2. misc-audio
  3. 193944-9627

Background vibration and your system.

I have been interested in vibration and its effect on my audio system for probably forty years. I remember getting some platforms with inner tubes that had to be pumped up with a bicycle pump very early on. Well, I think they may have helps a little... but pumping them up drove me crazy. Since them I have used pucks of all kinds, and Black Diamond Racing composite platforms and cones, springs, and the best has been the Silent Running Audio Ohio Class vibration platform that I had made specifically for my Linn LP12... which was well worth the price. 

I used to be a geologist. So, I have wanted to get a seismograph for a long time. About a  year ago I purchased one. It is on the Raspberry Shake network with thousands of others. They have confirmed the correlation between times of day and remote events being transmitted into the house. Evenings and especially Sunday nights tend to be the quietest. I have seen thunder claps, cars and trucks driving by being recorded as well as not too hard footfalls on my concrete floor.  

On the map below, you can see the Pacific Northwest. Each icon is a seismograph that can be viewed.  The red dots are small earthquakes which can be seen and correlated with the recording of any of the seismograph by clicking on a red dot and then the seismograph. This page has a tremendous amount of different functions if you just explore it. 

I recommend folks that are interested, move around the map and find one close to your house. You may be surprised how much activity there is. 

 

https://stationview.raspberryshake.org/#/?lat=45.65013&lon=-122.52066&zoom=8.511

 

ghdprentice

Showing 2 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires
16,677 posts
 

@mitch2 I’ve seen research on the reduction of _vibration_ with a variety of devices.  What I have never seen is research on how susceptible a given device is to vibration. 

For instance, put a DAC on a very shaky rack.  Measure the performance.  Now do the same with 110  dB of music playing in a room with a wooden floor. 

I use music as just one example.  If you have a vibration pad where you can simulate shaking at a variety of frequencies and amplitudes that’s fine too, but show me how this DAC starts to become microphonic or distort based on that vibration.

If anyone has links to that kind of research please @ me and let me know.

erik_squires
16,677 posts
 

I love science and interesting to note what vibrations are happening where.

What disappoints me overall is that very little evidence based research into the value of vibration mitigation in audio equipment has been done.

I used to have a RadioShack phono preamp. I could physically tap the case and hear the ringing in my speakers.  So, OK, that particular piece of gear was probably vibration and microphonic. 

However we do precious little to assess this for any other solid state gear, or tube gear for instance.   Seems straightforward research to do in this day and age.

How hard is it to measure the output of a DAC with and without outside noise being induced?  So many ways this could be tested, and crickets.

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