˻ PREMIERE ˼

⌈ Graphite Audio is a young Polish brand, established in 2020 after many years of work on anti-vibration solutions. Its founder and designer is SZYMON RUTKOWSKI. The company offers platforms, cones and anti-vibration pads. This is the PREMIERE test of the CLASSIC 40 ULTRA platform. ⌋

CWILL IT EVER END?” - I ask myself while testing another product for combating vibrations, and immediately afterwards I answer, also to myself, “never.” No matter how much effort we put into controlling vibrations and putting them out or draining them properly, they will never completely disappear. It is a constant pursuit of perfection, or rather the illusion of it.

On the other hand, any movement in this direction improves something in the sound. Which is good. Especially since there has been a leap in the quality of such products in recent years, and Polish companies are part of this revolution. For example, the Classic 100 Ultra platform, reduces vibrations in my system under the Acoustic Revive RPT-4eu Absolute power strip. And it is an object of interest to almost everyone who comes to me.

For one, it looks great, and two, it comes as a surprise that the components that make up the power supply of the system also require a suitable environment. All the more reason, then, to pay attention to the mechanical surroundings of CD players, amplifiers, not to mention turntables. One lesson learned from trials with file players, LAN switches and even NAS drives teaches us that products responsible for streaming audio files are equally susceptible to triboelectric noise as analog devices.

Hence, increasingly sophisticated techniques and better products for reducing vibrations in audio systems. Part of this change is Graphite Audio.

▌ Classic 40 Ultra

IN THIS COMPANY'S LINEUP there are four platforms at the moment, all belonging to the Classic series. They are divided into two levels - a basic one and a higher one, with 'Ultra' in the name. Two of them are 100 mm high, like the Classic 100 Ultra, which is part of the “High Fidelity” system, and two are 40 mm high, like the Classic 40 Ultra under test.

The idea of this manufacturer to distinguish itself from the competition is to explore the mechanical properties of graphite, from which, incidentally, the company takes its name. The Polish manufacturer took advantage of its special mechanical properties, that is, unusual softness, high pressure resistance and, on the other hand, high susceptibility to stretching. High thermal conductivity is also important, which is highly desirable in products based on damping vibrations through heat emission. Since the material is very brittle, it cannot be used alone. So the Polish manufacturer chose one of the polymer varieties and dopes it with graphite.

»«

A few simple worlds…

SZYMON RUTKOWSKI
Owner, designer

GRAPHITE AUDIO'S PLATFORM Classic 40 Ultra is, like the Classic 100 Ultra, an enhancement of the basic version of the Classic 40 by adding a polymer board. My main goal in designing the Classic 40/Classic 40 Ultra models was to maintain the natural sound signature of the Classic 100 and Classic 100 Ultra while keeping a more compact size.

This has been achieved by using the same technology and the same materials in the right proportions. The primary use of the Classic 40 platforms as well as the Classic 40 Ultra is to place them on a cabinet/rack, but thanks to their relatively low height, they work well as platforms for speakers too. SR

»«

WE ALREADY WRITTEN ABOUT THIS when we tested the larger platform, but it doesn't hurt to repeat it, because they are actually identical designs, differing only in height, and therefore in the thickness of the vibration-damping part. Graphite Audio's platforms are uncoupled, heavy-type ones. They dissipate vibrations in the form of heat, and the latter is dissipated by proper material selection and mass redistribution.

According to Mr. Rutkowski, their designer, in building them he was guided by the principle of “non-metallic design”. The idea is that it does not use metal and ceramic components. In which it differs fundamentally from the offerings of other manufacturers, such as Finite Elemente, Pro Audio Bono, Franc Audio Accessories, GigaWatt, Harmonix, Kryna or TiGLON. That is - almost all other companies specializing in this field. With the exception of Japan's Acoustic Revive, which also does not use metal components.

From design stand-point, each platform can be broken down into, successive, consecutive parts:

- polymer feet embedded in sockets of the same material,
- board made of “top quality, special plywood” with 140 layers of natural thin veneer,
- varnish in RAL colors or natural veneer,
- in the Ultra version, there is additionally a polymer board in Ultra Red or Ultra Grey with an applied pattern that is a mosaic of the brand's logo.

The designer, as it is a small, specialized manufacturer, does not want to reveal the method of protecting the polymer board, which looks particularly attractive. As he says, during the first presentation at the Munich High End Show, this method of finishing caused quite a stir and “many groups of people came and discussed among themselves how to achieve a similar effect.”

