Quick Cascade stacking question

I know this has been answered previously but I’m not finding it through search. I can split the 3 units of the Cascade on two shelves of my rack. Which part do I want on its own shelf and which two parts are best to be stacked?

Thanks!

Hi Matt,

This just my opinion… I would put the DD on one shelf by itself, and put the DAC stacked onto the Power Base on the other shelf.

The DD is where the most noise is, after all it is a digital processor.

The DAC and Power Base are, essentially, analog components. They designed to minimize the noise that can be transferred when components are stacked.

Putting the DD on a shelf by itself means you are physically separating the digital components from the analog components, which a always a good thing :grinning:

Dan

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Thanks Dan! You make this place great. I appreciate you’re always happy to lean in and offer sound advice. Cheers.

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I put my Cascade Powerbase on a separate platform, while the the DD is stacked on top of the DAC unit on another platform. This arrangement is for heat management purposes because the Powerbase is the hottest chassis, followed by the DD chassis. Putting the Powerbase on a separate platform also enables placing Stillpoints Ultra 2 footers under the Powerbase to reduce micro-vibrations from the transformers. Three Stillpoints Ultra 6 footers are placed under the DAC chassis to reduce micro-vibrations inside the analog DAC. It is unfortunate that the DD is not separated from the DAC due to space/shelves limitation. Ideally, the Powerbase can be stacked on top of the DAC for heat management, but then the footers can’t be placed under the Powerbase, which has the most vibrations from the 3 transformers inside. :thinking:

Maybe @Jonathan_Gullman or @Dustin_Symanski can further comment on the best arrangements of the 3 chassis of the Cascade for heat management and micro-vibrations reduction?

I have the Premier DAC with Digital Director. I put the DAC module on a shelf above the DD and Power Base. Separating it from both DD and Power Base interference. As the controls are on the DAC, it’s convenient on the top shelf.

I would keep the analog box (DAC) separate from the power base + DD.

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Hi Des,

How did you attach your Stillpoints to the DAC?

Thanks,

Dan

Hi Dan,
I did not attach the Stillpoints Ultra footers to the Cascade chassis. The Stillpoints Ultra 2 and 6 footers have Ultra Bases attached to their bottom. Then the Cascade chassis sits on the Ultra 2 or 6 footers. The base plate of the Cascade chassis is thick enough to provide good transfer/transmission of micro-vibrations from the circuit boards and components to the Stillpoints footers.

I see now,

Thanks

Dan