Hi Peacefrog,
Thank you for your question.
I would expect that we all agree that vibration alters the signal and that has an audible effect on the performance of a component. If we are attempting to reproduce the information that is contained in the recording as accurately as possible, any fundamental problems which affect the system which is processing the recording's information should be addressed at the outset (most audiophiles seem to address them after the fact).
The three most important problem areas are:
1) Vibration Control - My views on vibration control are well explained on my website (I can restate them here if you wish). Eliminating all vestiges of vibration contamination will ensure that the fragile frequency / amplitude / phase relationship that is contained in the recording remains undisturbed.
2) AC line quality - The AC lines should have as much current as possible delivered to the outlets, the grounding should be as stable as possible, the AC energy itself should be as clean and ripple free as possible and all constituant parts (wire, outlets, breakers, etc.) should be as high quality as possible.
3) Room Acoustics - A room's acoustic should provide absorptive/reflective surfaces as uniform as possible over the entire frequency and amplitude range. This will ensure that the fragile frequency / amplitude / phase relationship of the wavelaunch that eminates from the speakers remains undisturbed.
Once these fundamental areas are addressed, you can then really make accurate value judgements on the performance of the components which comprise the system.
Best,
Barry Kohan
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products. |
Hi Peacefrog,
Placing an audio system on a suspended wood floor does pose a number of challanges. Conversely, an audio system placed on a concrete slab also has its own set of challanges and is not neccessarilly "better" than the wood floor if the parameters are not understood well and taken into account.
Getting the AC right, or at least much better than it is presently, will allow you to hear more of the true capabilities of your equipment. I agree with Theaudiotweak that your budget may be better spent on a new AC line (or at least adding grounding to your existing line). Doing the AC work may be less expensive than you think.
Barry
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products.
|
Hi Eldartford,
While it is true that many users of my products do report long lasting erections, I was instructed by Audiogon members to include the disclaimer on my posts. Please see the thread "Can manufacturers post replies and discussions?".
Best,
Barry
Disclaimer: Reading any of my posts may result in long lasting erections or $30,000,000 being transferred into your bank account from Nigeria (your choice).
|
Stehno,
I'd like to also add that merely decoupling a component from floor-borne vibration will not completely eliminate vibration. Nor will only damping the component achieve the goal. Battling vibration effectively can only be accomplished by combining the right materials with the correct methodologies.
Best,
Barry
Discalimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products.
|
Hi Couvjazz,
The interface between the component and whatever is placed beneath it is critical. Whatever is placed there has its own resonance frequency and depending on its size and mass will change the resonance frequency of the component.
The superballs have the ability to absorb vibration because they are compliant but the MDF, corian and ivory do not. The initial application of the superballs is to decouple from floor-borne vibration but they will also absorb vibration from the structure above. Considering you have mass loaded the component's chassis, it is now much less resonant and is more stiff so it will not vibrate in sympathy with the air-borne vibration to the same degree.
Corian, when used a vibration control material has a number of limitations. It does, however, have the ability to transfer vibration because it is rigid. Before adding the ivory rings the feet of the component were directly receiving any ringing the coriam sheet had been exhibiting. Lifting the component away from the corian by the rigid napkin holders reduced the transer of problems from the corian while still allowing unwanted stored energy (vibration and resonance) to transfer out of the component.
Even though you are now pleased with your results so far, and I'm glad that you are, there is much you can do to improve things further with the use of higher maass and higher absorption beneath the component and better decoupling from floor borne vibration (you haven't really described the mass loading on top of the component so I can't comment on that).
Best Regards,
Barry Kohan
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products. |
Hi Stehno,
If we know that vibration alters the signal flowing through a component we must endeavor to eliminate as much of the vibration as possible with full elimination being our ultimate goal. It is true that there are not ANY vibration control products from ANY company that are presently able to eliminate all destructive vibration - although we have prototype units in our lab that come relatively very close. In the future we (the collective “we” in the audio community) will be able to attain that goal through further research and development. But even though we do not yet have that ultimate capability we should resist the urge to go down compromised paths such as the misguided notion of “tuning” vibration. We must also reassess our present methodologies and determine if they are adequate to the task or if they only achieve partial success - such as the attempt to “drain” vibration.
