Opinion 1
Since we started with the review of the accessories ISSB-40 and CIS-35 from the Polish manufacture Graphite Audio, which awakened unhealthy emotions, especially amongst people, who are absolutely not the target of such items, we can as well continue the exploration of the portfolio of the Bydgoszcz based company, and tackle a product having much more competition on the market than the previous ones. What am I talking about? About anti-vibration support, or more precisely anti-vibration cones IC-35 Isolation Cones, which we can apply wherever we want. Am I exaggerating now? Absolutely not, because when you surf the Internet, even casually, you can easily find similar accessories branded by Finite Elemente, Music Tools, Stillpoints, etc., positioned below a vast variety of devices. Additionally, now slightly revealing next part of our strictly subjective reflections, we also placed many different devices on them like sound sources and amplifiers, also even positioning of the cones had different effects on the final sound of our systems. So if you are interested what Szymon Rutkowski created this time, I can only invite you to read on.
In terms of external looks, the IC-35 are par with their brethren in terms of packaging, as well as the looks, coming from the material used for their construction. We have here an elegant, black cardboard box, with a foam inlay cut to shape, housing three not so big cones. Those are really small in fact, as compared to the CD-35 Finite Elemente Cerabase Compact feet I use on daily basis, or the similar in shape Nordost Sort Kone BC , the Polish accessories seem to vanish from sight. Ash gray cones, 3cm high with 3.5cm base made from proprietary graphite and, using company terminology “refined and revolutionary polymer with unique anti-vibration and damping capabilities”, composite. Are you satisfied with this description? For me such general statements are enough, as it does not really matter if the manufacturer claims using the Tunguska meteorite, Madagaskar pumice or atomic clock controlled magnetic field; the thing that counts, is the influence of the tested contraption on my system. So let us not prolong the chit-chat and just test how those small things will fare under battlefield conditions, applied in the system.
Freshly remembering how the ISSB-40 and CIS-35 performed, with some satisfaction, I would like to inform you, that the general characteristic of changes introduced by the IC-35 is fully aligned with my previous observations, with one small “but”, but about that in just a moment. Here I will allow myself a certain comparative digression with the previously mentioned Nordost Sort Kone, as the American competition does have a fixed orientation, it should be placed with the sharp tip facing upwards, users of the Polish cones have much more freedom of application – they can experiment based on their expectations and requirements, using their hearing as guide how to place them – facing up or down. And in anticipation of questions I will immediately alleviate any concerns and tell you, that the orientation of the IC-35 is clearly audible.
And I will start with that item, as the intensity of the changes introduced by the Graphite positioned as the American ones was, at least in my system, was at the same surprising as it was questionable. The 35 applied under the quite neutral in nature Bryston 4B³ moved the sound esthetics in the direction of almost dissecting room kind of analytical and antiseptic sound, so that I started to wonder, if in my testing rage I did not make any random change to my system, which never showed that kind of tendencies. Are the tubes in the Ayon CD-35 dying, and this is now their swan song? I allowed me some time to cool down, verify all connections, settings and listening. Warned by the signaled changes I reach out for sweet and dark vocals like Queen Latifah (“Trav’lin Light”) or Gregory Porter (“Dinner Party”). And let me put like this – I know individuals, who would be delighted with such turn of events, as the precision and care with which all sounds were split into atoms were shocking. But I personally prefer to enjoy listening to music, and not take on the uniform of a “sound analyst”, and the latter was imposed on me by the Graphite. But as I mentioned, there are people around, who like that kind of specialty. But I also mentioned about full compatibility with the previously tested brethren, and as you probably noted, I did not mention such things before. Coincidence? Absolutely not, it is just a result of positioning. It was enough to place the 35 top down to achieve this coherence. Of course such application requires a bit more attention, many times including help from other household members, although after some shuffling around I achieved enough experience to be able to reposition the 35 by my own and “on the fly”.