The name of the Classic line came from the appearance of the platforms included in it. As Mr. Rutkowski said on the occasion of the '100' model, his idea was that they could fit “into any interior”. That's why we can order them in one of two basic versions - veneered with natural veneer or with the aforementioned polymer board and a very nice pattern on the top panel. This board can be finished in various colors belonging to the RAL palette.

The tested platform measures 495 x 465 x 400 mm and weighs 6 kg. It is low, but its declared load capacity goes as high as 160 kg. The area on which the device (or speakers) can be placed is 480 x 450 mm. The platform has the form of a box into which the actual platform is inserted from the top. In fact, the two elements work together, and vibration reduction is also aided by four polymer feet, screwed in from the bottom. They have a beveled bottom, so they can be placed directly on the top shelves of our racks.

▌ SOUND

⸜ HOW WE LISTENED The Graphite Audio Classic 40 Ultra anti-vibration platform was tested in the “High Fidelity” reference system. During the test, it stood on its feet on the top shelf of the Finite Elemente Master Reference Pagode Edition Mk II.

The platform's feet are not adjustable, so it can only be leveled by leveling the shelf it stands on. The test consisted of listening to the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition SACD player, which stood on the platform under test, and then directly on the Finite Elemente top shelf. The player stood on its own Franc Audio Accessories Classic feet. It was conducted as a multiple A/B/A and B/A/B comparison, with the familiar A and B. I listened to both short excerpts, about 1 minute long, and whole tracks.

» RECORDINGS USED FOR THE TEST ⸜ a selection

⸜ ARNE DOMNÉRUS, Jazz At The Pawnshop, Proprius Musik/Lasting Impression Music LIM UHD 071 LE, 3 x CD + DVD ⸜ 1977/2012.
⸜ MARI NAKAMOTO WITH ISAO SUZUKI & KAZUMI WATANABE, Mari Nakamoto III, Three Blind Mice/Sony Music Labels MHCL-1016, SACD/CD ⸜ 1975/2024.
⸜ DEPECHE MODE, Home, Mute Records BONG 27, Promo, SP CD ⸜ 1997.
⸜ ZBIGNIEW WODECKI, Zbigniew Wodecki, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/Warner Music Poland 50217 3 22632 7 8, „Polskie Nagrania Catalogue Selections”, SACD/CD ⸜ 2024.

»«

EVERY TIME I test vibration-reducing products such as feet and platforms in my system, I am amazed at how much of a change they make to the sound. Most of all, though, I'm amazed that they make a difference at all. And that's because I'm putting them on the top shelves of a the superb Finite Elemente Master Reference Pagode Edition Mk II rack. In theory, then, it should be the case that because it is so good at what it does, no addition should change the sound. And yet they do.

The thing is, so it seems to me at least, that vibration reduction is at its core similar to noise reduction in an audio system, whether digital or analog. It's never ends. Every time we take off some layer of distortion from the sound another layer comes out, of lesser amplitude, but of equal importance as the previous one. For perfectionist audio is the art of approximation, getting closer and closer to the original and with each step more sensitive to what separates us from it.

Therefore, switching the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition player to the platform improved its sound. On a smaller scale than what I remembered from my test of the '100' version, but in a remarkably similar way. It is, above all, a deepening of the sound. I perceive it as a slight warming, because that's how it manifests itself, but it's about the elongation of the bodies of the instruments and a more natural attack of the instruments. Natural, meaning non-mechanical.

So when we have ˻ 1 ˺ Introduction, the opening sequence of one of the most famous albums in audiophile history, Jazz At The Pawnshop by ARNE DOMNÉRUS, recorded on December 6 and 7, 1976 at The Pawnshop (Stampen) Jazz Club by Gert Palmcrantz, that with a platform under the player sounds more natural. Not in some “groundbreaking” way, but better. All those rehearsal strokes on the vibraphone, the kick drum, the double bass, it's all shown a little further away, and at the same time it's more “polished”, if I may say so.

For a while, it seems that dynamics and selectivity are reduced when the player is moved to the platform. Even though I know what this illusion is, I still had to move the device a few times to - once again - confirm that it's not a matter of deterioration of these elements, but their inclusion in something bigger. The thing is that with the platform the sound is deeper internally, so it seems less intrusive, which can also be perceived as calming.

But this is not a calming down, but on the contrary a spicing up of the sound. For now you can turn up the volume knob by 0.5 or even 1 dB, and that's a lot, after which you get an equally dynamic response, yet more resolving and better differentiated. This could be heard brilliantly from the playing of the drummer, using brushes instead of sticks - this is, after all, a miniature stage and a small club (I've been there, seen it, heard the sound of a jazz combo) - as well as from the playing of the double bass player. This instrument is played here by Georg Riedel, at the time already a well-known musician, who in the early 1960s played on Sweden's most important jazz album, namely Jan Johansson's Jazz På Svenska (1964).

