Sure, resonant vibrations do occur--damping materials on interior walls, heavy transports, platters--all doing their job at the source. it's these claims of draining vibrations out from the top and killing them from the bottom, and it all takes place at the end of a cone, on a 1 mm round point. Yes, this is effective for mechanical vibrations in the rack, etc, but it seems to be asking a lot of that little point, or saying a lot, e.g., "We're gonna get 'em comin' and goin', yep you can count on it." Vibrations, that is, or perhaps customers....... |
Thanks for taking the time, KN. It's not that I doubt resonance occurs or that it does not need treatment. I'm just trying to get my head around this draining concept underneath the chassis on "mass loaded" points. I do listen to a GNSC modded CDP, treated by Allison Dynamics--the name escapes me--he was a guy who was part of the process. The damping materials inside my unit are impressive, as is the heavy TEAC clamping system. I use the Wadia factory spikes, but also the pucks. No problem understanding that. I have also isolated my big ARC mono blocks, each with no fewer than seven rubber feet from the factory. I will not defeat those with metal spikes--better to supplement them. Your thought of rubber bouncing energy back into the chassis....you may get some pushback from makers of rubberized isolation products on that one. My isolation scheme involves at least wood and granite, which certainly needs treatment, as well--always a process. Granite looks good, adds mass, but also picks up energy in the room. Not to put too fine a point on it, but yes, I do acknowledge resonance |
Nobody really knows why any particular type of footer will sound good with a particular piece of equipment.
Good point, Psag, although some intuition may just help predict an outcome, e.g., your mention of a rigid, metal coupling of a tube amp would not be my first idea for damping tubes against mechanical vibration. A metal footer may be an effective supplement to a more cushioning layer, but not as a primary connection in all cases. I feel it important to employ at least two approaches to isolate a piece, e.g. sheer mass and soft isolation, or point loading over a big footprint of another material. I am developing a material that will allow for this rule. |
Tnanks, KN. Maple shade makes very nice looking stands and platforms, brass, etc. and look effective. Although I would not scrap my solid maple table/stands, the granite slabs I am using have turned out to be mostly a sonic bust. I now have prototype footers on the granite surface and under the ARC mono blocks, one footer under each of the seven rubber factory feet. I also have footers underneath the Wadia player's metal pucks that receive the factory points at each corner. My footers are my design, use two natural materials, and are still under development. So far, they have taken the massive granite slabs out of the chain of transmission, imparting a new plateau of clarity, so I know they are effective. I hope to release them to the audio community as a low-cost addition, to be used in conjunction with plinths, slabs, points, factory feet, etc. From the opinions here and industry approaches offered, a general isolation rule has emerged: At least two isolation methods using a variety of materials are necessary in an audio system. |
KN, in the Socratic tradition, your wisdom lies in not having knowledge of even one thing going forth, only to emerge with truth. I like to think so, anyway. Having little electronic knowledge, my DIY efforts have centered on the areas of room acoustics, building cables and the isolation of gear. These are product categories open for development by anyone, and it's just plain fun to achieve improvements on your own, without succumbing to the purple prose reminiscent of the Old West's traveling medicine show, where no claim is too fantastic to believe. It also helps to acquire finer new and used gear, even at reasonable cost--then the real DIY fun comes through, as you well know. Do you have some links to pics of your isolation/system?
Regards, Joe |
To me, music is my spirituality--it amazes, humbles and uplifts me. The system is my altar, out of which all nourishment flows. To acquire better sound is to bring a deeper reverence. It is a material pursuit in the interest of a spiritual revelation. Joseph Campbell remarked that the great cathedrals were built to render an experience of God. When you walk in, you are removed from your domesticity toward a deeper meditation. Even your local church, with the high ceiling and pipe organ, is meant to render a sense of that. And when you walk out, you are back to the pedestrian concerns of survival, etc. The goal, as he said, is to retain some sense of that meditation that transcends the more mundane concerns of life. This would also be the Zen state of being.
Anyway, let's start a new church out of our hobby. Each of our homes will be a sanctuary--we will call it Audiology, and we can all get tax breaks on our houses. We will need a high priest--anyone?
I am serious on the first part, though--I have been through a religious conversion, only to return to music as my inspiration. |
There's no arguing with bedrock. Yes, newer homes have engineered floor joists that flex quite a bit with foot traffic. KN, are you in the basement, or on a slab? |
KN, I'd like to think you could get off you hands and knees......If you had a solid stand for your turntable, you know there wouldn't be any vibrations coming up through the floor--only through the air. Question is, would the energy in the air cause vibration in a low stand. Probably, yes, depending on size of room, size of speakers and proximity, subwoofer or not, etc, but you could cancel that with a final isolation between turntable and stand. It may even sound better--you never know. |
