Silent Running Audio • Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBase Equipment Platforms

". . . the improvement they bring is no less discernible than that of a speaker or amplifier."

by Marc Mickelson | November 22, 2018

very audiophile is an island, a unique assortment of beliefs and perceptions, and along with that uniqueness comes a single-minded philosophy for building a pleasing audio system. Even the word "pleasing" has a particular meaning for every audiophile; for some of us it means absolute accuracy (whatever that is), and for others it means musicality (also, whatever that is). For still others, pleasing exists somewhere on the continuum between these two poles and any number of others.

My personal audio philosophy -- what I define as pleasing -- doesn't boil down easily, but it does reflect the way I've gone about building my audio system and writing about the many products that have come and gone from it. Everything matters. That's it, my philosophy -- everything matters. From speakers and electronics to the passive parts that reside within their chassis or cabinets -- and the chassis or cabinets themselves. Trial and error have taught me that just when I think something doesn't matter, experience proves that it does, both sonically and musically. An audio system is both microscope and telescope, and that broad precision means that even the most infinitesimal difference is magnified, brought into the realm of audibility, whether we believe it matters or not.

Perhaps the most profound and least intuitive lesson I've learned in this regard is the importance of situating equipment for maximum sonic effect. No, I'm not referring here to speaker placement, although that's certainly of vital importance. I mean that what you place your equipment on, the various racks and platforms, has a sonic contribution. Everything matters, including what's underneath our electronics and sources. The design and build of these products, the materials and the strategy for using them, can sometimes transform a meh collection of components into one that's musically substantial, turning it into an actual system for reproducing music instead of just a collection of expensive stuff. Skimp here at your own peril -- and at the potential waste of all the time you've committed to research and all of the money you've spent.

Silent Running Audio (SRA) has been in the everything-matters business for more than twenty years. I wrote about my first SRA products, the VR 3.0 isoBases, back in 2003. At that time, they were one of only two SRA products, along with the Craz equipment rack. Since then Kevin Tellekamp of SRA has expanded his product line to include multiple platform series and two different racks, and he has refined his approach to controlling the deleterious effects of vibration and resonance on audio electronics. Whereas so many competing products address either isolation or coupling, SRA products accomplish both of these things while also acting as effective sinks for vibration and resonance. This is accomplished through various means, the most radical of which is the creation of a support specifically for each component that will sit on top of it. This customization becomes ever more extreme as you climb up the SRA product line, and in terms of equipment platforms, it doesn't get any more extreme than the Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBase. This substantial platform is the utmost expression of SRA's design principles, the literal end of the line for both SRA products and any vibration or resonance.

The Silent Running product line includes three different main series of platforms: VR, Ohio Class and Virginia Class, with variations within Ohio Class. The differences among them boil down to the complexity of their build. However, one principle remains primary: product-specific design, the idea that each component, whether it be a preamp or turntable, has a unique footprint and internal structure, and these must be taken into account when creating a platform that will go underneath that component. Governing all design and manufacture of SRA products is a many-approach system that employs just about every known principle for addressing vibration.

The "ae" in the Virginia Class^ae Reference nomenclature ostensibly stands for "angstrom engineered," referring to the nano-particle materials used for the new shelving for the Craz³ equipment rack and in the main platform here, but Kevin Tellekamp also admits that it stands for "Audio Exotics," SRA's dealer in Hong Kong and one of the highest-profile audio dealers in Asia, for which the Virginia Class^ae Reference platforms were first built.

The Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBase looks deceptively simple -- a large, heavy block of glossy blackness atop spike-terminated legs. Each stands roughly eight inches high, with the platform area measuring 5 1/2" thick. It is also heavy -- about 40 pounds each, I would guess. However, the sheer size and weight are not constants; the major tenet of SRA's philosophy, component-specific design, dictates that each platform and even the supports and shelves of its equipment racks be designed to address the size and weight distribution of the components they will support. Thus, while the platforms I received, for Lamm M1.2 Reference amplifiers, will also work, size-wise, for other products, the performance of those products will be maximized with SRA platforms designed specifically for them.

As you can guess, all of the magic of the Virginia Class^ae Reference platforms happens beneath the glossy finish, where, as Kevin Tellekamp explained, "The layering of multiple types of materials, specifically selected for each build, [are used] in order to totally eliminate the 'Q' (attenuation-dispersion & propagation) chosen for each V Class design." Furthermore, "Each main housing, and the parts and build technique used, will all change from one build to the next; this is based on multiple factors, but the 'big three' are equipment specific details -- what the V Class will be placed on (i.e., wood floor over basement, carpet over concrete, hardwood over plywood, over a basement or crawl space and so on), what's placed on top of the platform (the product itself), and finally what happens when they are all joined together as one."

