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Component isolation

Let’s say you’re going to add isolation feet to a component with no moving parts, such as a preamp, phono stage, DAC, amp, tuner, etc. 

Which one is most critical to the extent would get your attention first? 
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papafrgog
101 posts
 

This s a great post...I'm really a novice trying to better understand the intricacies of damping and isolation, etc.  My takeaway is that there's no one solution, but rather a combination of solutions dependent upon one's system and environment.  A lot is devoted to reducing component internal vibration, which makes sense to me because its the closest to the signal path, sometimes actually in the path. 

So does room acoustic treatment come into play, in terms of reducing airborne vibration that can find its way into the audio signal? Can this vibration enter the cable or component and disrupt or alter the audio signal?

Probably a really stupid question, but like I said, I'm trying to learn first - spend later.

 

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,560 posts
 
I have roller bearings by both Ingress Engineering and Symposium Acoustics, as well as Townshend Audio Seismic Pods. Roller bearings provide good isolation in all planes but vertical, in which they act as not isolators, but couplers. The Seismic Pods are very effective in all planes, a great product imo. Available in many load-specific versions, around $100/pod.
jhills
612 posts
 
I spent a good portion of my professional life dealing with the, sometimes catastrophic, effects of vibration in rotating industrial machinery. Aside from out of balance, many of the same problems with many of the same solutions as involved with audio - looseness and resonance - excited by internal and external forces including frequencies, resonate frequencies and their harmonic and sub-harmonic frequencies with solutions being accomplished through tightening, dampening, isolating, or coupling.
Generally solutions in audio are a matter of working individually with each component and does not/should not have to cost thousands of $$$.
While I agree with the importance of eliminating vibration and resonance in components, I also agree with what some others have said here - sometimes things (dampening, coupling, etc. etc.) can go to far, leaving everything sounding dry and sterile. I've never heard a live performance that sounded sterile. The world is full of harmonics and resonance - just gotta to know where to draw the line, to help your system produce something that sounds like music.....Jim
fleschler
1,958 posts
 
My townsend seismic sink is a superb anti-vibration device for my VPI TNT VI.  For all my other equipment, I am using Stillpoints of various sizes based on how I perceive the benefit (Ultra minis are often better than larger units depending on the equipment).  I have 11 sets of Stillpoints.  Otherwise, I would have chosen the latest versions of Townsend seismic products which are more expensive and non-hydraulic (air bladder) any longer.
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
To get the best results with roller bearing isolators its best to use injunction with a spring of some kind. This may be an air, magnetic or mechanical spring.
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