The effect of vibration on the music playing system or

I know, I know. I keep getting told that's where the action's at. It will be on my to-do list.

 

ixos do some funky sorbothane oblongs in a little case of four for twenty quid. They are excellent value, the hollow sides face away from your equipment, put your item on the flat sides. I tried them under my valve pre-amp, noticeable improvements in sound, this has to be the cheapest quality upgrade I made for a long time!, up there with the vishnu power cord which cost a lot more! Also, Nice if you don't like the idea of your stuff on half globe shapes too!

 

I've not seen the xlo feet.....

though I find with my current system sorbthane seems to kill the music too.......


this must be a coupling isolation thing.......

you may correct me if I'm wrong but

spikes couple .....one item to another allowing easy flow of vibration . Listening with the stethoscope there little or no alteration in audible vibrations from the impulse test

compliant materials isolate....prevent vibration transmission between one item and the next.

Davidf's feet ....seem to do something of each



Cupped balls like roller bearings ...I've built these using the bowls of soup spoons and yes they work but I don't like the way the unit moves around when touched. Mine were better than the sorbthane pucks but not as good as davidf's feet.

 

Once again there is no exact science behind all this, and what works in one instance will not in another so recommendations are futile.

The Japanese have this right in accepting that some poorly built equipment can be "tuned" by what it sits on, and making a multitude of different shapes, designs and sizes of supports in a multitude of different materials.

The alternative of course is to not drive yourself mad, put the stethoscope away, and buy some music to enjoy.

 

bit harsh Mike ...?

If it works most cases?

 

Just my experience - and it's worth remembering that people make subjective judgements on whether or not a form of isolation makes any difference, or if the difference is desireable. Stillpoints are a good example of that. They can seem (in sighted tests I should add) to have a pronounced subjective effect on some kit that thins the overall balance and reduces bloom. No subjective effect whatsoever on other kit. And no one has tried the comparison without the benefit of seeing them in position.

Like cables, people's preferences are entirely subjective and there is still, AFAIK, no published acceptable data to suggest that any of these devices have an affect on the frequency response and distortion characteristics of the equipment. That is a porblem for me - and one of the reasons I'm currently enjoying the best sound I have ever had with most of my electronics stacked on top of each other on a simple heavy weight stand.

 

ive got 2 sets of davids feet but have been getting a lot of ringing through my glass rack...ive experimented today with thin sheets of bubble wrap and to very good effect....i placed it beneath davids ball bearing cones which sit beneath my pre and cdp. and beneath my 2 x monoblocks.....it made some very obvious differences.....i tried a single sheet under all components and it improved the realism of instruments...i placed 2 sheets under each and the vocals came out better..i tried 3 sheets under each but it killed the sound......with the thin bubble wrap i had knocking about, there was a significant difference between how much wrap used and the ideal....for me this was 2 sheets under everything....the sound is better... iknow because to test, i removed all the wrap near the end of my test and the kit sounded woeful, i put it back and much better...it has killed almost all of the ringing i was getting earlier.....I have very good ears and i listen well....this works. definately...it is a matter of taste as to how you tailor it to meet your system shortcomings....its like tuning a car I suppose.

 

SM, there is a fairly exact science behind vibration control, but trying odd types of exotic hardwood shaped like falic symbols isn't it!

 

I fear that SM and I are going to have to agree to differ on this subject






I just knocked up some new cones for my valve amp....biggish ones 4"x1"...these were made with a rather deeper hole than before....

...I know the sceptics are going to decry this.......but (IMO) it s worked........if fairly subtley......benefits all round.

Yesterdays task..... to tidy the (very) largte cones under my rack. Again better holes; the effects were startling.

No I didn't DBT or A/B test......

I feel that I now know what I can expect from my stock of recordings.

 

It's a lot more fun though - and likely to be just as effective. IME.

 

I am sure HiFi News and HiFi Choice have both published measured data showing measurable differences in cables and measurable resonance of a frequency which can affect certain ancillaries in certain equipment supports. I am sure I have some simple resonance graphs of items such as speaker stands and equipment supports from the late 80's early 90's published bu HiFi Choice, and various tables of measurements taken of loudspeaker cables from Hi Fi News.

 

I've seen measurements showing the reduction of vibration - I've just not seen measurements confirming this actually results in any audible changes. If there's anything on speaker cables, I would have thought AES would be a better sourse for corroborated information.

 

Hehe.

Admitedly i have not seen any evidence of the effects of vibration control on sound reproduction, just on measuremts and optics.

 

I like the way people spend lots of money on supposedly vibration-reducing devices for their electronics and then put the gear in between or right next to the speakers.

Luckily, even if I pick up my amp and shake it (which I can easily do, given its size), it sounds just fine.

-- Ian

 

not guilty

thanks for that Ian.....

 

yes I've a pile of old mags that have the same data. Its strange that when you provide information thats been about for years, its suddenly not relevant.

 

It's not strange at all, not to mention you haven't actually provided any information.

Sticking to vibration for now can you show any effect on the signal from the various vibration sources? And how that changes with different isolation systems?

Then you have to do the difficult bit which is to demonstrate audibility...

Paul

 

Was that not what the magazine reviews and measurements used to be about back then?

 

Many people seem to be reporting it, Paul.

Isn't that a form of demonstration.......??

 

Zanash,

would you please post this information you allude to? Specifically the demonstrable affect various forms of isolation have on the audible signal.