HY-80 high-tensile-steel spikes couple the platforms to the floor (or rack) beneath it. Above and around each spike is a hybrid blocked (meaning that its reaction has been chemically stopped) thermal reactive copolymer: a substance that can change its darometer (hardness and softness) in a pre-calculated fashion, and very quickly. The spikes are rather like shock absorbers whose range of motion is governed by the copolymer -- and ultimately SRA, which is why the company wants to know about the equipment to be used with its products. All air must be evacuated from the housing before assembly; this is accomplished via a nitrogen-filled "assembly tent." Each SRA product is said to effectively isolate down to 9Hz, and each works not only as an isolation platform but also as a resonance sink.

I asked Kevin Tellekamp about the manufacturing of the Virginia Class^ae Reference platforms, specifically about the finish, which is the equal of any found in the audio industry. I figured he would say that he outsourced that, but instead he was proud to tell me that "Everything we design and build is all done in-house. All Ohio-Class XL+² units, V Class units & Craz³ units are all designed and then built by me exclusively. All the finishing materials are designed and applied in-house." The Virginia Class^ae Reference is a well-built thing. When you remove it from its wooden shipping crate and peer at its finish, you know some serious handiwork was involved in its creation. The craftsmen at Mercedes would admire the rich, lustrous paint'n'polish job that's devoid of any orange peel.

Because of the product-specific design that goes into each SRA rack or platform, Kevin Tellekamp warns against the use of aftermarket pucks or cones under components. From my experience using SRA products for more than a decade, one exception was the myrtle-wood blocks from Ayre Acoustics, which, I speculated, aided in the transfer of vibrational energy out of the product's chassis and into the rack or platform, where it died a quick, painless death. However, with the Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBases, the Ayre blocks were as effective as any other puck or cone I've tried, which is to say their effectiveness was zilch. No matter where they were used -- under the feet, in place of the feet, under transformers or CD drives -- they produced no discernible difference, a first for me with these blocks and SRA products. So, at least in this way, Kevin Tellekamp is on to something with Virginia Class^ae Reference.

s mentioned, I received a pair of Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBases built for the Lamm M1.2 monoblocks I use as my reference amps, and they also take into account the floor underneath them, which is a carpet-covered concrete slab. It is amazing how heavy these platforms are, and how dead they feel. When I wrote about the Craz rack, I mentioned the odd sensation of running a hand over the shelves, which seemed to suck the energy right out of the air. The same thing is true of the Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBases, but even more so, perhaps due to the quicksilver-smooth glossy finish. Each Virginia Class^ae Reference has a unique feel -- dense and heavy, but not incredibly so; definitely inert. If you didn't know what a Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBase was, you would think it's for isolating something. The steel spikes and that feel are dead giveaways. But if someone didn't know the functional use of these platforms, that person might be able to guess that it has something to do with abating vibration just by touching them.

While I used the Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBases on the floor, they can also be built with shorter "legs" so they can be used on equipment racks. Kevin Tellekamp let me know that "95% of V Class units for rack-based application are designed and built for vinyl rigs." This makes sense. With analog, vibration is what literally produces the music, so eliminating the wrong kind of vibration can have great effect on the music that remains. Like me, Kevin Tellekamp uses a TW-Acustic turntable, each of which is mass loaded, giving the potential for great gains to be realized from using a Virginia Class^ae Reference platform underneath. I'll go out on a limb and speculate that an SRA rack or platform (or perhaps both together) would matter more to the sonic outcome of an analog rig than the phono cartridge. I know how I'd spend my money.

I put the Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBases through their paces in a few different ways, including against no isolation whatsoever and IKEA bamboo platforms. In both cases, I did quick AB comparisons -- as quick as one can, when it comes to swapping what's underneath a 75-pound amplifier -- and, most telling of all, extended listening with and without the Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBases. It was this last method that told the most about the SRA platforms, but even quick swaps revealed important musical differences.

I can arrange what I heard into three general categories: focus and delineation, which are closely related; composure; and dynamic alacrity. All of these qualities worked together, producing a more musically detailed (as opposed to unnaturally detailed) presentation. The improvement wasn't a matter of recording or even format; everything I played benefited. This makes sense, given that all music passed through the amps, both of which sat on the SRA platforms. More important, the effect of these differences were not subtle; they were not a matter of viewpoint or opinion. Hearing them was easy, and they created a more engaging presentation.

Many musical examples are possible, but a few were especially telling. Unlike so many audiophiles today, I continue to spin discs, both analog and digital. I still hear the greatest variance between recordings when the music comes from a disc rather than a file, and with so much old music on LP, there is no digital version, so it's analog or nothing. I've always found that different versions of the same recordings are particularly instructive, because in some cases I can hear the different mastering choices made and in others the effect of the source materials or playback formats themselves.

Early on, I listened to a couple of different CDs of Dire Straits' self-titled debut album: one was the first CD version [Warner Bros. 3266] and the other was a later Super Bit Mapping remastered version [Warner Bros. 9 47769-2]. "Water of Love" begins with the strike of a wood block, but underneath it is tape bleed-through in the form of the following drum strikes at a volume only slightly above the noise floor. On the first CD, that bleed-through is very faint -- almost inaudible -- while on the remaster it is definitely better outlined and dug out from the noise floor. The focus and delineation the SRA platforms brought to the presentation made the difference, slight as it may be measurably, as clear as Mark Knopfler's guitar, which also benefited, the music on both CDs sounding more clear and immediate.

