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What a total blind test ! (long)

Hi.

The magazine editor got to have some golden ears which detected the same recording sounded different on different storage floors.

I tend to be more in believing than disbelieving his sonic finding as I did detect the sonic difference btwn 10 brandname power cords on a test CD recorded in a 24-bit master. A total sonic blind test as I know nothing about whatever brandnames are these cords. I just hear the subtle sonic difference.

To answer your question somewhat indirectly:

A CD can sound different when played on the same CD player but on different base support, i.e. on racks & floors of different construction.

This is explainable (though may not be easily quantitatively & qualitatively measurable) as different rack+flooring got different structural resonances which can intermodulate the resonance frequency of the playback drive of the CD player, thus affecting the sound.

This won't help either when acoustic feedback likely caused by the sound energy emitted by the speakers at high SPLs tends to intermoduate more on the CD playback system.

So effective isolation is needed for propper sound playback.

It is my sonic experience to have my CD player, DVD-audio player all 'floated' on its base supports rather than seated direct on its base support. I find when the disc drives are properly floated or suspended do render much better sound in terms of transparency, soundstaging & discrete imaging.

I've got the job done by adding 3-in-set tuned tip toes or steep spikes which sort of 'floated' up the disc drives. The base board, which is wooden, is also suspended from its suport studs with rubber pads. The audio rack, my own DIY design-built, which purposely weighted down by adding marbel slab, that holds the entire rig got legs with steel spikes nailed down onto the wall-to-wall carpeted concrete floor slab of my house basement.

Nothing lets go for granted as for the issue of vibration.

While you are on the subject of "flooring", a (cement) concrete floor should sound better than any wooden floor as wooden floors tend to vibrate subsonically more readily when subject to intrusion of kinetic energies generated from moving vehicles or whatever in its close vinicity.

For carpeted wooden floor, which is very very common in domestic premises in North America, unfortunately, I would strongly recommend having the audio rack 'floated' on steel spikes as the miniumum safeguard against floor vibration. Even walking can affect it.

c-J


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