But to the point. His double bass sounds as if it were played through a guitar amp. It's slightly rounded and has an emphasized upper bass section. Without the platform, it sounded quite fast and punchy. But with the Classic 40 Ultra it started to fill in. The attacking part of the sound withdrew slightly, and the dynamics and timbre remained. This one was deeper and the decay was longer. Also, the tambourine that starts ˻ 1 ˺ High Life was clearer with the platform, yet positioned a bit further on stage.

The same was true of MARI NAKAMOTO's vocals, ISAO SUZUKI's bass and KAZUMI WATANABE's guitar on Mari Nakamoto III, as prepared by Bernie Grundman for the latest release on SACD. The same, that is: warmer, deeper, farther and at the same time more natural. The reverb superimposed on Nakamoto's voice was a bit more clearly distributed across the channels, rather than just trailing behind her, on the listening axis. Both instruments had a deeper resonance with the platform, although it might seem a bit quieter.

This, by the way, is something that repeated itself when listening to each subsequent disc. I have very similar impressions when comparing products designed to reduce noise - I've already talked about this similarity, but it doesn't hurt to repeat. Both types of measures lead the sound in a similar direction, although, as it would seem, they involve such different areas. They lead there, we should add, if they are carried out according to art.

In any case, Watanabe's guitar, whether recorded in one take or caught up on another track in post-production, as in ˻ 2 ˺ What A Difference A Day Made, a song written by María Grever, a Mexican lyricist, in 1934. The guitarist here plays on the axis and in the right channel. The guitars from both tracks have a similar timbre, but are treated slightly differently by the musician. And it's just such small changes that are drawn out a bit by the platform, as if they were previously covered by a layer of something super-delicate that we didn't see, but which nevertheless WAS there.

It might seem that such “magic” happens only with the best releases of top music recorded by top jazz artists. Nothing could be further from the truth. After all, higher resolution and better imaging will be obtained with any music, and it is true those those of a lesser quality will benefit more. The single I listened to, Home by DEPECHE MODE sounded less colorful without the platform, somehow more dull.

After some time I got used to this sound and had no “buts” to it. However, it was enough to return to the platform for me to hear a better-shown percussion, that is, a little further away, with less hard attack, but with better differentiation of playing. Martin Gore's vocals, with a heavily clipped treble and dirt on his sound were more convincing with the rig. And then there was the guitar, clearly more three-dimensional and having more color tones when the player was on the platform.

▌ Summary

AS I SAY, THE CHANGES I DESCRIBED are not decisive for the perception of sound. Not like changing the device, the speakers, or even the cabling. But they are important. And if we have everything in the system fine-tuned, they are very important. Graphite Audio's proposal is extremely interesting because it takes recordings in a slightly different direction than the vast majority of platforms on the market.

Instead of stripping the sound of meat, it adds that meat; instead of emphasizing detail, it improves that detail, but not through crisp detail, but better resolution. Its sound can be described as warm, because ultimately that is the direction we are moving in with it. It's perfect for listening to your favorite jazz albums, as well as any other music. That's why it was also such a pleasure to listen to Depeche Mode songs in various remixes, as well as the wonderful ˻ 2 ˺ Pieśni ciszy performed by ZBIGNIEW WOODECKI, a piece by Wojciech Trzciński (music) and Paweł Howil (lyrics).

It is a small platform that will fit into any system and will not take up much space. So it will also work well in narrow rack spaces where, it would seem, nothing else will fit. It looks great and is a result of a thoughtful engineering. And above all, it offers an extremely pleasant, refined sound. ●

▌ Technical specifications (according to the manufacturer)

Dimensions (incl. feet): 475 x 445 x 40 mm (+/- 3 mm)
Working area: 460 x 430 mm
Feet: 3, non-adjustable
Weight: 6 kg
Maximum load: 180 kg
Finish:
• RAL palette | matte, high gloss
• Natural wood veneers: Matte with wood structure/High Gloss
• ULTRA finish (high gloss only): Ultra Red, Ultra Grey

»«

THIS TEST HAS BEEN DESIGNED ACCORDING TO THE GUIDELINES adopted by the Association of International Audiophile Publications, an international audio press association concerned with ethical and professional standards in our industry, of which HIGH FIDELITY is a founding member. More about the association and its constituent titles → HERE.

→ www.AIAP-online.org