In the here and now, eliminating as much vibration as possible – and minimizing the amount of vibration being allowed to affect the components in the first place – should be the goal.
As far as the car stereo question is concerned: What you are experiencing in your car which is a number of cars ahead of the “boom box” vehicle is: 1) vibration that is being directly coupled through the ground, 2) air-borne vibration that is sent directly from the offending vehicle and 3) resonances in your car that are being activated.
The woofers in the “boom box” car stereo have been shoehorned onto a cabinet and vehicle interior that are far too small for the Thiele/Small parameters of the driver. This results in a system “Q” than is far higher than appropriate and a severely disproportionate amount of low frequency energy (but let’s also not forget about the bank of EQs that have all of the low frequency sliders pushed up to maximum!). The low frequencies have a lot of energy behind them and easily travel the distance through the air from that vehicle to your vehicle (the air in between the vehicles cannot absorb all of that energy plus the ground is being excited by the air-borne low frequency energy which is added to the directly-coupled waves traveling towards your vehicle). They also excite the windows, metal panels and plastic parts of your vehicle and cause them to resonate. Because you are in physical contact with your car, you will experience a visceral response which can be physically uncomfortable. Even though both vehicles are on air filled tires, the tires have been designed and optimized to support a heavy vehicle traveling down a road and not necessarily to make audiophiles in the car happy. The tire walls are thick and rigid plus the air pressure in the tire is too high to provide effective isolation from the audio frequencies. If you didn’t have to actually drive the car you could deflate the tires as much as possible without having them “bottom out” and achieve a much more effective level of vibration isolation.
Best Regards,
Barry Kohan
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products. |
Question - is it possible to edit a post after it has been posted?
Barry
|
Flex,
I tried to log out and then back in but I still can't find an EDIT option near my post.
Thanks,
Barry
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Hi Couvjazz,
In my reply to you I discussed Corian. Even though I do not recommend as a vibration control material, I do think it can have some very intersting applications for speaker systems. Of course, it depends on the design of the specific speaker.
Best,
Barry
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products.
|
Hi Flex,
To answer your question adequately would require discussion of my products and that would not be appropriate in the Audiogon forums. I will attempt to answer you in more theoretical terms.
The most important concept for understanding how vibration affects an audio system and the best methods to control it is that ENERGY IS NEVER DESTROYED, IT CAN ONLY CHANGE FORM. The energy (vibration) that is created by the various sources in an audio system doesn’t just disappear, it must go somewhere and do some work. It left uncontrolled, it will cause the chassis and the internal constituent parts to vibrate and contaminate the signal. In order to eliminate the mechanical vibration we must change its energy to a more benign form. A highly effective vibration control device will accept the mechanical vibration from the component as efficiently as possible and transform it to thermal energy (heat) as quickly as possible.
What I can say is that there are materials and methods for combining and situating the materials that will absorb energy out of the component's chassis quite efficiently and will change that mechanical vibration to thermal energy very quickly.
Using light materials that don't store energy also means that thay cannot transfer the unwanted energy out of the component very efficiently and cannot transform it to heat very well.
Best Regards,
Barry Kohan
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products. |
Hi Albert,
Thank you for your reply.
Considering that a few Audiogon members (Buscis2, Tireguy and Ohlala) did voice some concern about specific commercial comments by manufacturers as being inappropriate on the Audiogon forum, I would like to get their opinion on the subject before I discuss any of my products specifically. If any other Audiogon members would like to chime in on the subject, please do so.
If I do answer Albert's question I would mention the product model by name, discuss the history of the design, mention some of the industry awards and patent it has received, how the model is positioned within the product line and its applications within an audio and video system.
