment with the bottom when I adjust the equipment position by sliding it slightly.
Is that normal or are my pods damaged? Should I be concerned?
The Delrin sits 'on' a spherical ball bearing (see point 5 in the cross-section) allowing it to swivel and thus to adapt to uneven surfaces. Therefore it is normal that this part moves. In case the Delrin part ever comes off accidentally you can easily put it back on by flipping the RevOpod upside down and placing the white ceramic ball back into the machined groove. You can then apply a drop of water or tiny bit of oil on the damping ring (point 4 in the cross-section) and slowly putting back the Delrin part in a rotating motion to make sure that the damping ring stays inside its groove (it helps if the RevOpod is retracted all the way, i.e. if it's in the highest position). The newer RevOpods have a bit higher Delrin which is less likely to come off.
Comments
Experience
First of all, I would like to say that me being welcomed by Marvel/ KK to the AE showroom was outstanding. Marvel was excellent in providing me a glimpse of AE’s way of working and took the time to explain to me their thinking. In my honest opinion, this is how business especially in audio should be done, because it is so much more than selling another piece of hardware or software, but more on that for another thread.
Context
Before I go on I would like to mention that I have a very modest system probably compared to most of you out there reading this. However, it has been partially setup by using my audio consultant from the Netherlands for matching. This is a combination of using Monitor Audio PL100’s, Primare amplifier, Onkyo pre-amplifier (it’s an AV preamp, but with room correction, which according to my guy can compete with 20K euro pre-amps, you gotta trust the guy on this), Lumin as a source with modified sboosters.
I have tried the Revopods for about 2 weeks now in my system as I mentioned Marvel that I wanted it to “break-in” enough time to give a fair impression, as I know these things always take time to settle.
To compare I have tried: Stillpoints, Herbie’s Audio Labs, Ingress Audio, Sound Mechanics, Black Diamond Racing, Artesania Audio (rack).
Impressions
All of the above did some things that I liked, but also disliked.
My mental notes of the Revopods where:
1. Less mechanical stress
2. Definitely more rounded voices and notes
3. Clarity
4. Does not seem to prefer any bandwidth
5. Better delineation
6. Keeps the image size, not bigger or smaller
More to come, including pictures.
In addition, my lovely wife has gotten me some Wellfloat Delta's to try together with the Revopods soon, so again more experiences and pictures to follow :-)
Please reverse the RevOpod to have the teldrin pointing downward to maximize the benefits of these feet according to their engineering principles. Your current seating for them is not proper.
Marvel
Thanks for your advice. I have it this way as the Revpods are bolted onto my Artesania rack “arms“. I will see if I can place the Delrin safely on the rack arms.
Arthur, Arya Audio Labs
I see a lot of people using them with >100 lb speakers. But I am a bit hesitant given their size and the plasticky caps that has a tendency to come loose once in a while.
Can I trust them under the Sabrina X?
Will it be an improvement over the stock spikes which are quite substantial?
As for the improvement with respect to regular spikes it is important to note that structure-borne energy (=vibration) is easily transmitted through solid structures likes spikes. They have no mechanism to dissipate vibrational energy and as such cannot isolate. To isolate vibration you need a dedicated damping mechanism as it is implemented in form of a miniaturised pot bearing structure inside the RevOpods (the only one on the market using this unique approach).
I have 2 sets that I use for my Kondo Overture and Linn LP12.
My concern is the Delrin bottom seems to be removable from the bottom and trends to gets out of alignment with the bottom when I adjust the equipment position by sliding it slightly.
Is that normal or are my pods damaged? Should I be concerned?