Spikes versus wall coupling

I work for myself and for my clients. I sell products that I own myself, some of them are sourced from Starsound.Tom

TWL I was the one who started this thread and I would love to hear what your ideas are on vibration control. No need to response to Barry or others point by point, rather just give your feelings on the best way the deal with 185 lbs speakers on woood floor to get the best sound.
Joe

Hi All,

Anyone interested can see laboratory measurements of a speaker system with and without the vibration control system I described.

Here is the link:
http://www.brightstaraudio.com/new_page_6.htm

or

link

Figure 1 shows the frequency response of a speaker without the vibration control system (red line) and the same speaker with the vibration control system I described (black line). You will notice a significant increase in response with the vibration control system.

Figure 2 shows a Cumulative Spectral Decay (waterfall) response of the speaker that is not placed in the vibration control system. Note the significant amount of vibration residue the speaker exhibits. This is vibration and resonance that is absorbed and released by the cabinet walls after the drivers have stopped producing the original signal. The extra "ghost" signal not only significantly colors the music it also produces random out-of-phase elements which affect imaging, soundstage abilities and transient response.

Figure 3 shows the same speaker that has been placed within the vibration control system. You will note that there is far less extra residue present in the speaker system and the graph looks much "cleaner". The extra energy that had been wasted making the cabinet vibrate is now being used to create more music - increasing efficiency and performance in all areas.

Figure 4 shows the same two waterfall graphs together
so you can more easily see the differences.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best Regards,

Barry

Without being argumentative about anything, I'd simply(and predictably) recommend trying a set of Audiopoints under your speakers, and compare them to the BrightStar stuff, or whatever you like, and let the winner dictate the purchase. If you need to protect the wood floor from the sharp points, we offer "Coupling discs" which will do the job.

We, at Starsound, offer a 30-day money back guarantee of satisfaction, with no questions asked if you don't keep them. Full refund, except for the $7.50 Priority mailing cost.

I'd like to compliment Barry on his availability of scientific charts showing the effects of his vibration control system. It was not clear which product was tested there, but it is a very nice display of the fact that vibration control has definite effects that are measurable.

Unhappily, I cannot produce any test charts for our products. But, our products have received awards for performance from publications who tested them, and we have an excellent consumer acceptance over 16 years of producing the same unchanged product(Audiopoints). We rely on the consumer's ear to determine what is best for their application.

Regarding my point-of-view on resonance control, I adhere to the "Resonance Energy Transfer" approach, which provides an "escape path" for the vibrational energy to be routed to ground and dissipated there, instead of the "local damping" methods described by Barry above. Each method has its proponents, and both methods can be effective to various degrees, but may have different sonic effects due to the technologies employed.

Some people may prefer one type, while others prefer the alternative. For example, I just took in a Bright Star Rack of Gibraltar(top of the line product) on trade toward our Sistrum SP-4 from a customer, and he proclaimed "no contest, the SP-4 was the clear winner". Doubtless, Barry has had similar experiences where his rack proved out to be a winner.

So, as you can see, there are differing opinions on this subject, about what works best in different applications, and sounds best to people with different listening tastes.

We simply provide a way for the customers to test in their own homes, to see what they like best. We feel that is a fair way to do things, and it lets the customer be the judge. We put our "money where our mouth is" with every single customer, because everything we make has the money-back guarantee of satisfaction, lifetime warrantee(transferable), and we have 16 years of track record to back it up.

Nobody ever "gets stuck" with a Starsound product. If you don't like it, for any reason, we take it back for a full refund within 30 days(less shipping).

Again, I'm not trying to cause dissention here, just presenting my point-of-view as a manufacturer's rep, and letting the chips fall where they may. Please feel free to email me with any questions, or to discuss.

As long as the evaluation includes the complete vibration control system I described above I would also welcome a comparison.

I would also like to say that I have nothing against Tom, either personally or professionally. I do not know him and I do not believe we have ever met in person. He seems like a very nice guy and I know he has been helpful to many Audiogon members in a number of different areas which makes him an asset to the audiophile community.

I do feel, however, that there is a general lack of thorough discussion on the internet and in many audiophile publications on the subject of vibration control. Typically, there is a trial and error methodology that is used by most audiophiles and is also sometimes recommended by manufacturers and dealers – add the device to your system and see if you like it or not. We live in free society so no one can tell another person what they like or don’t like (and, of course, people should like how their systems sound), but this haphazard manner of evaluation is fraught with difficulty and many times leads to erroneous conclusions.

I think that we would all be well served by the introduction of more science and more stringent evaluation to the category of vibration control. This will advance the state of the art of audio reproduction. The most important issue is to understand the nature of vibration, how it affects the components within our systems and ultimately, how well the devices, materials and methods that are used address those issues.

Best Regards,

Barry Kohan