Best Regards,
Barry Kohan
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products. |
Eldartford,
I would suspect that in the electronic platform in your lab either the piezo elements sense vertical or horizontal displacement and feed servo motors that provide correction or possibly the piezo elements themselves are the motors.
A 60 pound load weight capability for a multi-thousand dollar platform is just barely adequate as an audiophile support because most of the components that would be placed upon it would have a good amount of weight (30 to 40 lbs) and a high mass, high absorption platform would weigh at least 40 to 60 lbs. A high mass damping pod (for the top of a component) would weigh in the 30 lb range. In addition, it may be that the weight limit of the platform is 60 lbs but its optimum operating range might be somewhat less. If we are talking about reference level turntables (VPT TNT, SOTA Millennia, Basis Debut, etc), the turntables are 100 lbs and higher and an appropriate isolation platform would weigh in the 100 to 140 lb range.
With those kind of weight levels, the quality and strength of the equipment rack then becomes a very important issue.
Barry Kohan
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products. |
Hi Albert,
I don't think it's appropriate for me to discuss a specific product from another company, but I am impressed with many aspects of the Gilmore speakers especially considering my only exposure to them so far has been under show conditions.
Best,
Barry |
Hi Ed,
>Barry...you're OK.<
Thanks. My dog seems to think so, but I'm not so sure about my wife sometimes! :-)
Best,
Barry |
Hi Albert,
My impression from some of the responses I received to my thread "Can Manufacturers Post and Reply?" was that manufacturers should operate under more stringent guidelines than "civilian" Audiogon members. Do you think I'm maybe being a little too cautious?
Best,
Barry |
Hi Albert,
Bright Star and Gilmore Audio shared three display rooms at CES and T.H.E. show in January. I had been familiar with the design for a number of months before CES and had seen one of the raw panels but had not heard the speakers before set up day.
I have been designing, building and modifying speaker systems since I was sixteen years old (I’m now forty seven) and have extensive experience with ribbons, planer-magnetic speakers, electrostatics, hybrids, dynamic speakers, line source and dipole designs. I have designed speakers professionally for over twenty years.
The presentation of Abraham Laboriel’s 5 string Yamaha bass through the Gilmore speakers at CES was exceptionally clean, well controlled, had outstanding dynamic range and I would say had the best articulation I have ever heard from a live electric bass guitar.* (I have been a professional musician – drummer – since I was sixteen years old and have heard many electric bass guitars through many different amplifiers and sound reinforcement systems. I have also played extensively in totally acoustic music ensembles and have been exposed to the sound of live, unamplified instruments in many different situations). I was present for at least ten of Abraham’s performances during the show. The subtlety and definition of each note that Abraham played was very well exhibited by the Gilmore speakers. Abraham has such amazing bass playing ability that even his 32nd notes (!) were each individually identifiable. That is a testament to his virtuosity and the speaker’s resolving power.
I have read a few posts on Audiogon and in few other sources from people who thought that the Gilmore’s bass response was not as extended as the manufacturer claims (the Model 2 Gilmore speakers are spec’d to 17 Hz) . Most of them seem to have based their comments on only a five minute session listening to Abraham playing his Yamaha bass live through the speakers. Unfortunately, this limited exposure is not representative of the speaker’s true capabilities. Abraham’s five string electric bass only extends down to slightly above 30 Hz. The instrument itself does not go lower. Unfortunately, many listeners are only exposed to live bass sound that is highly non-linear due to gross resonances in bass guitar amplifier/speaker setups, poor sound reinforcement systems and generally deaf sound engineers. Additionally, listeners who are used to bass reproduced through the vast majority of home systems have gotten accustomed to bloated bass from speakers that are not well designed and which exhibit resonances, overhang and poor integration with the room and its boundaries. The Gilmores did seem to go down quite low when a CD or LP was played through them.
The midbass, which is usually the Achilles’ heel of planer/dynamic hybrids was handled very well by both the Model 2 and Model 3 Gilmores. I did not hear obvious discontinuities or upper pass band response from the woofers that was out of proportion at the crossover point to the ribbon.