But let us return to the merits. The rotation of the cones firstly returned the status-quo from before the application and then started to improve resolution, timing and micro-dynamics (leaving the macro one on its own, as the 300W Canadian amp can handle that on its own). It was a kind rehash – listening to the mentioned two albums unequivocally confirmed the analytical aspects of the tested accessories are there no more. This meant that both Queen Latifah and Gregory Porter did not underline and celebrate the sibilants anymore like our own Anna Maria Jopek does typically, the accompanying instruments also returned from the robots occupying the machine park to true musicians, flesh and blood – and all this resulted in music finally flowing from my speakers, instead of just sounds. And the flow was swift. Even better, in the first phase of accommodation even the rustling Carla Bruni on “Quelcu’un m’a dit” seemed more fleshy. Of course compared to the starting point, without the accessories, you could not overlook the improvement of resolution, and I underline that – resolution – not analytics as it was before. For casual readers and on paper this differentiation might be just nominal, but please take my word for it, or better listen for yourself, that resolution and being analytical are two completely different things, like for example Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel 64.6% and … and I will surprise the readers who have a soft spot for Islay distillates, the equally hardcore peat-camphor-iodine French Yeun Elez 46%. Both require “experience” and knowledge, but you cannot substitute one for another.
When someone is wondering, if the Graphite will not bare the shortcomings of various recordings too much, I will use an example, which should alleviate all doubts. This example is a combination of thrash metal and metalcore, “Carnivore” by Body Count with the phenomenal cover, and tribute at the same time, for the late Lemmy “Ace of Spades”. You can also listen closely to “Another Level” or “The Hate Is Real”, which was clearly inspired by Slayer’s riffs, where we are seemingly in front of a wall of sound and should not be able to see beyond it. Well, if you are thinking like that, then please try out the IC-35 and you will realize, this is not fully true. Using the Graphite is like looking closer at the cover for that album. It was authored by our compatriot Zbigniew Bielak, who also has covers in his portfolio for groups like Decide, Ghost, Solstafir, Watain, Mayhem, Vader or Paradise Lost. There is a “gangster” on the cover, but instead of being just drawn, his likeness is composed from houses, streets and people. It is the same case with the musical structure – without the tested cones we see only the general shape, while with them, we discern the structure, the smallest components, which are drawn with a very steady hand. I can only add that it is really worth to closely look at this structure, because Will Putney, the sound engineer responsible for the recording, created a true masterpiece, what really does not often happen in heavier climates. The low part of the sound spectrum and lower midrange become more dense – better defined, but at the same time as far from drying out as possible, so you should not expect the percussion parts to sound like walking on dry leaves. Absolutely not. We will still have a complete package of information regarding their size and mass, only the “fat tissue” is transformed into a beautiful cross-fit body shape.
In short, in proper position, or orientation if you want, the Graphite Audio IC-35 do not work as a magnifying glass, they do not re-scale perspective and do not place things in the first plane that should not be there. They also do not tinker with timbre or tonal balance. But they make us hear more and better, so they could easily be compared to a treatment, that would bring us back our young vision and hearing, so returning us to the time, when music brought us most joy. Frankly speaking I am trying to keep this state of joy at highest level all the time, and the presence of the IC-35 just helped me to achieve it. And really finally – besides amplification – I recommend to test the 35 out also with sound sources, especially that the effects of such experiments showed, that at least with tube Ayon players and subjectively, assessed with my ears, showed quite clearly, that you can squeeze a lot more out of them, than with the company feet, or the Ceramic Disc Classic https://soundrebels.com/ceramic-disc-classic/ Franc Audio Accessories used for the limited version of the 35 player.
Now the answer to the question if it is worth to invest a sum being an equivalent of one Furutech power plug in them would be up to you. However completely privately, as we consistently and with good reason, do not value the tested products with any stars, percentages or prints, I feel obliged to write the conclusion in plain English. After placing the tested Graphite Audio IC-35 set under my Bryston 4B³ I could not find any, and I underline, any argument to remove them from there, besides testing in other places in my system. Not even mentioning returning them back to the manufacturer. This is why they are staying there with me.
