When cones or bearings are performing well, they inhibit vibrations from reinforcing and amplifying themselves. Instead of acting as vibration barriers or absorbers, cones act as conduits to "drain" vibrations away. Components working well with rigid devices are basically in a state of vibrational equilibrium rather than being truly isolated and are dependent on the integrity of the shelf or platform they are used with. Particular "sonic signatures" and glare are quite common, though. (The idea of draining vibration from a component into a rack which in turn supports other components is in itself a perplexity. A loudspeaker spiked to the floor will generate floor-borne vibrations that will subsequently reverberate vibrations right back up the spikes the way they came, imposing glare and distortion into the music. Likewise with a component spiked to a shelf or platform. In audio applications, the idea of "draining" vibrations works better in theory than in actual practice.)Herbie's isolation feet, by contrast, decouple and isolate components and work well with just about any kind of shelf or platform. In most systems, components perform closer to their best potential with Herbie's isolation feet. We've had hundreds of customers over the years replace spikes, cones, roller bearings with our products under their components and speakers for substantially improved sonic results; scarcely ever the other way around.