Transparency from the Gilmore speakers was also quite good and they lacked the glare and the intermodulation artifacts that plague the vast majority of planer speakers (and most dynamic speakers). I seem to be more sensitive to IM problems than many audiophiles and sound engineers. Midrange response was also quite good without exhibiting the etching and upper midrange brightness that most people describe as “detail”. The top end was also transparent and free of exaggerated brightness. Most speakers have high frequency response that is brighter than the musical instrument it is attempting to reproduce would be if both were played side by side.
Any areas of performance that were not exceptional could have been attributed to a number of conditions that are typical of show set ups: room acoustics, atmospheric conditions (dry air, over-heated rooms, too many human bodies in a small space, etc), sagging AC lines, the perennial problem of equipment that is not fully broken in before the show begins, etc. Demo material (particular recordings) used can also make a HUGE difference in people’s impressions of a show system. In addition, even though the relatively normally powered Atma-Sphere amps that were used to drive the speakers at CES did a valiant job and reached pretty good volume levels, I look forward to hearing the Gilmores with those intense MA-3 mono blocks or another mega amp that matches the speaker well. I am a firm believer in “over kill”.
My statements above are not meant to give the impression that I think the Gilmores are perfect (or any other speaker is perfect for that matter) and that there isn’t room for any potential improvement. I would have to spend much more time with them under controlled conditions to assess their ultimate capabilities. I would also like to run a number of measurements of their performance before I could make that determination.
Best,
Barry Kohan
* Abraham's playing was a mezmerizing experience. Every time I heard him play I was blown away with his virtuosity and said to myself that he couldn't possibly play any better, but amazingly enough he DID play even better the next time! |
Hi Albert and Stehno,
Thank you for your questions.
Albert asked: “Barry, are your sand filled boxes as good a way as any for solving the vibration problems being discussed? I am aware they are a long time product of Bright Star, very popular and often imitated by various user and DIY groups. So, what about the question about the sand filled boxes you guys build? The best way to isolate equipment, or have you come up with something you like better?”
Stehno asked: “I'm not sure if it's ever been stated. Exactly what products does Bright Star mfg'er?”
I designed and built the first Big Rock vibration control platform in 1985. My turntable at that time was Micro Seiki BL-91 which I had inside an old Victrola reproduction cabinet. I upgraded to a Micro BL-91L (transcription size) but it no longer fit inside the cabinet so I placed it on top. Unfortunately, I started to have woofer problems as the result of vibration breakthrough to the turntable - I have the large Infinity IRS speakers (completely rebuilt and heavily modified) that have very extended low frequency capability. I thought about what I could do to solve the problem so I built up the top portion of the cabinet and created a high mass, high absorption section that was filled with sand as the absorption medium. Well, not only did the woofer problems cease but the turntable sounded MUCH better!
I didn’t think too much more about it until I decided to leave my position as the general manager of a chain of high end audio stores in southern California (after almost fourteen years) and become a speaker manufacturer – I had already been designing and modifying speakers professionally for a number of years. I created a pretty innovative full-range dynamic dipole speaker, booked an exhibit room at the 1990 CES and started to put together my demo system for the show. I had previously attended CES for a number of years as a retailer and always heard the exhibitors complain about the vibration from neighboring exhibit rooms. I decided to make a few portable versions of my sand base for the display system only – not really intending to sell them. Well, the first day of the show people came into my room and said “Nice speakers – WHAT ARE THESE BASES!?” They kept doing that all day long so later that night I realized that I HAD to make a product out of it. I thought up a name, figured out how much they’d cost to make and what the retail price should be, ran out to Kinkos to print up some literature and the next day it was an official Bright Star product!