Marcin Olszewski
System used in this test:
– CD/DAC: Ayon CD-35 (Preamp + Signature) + Finite Elemente Cerabase compact
– DAC: Gryphon Audio Kalliope
– Network player: Lumin U1 Mini + I-O Data Soundgenic HDL-RA4TB
– Digital source selector: Audio Authority 1177
– Turntable: Kuzma Stabi S + Kuzma Stogi + Dynavector DV-10X5
– Phonostage: Tellurium Q Iridium MM/MC Phono Pre Amp
– Power amplifier: Bryston 4B³
– Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Contour 30 + Brass Spike Receptacle Acoustic Revive SPU-8 + Base Audio Quartz platforms
– IC RCA: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond
– IC XLR: Organic Audio; Vermöuth Audio Reference
– Digital IC: Fadel art DigiLitz; Harmonic Technology Cyberlink Copper; Apogee Wyde Eye; Monster Cable Interlink LightSpeed 200
– USB cables: Wireworld Starlight; Goldenote Firenze Silver; Fidata HFU2; Vermöuth Audio Reference USB
– Speaker cables: Signal Projects Hydra; Vermöuth Audio Reference Loudspeaker Cable
– Power cables: Furutech FP-3TS762 / FI-28R / FI-E38R; Organic Audio Power + Furutech CF-080 Damping Ring; Acoustic Zen Gargantua II; Furutech Nanoflux Power NCF
– Power distribution board: Furutech e-TP60ER + Furutech FP-3TS762 / Fi-50 NCF(R) /FI-50M NCF(R)
– Wall power socket: Furutech FT-SWS(R)
– Anti-vibration platform: Franc Audio Accessories Wood Block Slim Platform
– Switch: Silent Angel Bonn N8 + Silent Angel S28 + Silent Angel Forester F1 + Luna Cables Gris DC
– Ethernet cables: Neyton CAT7+; Audiomica Anort Consequence + Artoc Ultra Reference + Arago Excellence; Furutech LAN-8 NCF
– Table: Rogoz Audio 4SM
– Acoustic panels: Vicoustic Flat Panels VMT
Opinion 2
What interesting can be said about the currently tested brand Graphite Audio? In my case I have three things that jump to mind. Firstly it is a Polish brand. Secondly, compared to often exaggeratingly worked out constructions, which often achieve mediocre results in combatting vibration, their offerings are absolutely minimalistic. And thirdly, the offered products, based on the previous test of the cable supports and loudspeaker spike supports, I can describe only as brilliantly performing their task. Do you think I am praising them too much? Absolutely not, because while I currently am in progress of changing my system in terms of electronics, and based on what I have I am not doing too many nonchalant moves in terms of combatting vibration, but Marcin does not want to return one of the products to the manufacturer. Are you surprised? I am not. Why? You were able to read already the written proof of how they work before. But when you say “A” then probably you need also to say “B”, what means, that in this review I will try to showcase you what the Graphite Audio IC-35 anti-vibration cones, sent to us by the manufacturer himself, can do.
Unfortunately, as it is usual with such kind of ideas for business, and with most manufacturers, also in case of this brand too, any details of the product composition or know-how are the most protected secret. The reason for that is prosaic and boils down to protect the products from being counterfeited. Hence the only thing we know about the tested Graphite Audio cones is, that graphite is used for their construction. But nobody would tell us in what proportions. But anyway, we will have a closer look at small cones you need to place under the electronics. But the word “small” does not mean the way they fulfill our needs by all means, as the 35mm in diameter and 30mm high arrowheads, when used in a set of three, can carry a load of up to 50kg. You must confess, that such a result increases their universality greatly. This is probably one of the reasons, that they are sold in sets of three pieces in graphite colored, cardboard boxes with foam inserts.
As you can see on the photographs, my effort to assess the influence of the cones in my system I based on placing them below my very sensitive CD transport. Of course their influence is audible under every device, but you probably will agree with me, that when talking about my drive, which reads the information stored on the silver disc using rubber belts for spinning the disc with a puck weighing about half a kilogram and another one moving the laser assembly, we are talking about the most sensitive device possible. So taking all this into account, all my conclusions are based on the Japanese-Polish marriage of the CD transport and the cones. So what came from that marriage?