The second area I mention above, composure, does not describe a quality whereby the music is somehow recessed or tonally rounded off, or the transients are slowed down. Instead, while focus and delineation make for a more vivid presentation, composure ensures that, at the same time, the music is more natural, less insistent and "electronic." These are vital qualities for me, and I'm willing to sacrifice some resolution for them. But this was a moot point with the SRA platforms, because they delivered the pure-gold combination of greater resolution and composure.

Here analog was particularly telling; as a medium, the vinyl LP is all about resolution and composure. I'm still working my way through a 400-LP collection I bought from a friend, and my latest listen from it was a better copy of an LP I already owned: the Howard Roberts Quartet's H.R. is a Dirty Guitar Player [Capitol ST1961]. If you are familiar with Howard Roberts' serene and somewhat staid late-1950s Verve albums, this one, from 1963, will be a revelation -- it has some of the attitude the title implies. "Watermelon Man" isn't the equal of Herbie Hancock's version, but it's a good opening number, setting the tone for the album, almost literally. Back and forth with the SRA platforms revealed how velvety Roberts' tone is, each chord sounding beautifully round and real, yet the small tonal modulations carried the feeling they should. This is small stuff that constitutes the big stuff of Roberts' playing, and the SRA platforms helped unearth it all, ensuring the music's fullest expression.

Dynamic alacrity refers not only to the ability to go from very soft to very loud with great suddenness, but also the ability to scale up or down realistically, which mostly means without undue emphasis, as though the music's volume level, high or low, is secondary to the speed with which the music reaches any point on the continuum. Dynamic completeness may describe it better, as I now think about it.

Telarc LPs, CDs and SACDs provide some of the greatest dynamic challenges to an audio system. They not only display very wide dynamic range, but at their loudest points, some of them are extremely difficult to reproduce correctly, and I'm not just talking here about the well-known LP of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" [Telarc DG-10041]. One of my favorite readings of Moussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is Lorin Maazel's with the Cleveland Symphony. It's available in all three formats mentioned above, and while the LP [Telarc 10042] is very good, I will most often pull out the SACD [Telarc SACD-60042]. This is, after all, a full digital recording to begin with, so why not keep it that way, even if the original PCM has to be converted to DSD for the SACD? The interplay between the strings and brass on the recording makes for thrilling listening, and the SRA platforms helped the fine gradations in volume maintain the musical meaning inherent in that interplay. And when the brass cuts loose, it can stir the dead while never taking on a digital edge -- it has dynamics along with focus and composure aplenty. This is some of the magic of these Telarc recordings: they're digital, but in many ways they capture the very best of analog's qualities.

What's most interesting to me, even after much listening, is whether all of what I've mentioned comes from the Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBases -- if it's all somehow intrinsic to them -- or if the SRA products are merely passing on what the electronics are capable of if vibration and resonance are not obscuring it. I suspect it's the latter, as I just can't get my head around how inert products not in the signal path can add something of their own to the musical signal. But then, in a real sense, that is what's happening; the musical signal from the Lamm amps is not the same without the SRA platforms underneath. The Lamm amps have always been on the rich end of the sonic spectrum, but when they are on top of the SRA platforms, their treble sounds the slightest bit thinner to me -- not emaciated but slightly less substantial, not in any sort of detrimental way. I posit that the amps are revealing more of their true selves, with the help of the Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBases. Perhaps this a purely semantic argument, but the end product of the SRA platforms -- more detailed, involving sound -- is not.

y entire audio system sits on Silent Running products, except for the speakers, which are on a carpet-covered cement slab. If Kevin Tellekamp could somehow change that, through a new division (SRA Concrete and Paving), I think he'd do it. I shouldn't joke about this, because it can only lead to one thing: one of these days, Kevin will show up at my front door with a jackhammer in tow.

And I'll probably let him in, so musically effective are the Craz³ rack and now the Virginia Class^ae Reference platforms, both of which I consider as integral to the sonic capabilities of my audio system as any component. These products not only enhance what electronics are capable of, they unlock their performance potential, presenting music with greater vividness and verisimilitude in all areas. This isn't subjective, some kind of trick; it's a matter of the science that goes into SRA products, each of which is designed and constructed specifically to address the deficiencies of whatever will rest on it, draining the chassis and passive parts of unwanted vibration, leaving only the music behind.

If the product of an audio system is greater reality -- if achieving that is your overriding philosophy for building an audio system -- then you should give SRA a call, because that's what its products deliver. The Virginia Class^ae Reference isoBases aren't inexpensive, but the improvement they bring is no less discernible than that of a speaker or amplifier, and therefore they are much more than an accessory or tweak. They are essential.