The next CES was six months later in Chicago and I brought bases for my entire display system but also brought another dozen to loan out. That year Monster Cable requested my speakers to use in their show display so I also loaned them a Big Rock platform. Additionally, I loaned platforms to some very well known and established companies like VTL, Krell, Genesis, Versa Dynamics, Von Schweikert, etc. This gave my platform some credibility so the reviewers requested them for evaluation. Well, they loved them! Stereophile nominated it for “Accessory of the Year”, The Abso!ute Sound voted it “Editor’s Choice”, Bound For Sound gave it a “Component of Merit” award, The Academy nominated it for the “Golden Note” award, Fi Magazine voted it “Editor’s Choice” among many other awards from magazines around the world. My speakers were also quite well received having a major review in Audio Magazine and reviews many other magazines around the world, plus being called “a legitimate high end Best Buy” by The Abso!ute Sound and being voted one of the “Magnificent Seven – Best Sound at the Show” in Stereophile’s 1995 CES report, but Bright Star became more well known for vibration control products. I have also been issued patents on both the Big Rock platform and the Altair speaker.
In 1991 I started to think about vibration control much more seriously and realized that floor borne vibration entering a component’s feet was not the only contaminating source. Air borne vibration striking directly into the component’s chassis from the speakers and internally generated vibration are also major sources of contamination that compromise the signal flowing through an audio system.
My vast experience researching materials over the previous ten years in connection with speaker design played a significant role in the development of the Bright Star line of vibration control products. The next model I introduced was the Little Rock (which has also won a number of design awards). It is a high mass damping pod that is designed to be placed on top of the component. The mass of the Little Rock causes the component’s chassis to be much more stiff making it much more able to repel air borne vibration and resist sympathetic resonance. In addition, the Little Rock has the ability to absorb vibration and resonance out of the component and it provides EMI (electro magnetic interference) shielding. Another benefit of the Little Rock is that is couples the component’s feet much more firmly to the top of the Big Rock so that a very efficient conduit is created to transfer unwanted stored energy (vibration and resonance) out of the component and down into the Big Rock platform where it is converted very quickly to thermal energy (heat). The Big Rock has the ability to absorb a huge amount of energy and we want as intimate a contact as possible between the component and the Big Rock to facilitate the transfer of the harmful vibration and resonance.
As impressive as the Big Rock is at absorbing a wide band of energy it did not decouple from very low frequency floor borne vibration as effectively as I knew was possible. I then created the Air Mass pneumatic mount that could be placed under the Big Rock / component / Little Rock combination. The Air Mass provides excellent decoupling of the components placed on top of it and benefits from the high mass of the BR / component / LR combination to achieve an extremely low resonance frequency. Horizontal displacement is also minimized due to the high mass and resistive inertia of the system. There are multiple sizes of each Big Rock, Little Rock and Air Mass models. The original Air Mass 1 was only $99 and could hold 99 pounds so it was an instant hit with consumers and reviewers alike. It was nominated by Stereophile for “Accessory of the Year” and voted “Product of the Year” by The Abso!ute Sound. The Air Mass / Big Rock / Little Rock combination (which we humbly call the Ultimate Isolation System) has won a number of design awards including being voted “Standout Product of the Year” by Soundstage! Bright Star also has many products listed in Stereophile’s Recommended Components. Our Ultimate Isolation System TNT, designed specifically for VPI’s TNT series turntables has been nominated for “Accessory of the Year” and was also on the cover of Stereophile’s December 1997 issue.
In 1991 I also found very few equipment racks available which were capable of holding even one of the very heavy Ultimate Isolation Systems let alone the three or four required for a full audio system. I introduced The Rack Of Gibraltar at CES 1991 which I designed to be the strongest and most rigid equipment structure available. A funny story is when I went to the welder to pick up the first prototype he asked me what it was for. I told him it was for stereo equipment. He looked at me like I was from Mars! He thought it was going to be used at a car show to support a display car up in the air because the rack was so intense and strong! We rate the large size Gibraltar racks to hold over 2000 pounds. The Gibraltar series of racks have also won a number of awards including being nominated by Stereophile for “Accessory of the Year” and voted “Best Buy” by The Abso!ute Sound.
