The Star Sound Apprentice should be the default platform base for the Tripoint Troy. I won't repeat all of my prior praise for the Troy and it has been praised plenty in other forums and numerous reviews. To put it succinctly, it is a terrific and unique upgrade for any high quality audio system. As far as I know the Troy has no moving or active parts inside and sits on very heavy well made solid brass feet (well executed give its performance).

Why does placing the heavy Troy atop the Apprentice improve the sound quality and specifically in the direction of even "more" naturalness and
sense of pressence? Every excellent attribute is further enhanced with use of the Apprentice.Tonal density, harmonic detail and subtle gradients, vibrant true instrument body, colorand overtone delineation. These are the things I'm really aware of when listening to music and what makes the sound realistic and breathe with life and emotion. This is the strength of what the Troy contributes to my system, the Apprentice elevates this to yet a higher tier and I'm genuinely impressed! How can an item that's 1/30th the retail price of the Troy yield such an improvement from an already superb product? The area of physics and acoustics is fascinating, the engineering of this platform is unquestionably the reason for what I hear with this combination. I can't explain the why and how in any meaningful detail, all I can attest to is the sublime results of the music reproduction. Transparency, very low level resolution and musical nuances are notably improved, overall the flesh and blood presence of musicians and venue awareness are the best I've had in my system.

I took the Apprentice over to Jwm's home yesterday and placed it beneath his LampizatOr Big 5 DAC with quite similar results. He already has wonderful sound using the Audio points brass footers. The Apprence took the music to a higher level and it just flows with organic bliss.
Charles,

charles1dad May 29, 2014 13:40

Thanks for sharing that information Fernando, it is a "special" component alright.
Charles,

charles1dad May 28, 2014 16:37

Hi Needfreestuff,
I've been asked that question a few times. For many years I was a dedicated turntable user and loved analog records.It took a while for me to find a CD source that made music not merely hifi.I discovered the Timbre DAC in the mid 1990s and finally had digital that wasn't stomped by my Well Tempered TT. Ikept that DAC 14 years and enjoyed both sources very much.

The Yamamoto DAC came along and just got the soul and emotion of music "right", pure organic involvement. I enjoy it equally to any good TT front end and CDs are so plentiful and cheap compared to the LPs I was buying. I find that jazz music on Redbook CD with my Yamamoto-SET amplifier based system simply "hit the spot" for me.I still like analog records but no longer have a compelling reason to play them anymore.Placing Duelund CAST capacitors in my Yamamoto put it over the top for me. Needfreestuff, thanks for you very kind comments regarding my system
Charles,

charles1dad May 28, 2014 12:05

Charles no criticism here but wondering how someone so articulate and precise at putting his system together has left out vinyl. Did you have a bad experience or just not your cup of tea. Love your system, I am sure it sounds amazing. Enjoy the Music

needfreestuff May 28, 2014 04:36

He did speak what was on his mind that's for sure. Tom

theaudiotweak May 28, 2014 03:32

Agear,
I don't know where he is or what he is doing, but I do miss him here on the forums.

roxy54 May 28, 2014 02:57

Charles, great to see you doing well and you keep listening to great music ! By the way , your Tripoint Troy MKII was the last MKII revise of its kind before the new Troy signature arrived. I am glad you got this unit, it is very special indeed.

Best,
Fernando.

fvcruz May 28, 2014 00:50

Bill,
The only negative I have with the Troy is its high cost. I was very fortunate to find a used one (an ultra rare occurrence) and it still wasn't inexpensive. It is a honest to goodness wonderful addition to my system beyond doubt. I hope you succeed in building your own version.
Best of Luck,
Charles,

charles1dad May 28, 2014 00:15

Our amp was built this way 12 years ago as were our speakers. I use these today with many parts upgrades and refinements and more to follow. Enjoy the process Bill, keep the path short and direct. Tom. Star Sound Technologies

theaudiotweak May 28, 2014 00:12

Charles the whole grounding thing is my current interest. I am reading a ton on it. Gosh I would love to hear the Tripoint stuff, but I will never own a unit based on the pricing. I am looking into building one. It's seems pretty straight forward, but I can see how the cost can add up quickly when buying large hunks of copper and other grounding box stuffers :).

What you and others have said about the impact is totally what I am into.

I will continue to ask and learn from others and read on the net. One day I will build a reasonable facsimile.

grannyring May 28, 2014 00:03

Good choice for your Romulus CD player Bill. The Apprentice are an obvious benefit for my transport and DAC. When my Apprentice for the Tripoint Troy arrives I'm going to let Jwm try it with his LampizatOr Big 5 DAC.
Charles,

charles1dad May 27, 2014 23:48

I would love to build a tube amp on a special made Sistrum stand that I would use as the bottom plate. The Sistrum stand/bottom plate would have channels running all over the place for tiny brass points and components to be mounted on. Large can power supply caps, transformers, tube stands etc....

I am ordering the Apprentice stand this week for my CD player.

grannyring May 27, 2014 23:15

Professor Peabody light up the time machine...if you go back that far.

Next time we get to a show I would love to have a cellist in the room play a comparison piece..direct coupled and not.

