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thoghts about isolation.

Our discussion has to take place with mechanical isolating non-source components such as amplifiers and preamps.

My thought was wether we realy need to mechanically isolate non-source components or not. The impact from internal vibrations caused by the mainly power supply transformer will less-likely affect the operation of active elements fo the circuit such as tubes or transistors imo. The same thing comes onto mind about passive elements such as resistors and capacitors. What can affect the performance is the electrical isolation of power transformers especially in the power amplifier domain(that's why I prefere not using integrated amps). That's why it's very often beneficial to have an outboard power supply(not necessary battery) for the preamplification(phono, line or DAC)

I want to give some example where I've seen the PS300 power plant placed on the tip toes and I wonder why?

If we take source components, there are certainly good reasons for it such as mis-recepting the laser beam by CD transport or mis-tracking the record that can even be cause by the measurable amplitudes. In addition for the turntables the amplitude of a signal can somehow be matched and certainly cannot be neglected with amplitude of intermal vibrations caused by friction of a platter, motor that is transfered to the tonearm and cartridge as well.

IF YOU'RE LAZY TO READ THE WHOLE THING YOU CAN ANSWER JUST THIS GENERAL QUESTION:

Do all audio components need to be mechanically isolated?
128x128marakanetz

Showing 1 response by ejcj

ejcj
6 posts
 
I don't know a lot about the physics behind it, but Black diamond racing products are the only things I have used that really seem to work. I use them under my speakers and under my cd player and they really add a razor sharp sense of focus to the images on my sound stage. I think the point about the lead or sand base under the stage of live musicians is an interesting point. Except that with live music you don't need to focus the image because it's there in real life. On a stereo system you do what you can to create a representation of the real thing if only for a few fleeting moments. My rule on tweaks is this. If I'm not absolutely sure I hear a difference that I judge as an improvement I do not buy, unless the investment is so inexpensive that it doesn't bother me just to spend the money to do it. I would definitely advise you to listen for yourself and judge weighing cost versus benefits. A good example for me is power cables. To date I am not hearing huge improvements with the use of fancy power cables in my system. I decided though to invest in a good quality value cable (Sonic Horizon) because I think they make a small improvement and don't cost an arm and a leg.
I'm just not goinng to spend 500 or more for a power cable.
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