Vibration isolation or absorption?


You see those pointy things at the bottom of a speaker that are very very sharp.  Arguably a weapon in the wrong hands.  And then you see those same pointy things inserted into a disk.

So the pointy things, aka ‘spikes’ , can Channel vibration elsewhere and away from the components and speakers, or they can isolate it.

Seems channeling vibration away from a component/ speaker, which I guess is absorption, is preferable.

Is this true? And why do they keep saying isolation.

 

emergingsoul

Showing 3 responses by elliottbnewcombjr

I’ve done no spikes/spikes, no difference, gave the spikes to my friend. His positioning/toe-in is ’stuck’, i.e. he cannot make any toe-in adjustment when I visit and we both are off-center. Wonderful imaging when centered is gone.

I believe in easily adjustable toe-in, solved relative to the speaker’s weight:

a. normal toe-in, central listener, both speakers aimed directly at center chair, and tilted so tweeter is aimed at seated ear height. tilt alters the angle of reflection off floor/ceiling/walls,

b. cross-field toe-in for two listeners, both off center: nice little drink table between the chairs. I have a wood floor with grid, very easy for me to go from a to b back to a.

aim left speaker directly to right listener. aim right speaker directly at left listener. You get pretty decent imaging, hearing both l and r: because: you are nearer to the speaker that is not aimed at you; and to far speaker is aimed directly at you. It’s about nearer volume matched with directly aimed volume.

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solve movement relative to weight:

1st, use only 3 contact devices, so that there is more weight per contact, and no tilt/wobble issues as 3 always finds wobble free position.

light-weight, 3 pieces of felt, sized to just allow movement when you apply force.

my speakers, very heavy 3 way horns/15" woofer/heavy cabinet:, I use 3 wheels, dual wheel furniture casters (because their axels are tighter, no wobble than very expensive single wheels I tried). 2 front, 1 rear, sized so the speakers move, but don’t move.

See photos of my virtual system. Plenty of Donna’s treasures on top. No movement of either her stuff or the speakers.

btw, single wheel in the back: anti-tipping must be solved. My JSE’s, flat bottoms (come with 4 wheels) I changed to 3 and had corner blocks just shorter than the wheels, tall speaker starts to tip, corner block stops it.

current, wood skirt conceals wheels, and the skirt is the anti-tip solution. Photo of speaker laying on it’s face, back off, in Virtual System.

Note: front, 2x4 flat above front wheels is what aims the tweeters up to seated ear height (why I went to skirt base) .

Sandwiches to the Rescue.

My Springy wood floors are problematic. I ended up with the Vintage JVC TT with very heavy 7 layer plinth.

Next put TT on these, a trial, they luckily were just right.

https://www.amazon.com/Turntable-Equipment-Tuneful-Cables-Audiophile/dp/B076DGD3X2/ref=sr_1_49_sspa?crid=1A5II64NBAYDP&keywords=acoustic%2Bisolation%2Bpads&qid=1681247023&sprefix=acoustic%2Bisolation%2B%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-49-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExSUpGNUJCRVlTTzVFJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODMwNjE4MlI5S1dRVVVPRk0wNSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDIzNDY2Mlc2UUlCVEhDVjlBTiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX210ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1

So, the TT/Plinth/Adjustable legs were essentially solid, thus Stylus/Arm solid for play.

Then, below that, some rubber/cork blocks allow/minimize the effects of the springy wood floor, to the point that vertical vibration is dealt with, to a degree that allows me to get a step or two away while the stylus drops.

Apply the sandwich to Speakers, rigid (speaker bottom or platform if enclosure not very solid, on flexible (just enough) to isolate down/up vibrations

 

mitch2

3,301 posts

 

"Craps sake Elliott, a whole $12.95!
You are going to send Robert off the edge!"

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Well, add the price of wrapping the edges with black tape to make them disappear:, let's say an even $13.00