Over the last few years we have introduced a number of much more affordable vibration control products including the IsoNode anti vibration feet which start at only $12.50 for a set of four. The IsoNode feet were just voted “Product of the Year” and were included in The Stereo Times’ and PC World’s Holiday Gift Guides (people love them under notebook computers, multimedia speakers and subwoofers, and outboard digital drives). The IsoRock 4 and IsoRock 5 platforms combine multiple layers of high mass and absorptive materials and use IsoNode feet on the underside to decouple from floor borne vibration. The Little Rock 4 and Little Rock 5 provide the mass loading benefits of the other Little Rock models but do not include EMI shielding. Our Gemini platforms combine an Air Mass and Big Rock into a single model. Any of our models can be used individually with a component but best performance is achieved when they are used in groups of two or three. In addition, speakers benefit greatly when a Big Rock is used underneath and a Little Rock is used on top. Subwoofers show phenomenal improvements with this combination.
On the other end of the scale I have created our Reference Series. These components are the ultimate expression of my philosophy of vibration control and incorporate many cutting edge materials including heat-fired glass crystal, high density polymers, polymer adhesives, carbon fiber, solid brass and many other innovations. The new IsoRock 3 Reference platform was introduced at 2004 CES to provide many of the qualities and performance capabilities of our top Reference Series models at a more affordable price.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best Regards,
Barry Kohan
President |
Hi Thomas,
Thank you for your questions.
We either own or have the ability to borrow virtually all of the commercially available vibration control devices on the market. We have also experimented with hundreds of different configurations and devices that have not made it to market as well as the DIY devices that are discussed on internet forums such as Audiogon.
I will refrain from making a critical assessment of any specific product from a competitor but I do make more generalized comments about the various technologies or materials employed and their capabilities and limitations.
Because there are a number of different sources and forms of vibration and resonance that are present in an audio and video system that affect the signal flowing through a component the most successful vibration control device will address all of them. Devices that only address one or two forms or sources are only partial solutions.
It is critical that a complete vibration control solution eliminate vibration that can affect a component BEFORE the contamination is allowed to occur. Once the signal flowing through a component is affected by vibration no amount of "draining" or "dissipating" can reinstate the original pristine condition of the signal. A vibration control device that is placed merely underneath a component CANNOT restrict contamination from air-borne and internally generated sources of vibration. Any vibration control device that couples the component to the support underneath it CANNOT protect the device from floor-borne vibration.
The most successful vibration control SYSTEM will:
1) Decouple the component from floor-borne vibration.
2) Minimize as much as possible the contamination component from air-borne vibration.
3) Minimize as much as possible the contamination component from internally generated vibration.
I strongly suggest that people critically assess the devices they are now using or are contemplating purchasing or making themselves to see if they meet the minimum criteria and do address ALL of the forms and sources of vibration and resonance. It is also critical that the devices (whether commercial products or DIY devices) do not contribute their own problems into the component. Selecting materials that ring (granite, marble, glass, stone, Corian, steel, etc) or materials that are resonant (natural wood, wood cutting boards, Plexiglas, acrylic, plastic, etc) for use as vibration control will FURTHER contaminate the signal and take us further away from faithfully reproducing the signal that is contained in the recording.
The above discussion is not a criticism of the Stllpoints or any other specific product.
Best Regards,
Barry Kohan |
Hi Sean,
I certainly apologize to you and anyone else who may have an issue with my post. My initial queery about whether manufacturers are able to post or reply was done in an up front and self-disclosing manner. My post above about vibration damping was done with that same intent.
Being one of the pioneering manufacturers of vibration control products for almost fifteen years I do have a strong viewpoint about the proper application of vibration control and why some people have had negative experiences when applying damping products within their systems. I felt that my initiating a post on the subject was much more suitable than trying to "sneek in" my thoughts within the context of someone else's initial post.
If the majority of Audiogon participants would like me to ask the moderators to delete my thread, I would be happy to comply. I welcome your thoughts.