I must admit, that I was surprised. The reason for that was the repeating of the situation with the cable and loudspeaker supports. The sound evolved in the direction of more coherence, but its mass did not suffer at all with that, and lower mass is a very common, and always unwanted, side effect of similar attempts. In this case, the initial slight washing out of the line drawing the virtual sources, what caused their contents not being fully defined, was converted into a clear image with a certain bonus of converting those artifacts into additional energy of the sound, and not its thinning, what would cause some alienation. Of course this did immediately increase the transparency of the sound, and I would like to immediately put you at rest here, due to the very low amount of distortion coming from my sound source, this absolutely did not translate into any over exaggeration of the treble, but rather into additional shine on the upper midrange, what resulted in better ease of reverberation of the music I listened to. And this is important – all kinds of music. The well and the bad recorded one. The latter showed its issues more, but it never crossed the line of good taste. However in case of the better recorded one, if you listen to that kind of music mostly, the Graphite Audio IC-35 will be the source of you re-discovering your music library. You will be able to get deeper into the recording and thus re-live it better. And I am not only talking about vocal, jazz or baroque music here, but also, and maybe predominantly, electronic music. If that genre, maybe due to the incalculability and energy of the events happening one after another binds you, then the tested Polish cones can launch you into space. This will no longer be a nice electronic playing, but drawn with computerized precision reproduction of the atmosphere of the biblical Armageddon. I got a surprisingly phenomenal, emotional feedback with the group Acid and their disc “Liminal”, what was the more interesting, as you probably know, that I do not go hand in hand with this kind of music. But this does not mean that I do not listen to it from time to time. And one of the representatives of this genre in my library is exactly this formation. Why that? Well, the mentioned disc is not monotone. Those are sound cavalcades, brutally intertwining. One time it is quick and hard, then slow with a nicely modulated phrases and beautifully processed vocals, but most importantly, the material is well recorded, what allowed me to turn the volume know upwards until reaching the limits. No, not of my hearing, but of the walls in my building. But the thing that turned out significant in this experiment, besides the fun of destroying my hearing, was that the mentioned sound nuances, the bass accents evolved. It was no longer slightly washed out or soft, yet loaded with energy magma – note I am exaggerating the effect slightly to show the point – but very solid, condensed kicks. The effect was thunderous, in the positive aspect of that word, even for me, a person rather opting for Philippe Jaroussky than for tonal revenge of an AI, so this was a very surprisingly positive joyride.
I hope, that in my writing, taking into account also the first contact with the Polish anti-vibration accessories, I made it clear, that the cones tested today, follow suit of the other Graphite Audio products. Every time the effect are repeatable, and this should be admired. But on the basis of the test of all components used at the same time I must warn you, that while two sets together are working absolutely fine, three of them can surpass the threshold of hyperactivity. But I hope, that this is understandable. If this is true, and you are searching for accessories to isolate your gear from harmful vibration, then I see no other option than to contact the manufacturer and test out the tested accessories in your own listening room and with your setup. I assure you, it will be at least very interesting, and I will absolutely not be surprised, if buying decisions follow.
Jacek Pazio
System used in this test:
– CD transport” CEC TL 0 3.0
– DAC: dCS Vivaldi DAC 2.0
– Reference clock: Mutec REF 10
– Reclocker: Mutec MC-3+USB
– Shunyata Research Sigma CLOCK
– Shunyata Sigma NR
– Preamplifier: Robert Koda Takumi K-15
– Power amplifier: Gryphon Audio Mephisto Stereo
– Loudspeakers: Vienna Acoustics Liszt
– Speaker Cables: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond
– IC RCA: Hijri „Million”, Vermouth Audio Reference
– IC XLR: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond
– Digital IC: Harmonix HS 102
– Power cables: Harmonix X-DC 350M2R Improved Version, Furutech NanoFlux NCF Furutech DPS-4 + FI-E50 NCF(R)/ FI-50(R), Hijiri Nagomi; Vermouth Audio Reference Power Cord
– Table: SOLID BASE VI
– Accessories: Harmonix TU 505EX MK II, Stillpoints ULTRA SS, Stillpoints ULTRA MINI, antivibration platform by SOLID TECH, Harmonix AC Enacom Improved for 100-240V, Harmonix Room Tuning Mini Disk RFA-80i
– Power distribution board: POWER BASE HIGH END
– Acoustic treatments by Artnovion
Analog stage:
Drive: SME 30/2
Arm: SME V
Cartridge: MIYAJIMA MADAKE
Step-up: Thrax Trajan
Phonostage: RCM THERIAA
Manufacturer: Graphite Audio
Price: 399 €
Specifications
Set: 3pcs
Height: 30mm
Base diameter:35mm
Max load: 50kg/3pcs