A special affect that can be heard is when the ground point is established with the instrument which takes a few minutes. When this happens the instrument suddenly blooms in size and the whole front face lights up. When you move the cello's ground point the instrument still sounds good but takes a couple of minutes to find itself again and take off in flight. I really believe this affect is what occurs when audio cables are disturbed or power cords or really any electro mechanical device is moved, energy flow is corrupted. It seems as if these instruments telegraph minor changes in hyper speed thru a telescope. Pretty darn cool. Tom. Star Sound Technologies

theaudiotweak May 27, 2014 19:52

Roxy54, where is TVAD? He has been a little scarce as of late....:/

agear May 27, 2014 18:09

Hi Charles,
Right you are. It all works on the same principle. My error.

roxy54 May 26, 2014 23:09

Tom,
Thanks very much for your informative live music/musician observations.I can imagine how pleased this bassist must be with his improved sound.

Roxy54,
I'm actually using the Apprentice beneath my speakers and the Sistrum SP-101 platforms beneath my SET mono blocks. Same principle at work and same wonderful results with both.
Charles,

charles1dad May 26, 2014 21:42

Charles,
I remember way back in your system thread suggesting the SP 101 platforms to you for your speakers (which I know and love). At that time, you were concerned about the stability factor, and did not want to go that route. I recall being really happy to read some time later that you had changed your mind, because I knew what a profound improvement you were experiencing.
It is really great to be able to find a few people on the forums whose opinions you can trust. I have taken that chance over the years, and have realized some great improvements as a result.
I will never move away from Starsound to another brand for speaker or component supports.

roxy54 May 26, 2014 20:58

Charles,

My post on instruments was sparked by your frequent comments and suggestions on jazz music selections as I am a big fan.

We attended a show over the weekend and were listening to a local bass player who uses the Brass Endpin mounted on his upright bass. This extremely jazzy and accomplished musician expanded his sound by placing Star Sound Sistrum Platforms under both his stage amplifiers linked by our custom power cords and electronic pickup line cables. He states that he would never return to the days of performing without these innovations.

In high end audio, the coupling/decoupling campaigns rage on to this day. I remember taking quite a few black eyes in the early days of Audiogon forums as back then most members thought resonance transfer was nothing more than a myth or sales gimmickry.

As for Roxy's desert metaphor, it has taken well over fifteen years to make our way across the sands. It’s a much slower trudge proving that classical instruments, buried deep in tradition 400 years well before the phonograph was first introduced, can benefit through direct coupling with the proper geometry, material science and technical application.

Our commitment to research and testing acoustic instruments has helped confirm the results from direct mechanical coupling provide many benefits for audio and musical reproduction. The trick, as in all applications of vibration management, is to get it right, and that feat is not as easy as it sounds.

Tom. Star Sound Technologies

theaudiotweak May 26, 2014 17:08

Roxy54,
I like your desert metaphor, it's appropriate regarding Star Sound. They don't make any outlandish claims. Based on certain principles of physics there are predictable outcomes that one should expect. Their platforms perform as promised and are "very" reasonably priced for what they deliver.
Charles,

charles1dad May 26, 2014 12:08

In the desert of audio gimmicks, Starsound is an oasis of truth based on real science. I was reading what Bol1972 was saying the other day in a thread about expensive power cords. He is very passionate about the way that certain high end cords have a profound positive effect on music systems. I feel the same way about Starsound products, and I would be curious to know if he has ever tried them.
Incidentally, there is a review of the Apprentice rack on the Home Theatre Review site, and the reviewer finds the Apprentice to be superior to the top of the line Stillpoints.

roxy54 May 26, 2014 05:09

Tom,
When you think about it that result with acoustic instruments makes sense.The principles of mechanical grounding would predict such an outcome. Instruments and audio components should both benefit.
Charles,

charles1dad May 26, 2014 03:56

You guys should hear the benefits from mechanical grounding acoustic instruments in the first person. Most all instruments that touch the floor are actually decoupled from the flooring via non metallic materials and various non conductive footer systems, very similar to those on most electronic component chassis.

When you couple a cello, stand up bass or bass clarinet with materials that are conductive of resonance and transfer the amplitudes of Coulomb friction away from the instrument there lays the ability to unleash another 0.5 db to 1.5 db of gain (volume) from the instrument including a quite stunning and appreciable rise in dynamics and harmonic structures of which the musician will attest. These instruments also become easier to play and are more reactive in hand.

After all, the musician and the instrument is the live dynamic we are in constant pursuit of.

Always learning something new from sound and technology,

Tom, Star Sound Technologies.

theaudiotweak May 26, 2014 02:50

Andrew,
I'm fully sold on the merits of mechanical grounding given what it has done when applied in my system.Avoiding efforts to "limit" and "damp" vibration makes sense.The concept of "let it vibrate naturally" and then effectively channel it to ground makes sense{that's what my ears are telling me}.
Charles,

charles1dad May 24, 2014 04:41

That sounds awesome Charles. I will be interested to hear your report.

Thanks for the steady stream of music recs. Always appreciated.

agear May 23, 2014 17:54

Hello Hmiguel,
I will do that, I should receive the Apprentice some time next week.
Charles,

charles1dad May 23, 2014 12:17