Best Regards,
Barry Kohan |
Couvjazz,
Addition: I do not advocate the use of a three point mounting system. Using only three cones under a component (a popular practice) which reduces chassis "chatter" by allowing the three points to more easily define a plane so the component will sit evenly, allows two of the component's corners to dangle unsupported. This situation is not desirable since the chassis can now be much more easily excited by air-borne vibration.
Barry
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products.
|
Hi Eldartford,
Thank you for your question.
A well designed active (I assume you are describing an active pneumatic isolation mount) can do a good job by decoupling the device placed atop it from floor-borne vibration.
There are several limitations of the available commercial designs that preclude their use for audio (and video). The first is that most of the units available are made of steel and have steel top plates. Steel rings and can have negative electrical interaction with sensitive audio components (especially, but not exclusively, with cartridges and phono sections). Some models have stone options for the top plate but natural and artificial stone does not absorb vibration and has a tendency to ring. Some active pneumatic mounts have optional stainless steel top plates and they, at least, don't have the electrical interaction issues but still have ringing issues.
The overriding limitation of most commercially available active pneumatic mounts is that they cannot hold a large amount of weight. Your lab at work is a relatively quiet environment. Your listening room at home is not - it is being filled with high SPLs of music. The component on top of the active mount is being bombarded with large amounts of acoustic energy that is being absorbed into the chassis. In addition, the component is creating its own unwanted vibration internally (spinning motors, humming transformers, cooling fans, etc.). We want to restrict as much acoustic energy and as much internally generated vibration as possible from contaminating the signal flowing through the component. Adding high mass and high absorption above and below the component will accomplish this quite effectively but will also add considerable weight. Very few active pneumatic units can hold the weight required.
It is also interesting to note, as you stated "piers sunk deep into the ground with 2000 pound granite slabs on them" has not been very effective at eliminating vibration. This can illustrate that using mass and coupling only to try and control vibration is not adequate.
Please be more specific about how I can edit my post after its been submitted.
Barry Kohan
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibartion control products. |
Hi Albert,
Thank you for your kind comments. I did visit the Purist Audio room during set up at CES. It was quite possibly me who you spoke with at the show.
As far as your other question is concerned, I am under the impression that I must identify myself as a manufacturer whenever I post and that it is not appropriate for me to discuss my products on the Audiogon forum. Please see my thread *Can Manufacturers Reply and Post Discussions?* at http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ymisc&1078434014&openusid&zzBright_star_audio&4&5#Bright_star_audio for more on this.
Did I understand this restriction correctly?
Best,
Barry
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products.
|
Hi Couvajazz,
Corian is relatively dense which, of course, makes it heavy. It is also quite stiff. On first glance it would seem that it would be a pretty good material for vibration control. Unfortunately, it is exactly those two qualities that make it inappropriate. Being rigid, it transfers vibration up from the floor into whatever is set upon it - it does not have the ability to absorb and dissipate vibration. Also, like all solid materials, Corian has a resonance frequency and it can be excited by floor-borne and air-borne vibration and exhibit ringing effects. It may not be as resonant as some other solid materials but it is far from non-resonant - even very thick pieces of Corian…or granite, or Plexiglas, or Fountainhead, or concrete, or marble, or glass, or steel, etc, etc, etc.
When used in a speaker design Corian does have interesting and potentially beneficial capabilities. Because it is rigid it can serve as a very good baffle material when incorporated into the design correctly. Two speakers that come to mind that use Corian baffles are the Genesis Model One and the new Gilmore speakers. You may note that both of these systems are dipoles and as such do not place a Corian panel in an environment where high pressure would be applied unevenly to one side of the panel versus the other as it wood in a traditional closed box design. The results in much less flexing of the Corian than it would be exhibiting in a closed box system.
There is much more that can be discussed about the use of Corian in a loudspeaker.
Best,
Barry
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products and loudspeakers. In addition, it should be noted that Bright Star Audio shared display suites at CES and T.H.E. Show in January with Gilmore Audio and that a company affiliated with Gilmore is a Bright Star dealer. Genesis is not associated with Bright Star but they have used our vibration control products in their show displays at a number of audio shows. |
