Montaudio Rangitoto R1 HiFi Isolation Feet Review
Last year, while I was at the Munich High End Show 2024, I was first introduced to the brand of Montaudio, a company that originates from a beautiful part of the world, New Zealand. It was there that I saw for the first time the stunning Manuka HiFi rack and cables, and the sound from the Tannoy room was simply sublime. Montaudio played a big part in how good that room sounded due to the excellent Isolation provided by the Manuka HiFi rack and the stunning cables being used.
This piqued my interest in the brand, and luckily, I managed to get the Manuka rack here at The Speaker Shack to review. I also had a whole loom of cables, which gave outstanding performance in my system. When the Manuka rack was removed, I lost that clarity and tightness in the bass and some finer details. This proved how important good isolation was to the overall performance and sound quality that I was hearing in my system.
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At the end of April, I attended a Kerr Acoustic event at the
beautiful premises of Cultured Audio. Montaudio was also a big part of that
system's performance, and the UK Distributor of Montaudio gave me a set of the
Rangitoto R1 Isolation feet to try out at home. Hence, I just had to write a
review on them. I set about trying them on all the different components in my
system. I started with my amplifiers and then tried them on my DACs to see what
differences I could hear from each of the different components.
In the end, I settled on placing them underneath my amplifiers, as this is where I felt the biggest benefits of the isolation feet were being made.
If you know the brand Montaudio, then you will understand where each of the names of components gets their names from; they are named after the beautiful locations in or around New Zealand, and Rangitoto is a volcanic island in the Gulf of Hauraki near Auckland, New Zealand. The shape and design of the Rangitoto R1s are inspired by the appearance of the volcano, and you can see this in the beautiful shape of the feet.
Build Quality and Features
Each Rangitoto R1 Vibration Dampener Pod is made from high-strength stainless steel, coupled with three soft, dampened, specially engineered rubber rings on the top and underside of the feet. They provide excellent dampening properties with anti-slip / anti-scratch performance. At the top of each pod, they feature quite a large indent so that they can take spikes, which would further enhance the performance of each of the pods, minimising unwanted vibrations that could be transferred through the pods, as well as external harmonic resonances. Through their extensive testing, the R1 Isolation pods are designed to improve "the presence of mid-range, accuracy of bass and soundstage, resulting in an immersive listening experience."
Each pod weighs in at 115g and can take loads of up to 30 Kg per pod. They come in packs of 4 or 8, which can be ordered depending on what you want to use them for, and can be used for speakers if bought in an 8-pack configuration, and like I have here, the pack of 4 is ideal for amplifiers or individual components.
For this review, I am using my ProAc D2R speakers connected to the Chord Electronics BerTTi power amplifier via the Montaudio Chatham SH-1 speaker cables, which are then connected to the Hugo TT2 DAC and M scaler via Montaudio Bowen AH-1 XLR interconnects. The Hugo TT2 is also acting as the preamplifier. For source equipment, I am using my Cyrus Audio CD8SE CD player and my Bluesound NODE Nano music streamer, which are both connected to the Hugo TT2 DAC with Chord Company SPDIF cables. I am also using an English Electric EE1 noise isolator and the new EE1 Plus noise isolator in my LAN. The Montaudio Rangitoto R1 isolation feet are underneath the BerTTi power amplifier, providing the isolation.
Sound Quality and Performance
I am listening to various types of music, from classical to electronic and some jazz. I will be using music streamed from Qobuz and Spotify, and music stored on my NAS HDD that I own in high resolution. I will also be listening to CDs and listening to some of my favourite tracks that I know and love to test out the performance.
My first track that I am listening to is in high resolution, 24-bit 96 kHz, which I own. I recently heard it at the Cultured Audio open day. It is from the brilliant Kraftwerk album Tour de France. This is a classic album from this German electronic music band, and I remember buying this when it was first released back in 2003 on CD. It has some of the best electronic and synthesised music available, and listening to it at the open day has got me listening to it at home and enjoying it all over again. This is what I love about music: it is timeless and never ages, and it only takes a nudge to rediscover it again. Track 9 Elektro Kardiogramm is a thumping track with some incredible and hard-hitting bass notes, and the one thing I love about the Chord Electronics Ultima tech is the grip on the speakers and the way it handles the lower frequencies. If your speakers are up to the job, then they allow for some incredible bass to be heard and felt. With the Montaudio Rangitoto R1 Isolation feet in place, the difference is noticeable with an even tighter and punchier bass response. It's as if the speakers have been dialled in better, and the bass is cleaner with improved clarity. It's not just the bass that sounds better, but the soundstage has improved too, with more precise imaging. It is most certainly a cleaner presentation of the music that you are hearing.
My next test track is from the brilliant new album from Royksopp and taken from their 2023 tour, True Electric. This is a group that I have listened to for many years, but this is one of their best albums, with some stunning tracks and music. I bought both the digital copy of the music when it was released, and I now also own the CD. Track 1 is my favourite, The Ladder, as it is an ambient and melodic tour de force of music with such a beautiful sound. Building in its presentation, this starts off slow, but it is a journey that pulls you into the music with synthesised sounds moving around the sound stage with incredible speed. It can be best described as an immersive sound experience, and with the Rangitoto R1 Isolation feet in place, this is improved, with better clarity and resolution of the music, the sound of the guitar is just perfect and once again the focus of the music is improved and it really does pull you in.
Another favourite album that I use a lot to test out new equipment is the beautiful Patricia Barber's album Modern Cool. I own this in high-resolution DSD64. It is a stunning album with incredible dynamics and range from both instruments and Patricia Barber's vocals. Track 7 Company is one of my favourites that has one of the best drumming solos with plenty of snap and attack from this beautiful percussive instrument. The bass is most definitely tighter, which hits harder with the Montaudio isolation feet in place. The soundstage is vast and precise, with wonderful separation of the instruments and with Barber's vocals sounding cleaner and more centralised within the soundstage.
My last track is from a compilation of music on the Stockfisch Records label, Closer to the Music Vol 2, and has some beautiful tracks from various artists in high-resolution 24-bit 88kHz. I own all of the Closer to the Music Stockfisch recordings in high-res and love this label; they offer such a variety of seriously good recordings that do sound simply wonderful through a good system and are another perfect choice for testing out new kit. Track 10 Caruso by Christian Willisohn, sounds glorious through my system with stunning resolution and clarity; each strike of the piano notes resonates through you, allowing you to feel the music. Willisohn's vocals sound so soothing. I used this track to review the beautiful Manuka rack from Montaudio, and once again, it has proved to be a worthy listen, as with the Rangitoto isolation feet in place, they have allowed this beautiful music to shine. The wonderful textures and tones in the music are really felt with stunning clarity and immediacy in the sound that you are hearing.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Having spent some considerable time evaluating the Montaudio Rangitoto R1 Isolation feet in my system here at The Speaker Shack, I have a lot of respect for what the team at Montaudio have achieved with their products, and the Rangitoto's are another stunning example that shows how important the correct isolation of your components is when listening to music. The Manuka rack was a revelation, but these Rangitoto R1 isolation feet give you a slice of that performance for a fraction of the cost. I would love to try a set of 8 Rangitoto feet on my speakers. I can imagine this would once again be such a worthy improvement for your system's overall sound and performance.
The Speaker Shack awards the Montaudio Rangitoto R1 Isolation feet with a Highly Recommended award and stamp of approval, a must-have accessory and a welcome addition to any system.
Price at the time of review: set of 4 - £169, set of 8 £299.
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