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Vibration Control. New Toys! 56k warning.

post #1 of 24
11/24/05 at 2:51am
Thread Starter 
I have been extremely happy with my system lately. I have a nice assortment of headphones, a great source, a great amp, and of course great cables. What could I possibly get next?

VIBRATION CONTROL, An often-overlooked avenue of tweakdom. I checked out a lot of the various vibration control paraphernalia. The products that struck me as being the most effective were the Symposium Acoustics products. I have been lusting after getting one of Symposium’s isolation racks for about 9 months. The Isis configured the way that I would want it would cost a little over $5000. I recently came to the realization that an Isis wouldn’t be in my future any time soon. So I decided to splurge on a couple of Symposium’s Ultra Platforms to use as shelves in my Synergy rack.

While talking to Peter at Symposium the topic of resonance’s came up and the fact that the enclosure of my 3910 was a bit flimsy. So he provided a couple of aluminum sheets to implement constrained layer dampening for the case. It resulted in a much deader enclosure.

I implemented these changes all at the same time so I can’t attribute the changes to the shelves or the new dampening in my player. What I can happily say is that I’m pleased with the results. Everything seems louder and more dynamic. I attribute this to a reduced noise floor that has provided increased dynamic range. The presentation seems to be tighter, with better focus. So far I’ve listened to two discs and I’m really jazzed about the new improved sound.

I’ve pulled about twenty discs that I have to hear over the next couple of days. I must revisit all of my old favorites. Here are some pictures of the changes.


Top enclosure of the 3910. Fairly flimsy.


Top with two aluminum pieces of constrained layer dampening installed


Inside the Exemplar 3910 player


System in stock Synergy rack (Before Symposium)


Symposium Ultra Platform in its box.


Synergy rack with two Symposium Ultra Shelves (After)


Closeup


Complete System including Symposium Shelves.
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post #2 of 24
11/24/05 at 12:24pm
I clicked on this thread expecting some Not Worksafe Content but I guess I was wrong.

It looks great, I studied about that in my Sytem's Vibration and Control class. It really does make a huge difference.
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post #3 of 24
11/24/05 at 12:35pm
Sorry about my ignorance, but how the consistence of the top cover of the enclosure will affect the sound of a given device????
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post #4 of 24
11/24/05 at 12:43pm
Vibrations cause unwanted performance (in theory I've never played with it)

Adding plates to an enclosure is simple inertia; the object now has more mass for the source of the vibrations to move. because of this it deadens vibration because assuming the intensity(is that the right word?) of the vibration stays constant it will now affect the system less because the case is denser and will absorb more energy before moving the same amount. One could say (in theory) that this will also reduce microphonics because less vibration will be introduced to the cables (in theory)

Like I said take this with a grain of salt, I've never toyed with such things as these I just know a little bit about why they should work.

Also, Yikes, NICE RIG! Very classy looking (I did the same thing with clamps for a while)

*Edited for atrocious spelling!*
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post #5 of 24
11/24/05 at 12:54pm
Really??? Well IIRC all the mechanic parts of any player player, or the transport, are isolated from the rest of the chassis by some damping material, usually rubber washers, or isolators, and sometimes even better damping materials, to avoid exactly those vibrations, that BTW are minimal at those speeds the CD rotates, so I don't know to what extend those vibrations will reach the top plate of the player, and will produce those unwanted effects, but anyway if you feel that the sound is better after, is all what should matter to you.....
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post #6 of 24
11/24/05 at 1:25pm
its not just movement from the player and CD, those are dampened. its movement in general. its not about dampening the top, your not dampening by adding metal plates your adding weight making your player denser.

I'm just saying why it should work/ can work / might work. To be honest I dont really buy into this stuff but I really have never tried (so I cant dismiss any of it).
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post #7 of 24
11/24/05 at 1:41pm
Yikes, what is the approximate cost of the platforms? I'm sure it varies based on specific dimensions, but ballpark would be Ok. Thanks.
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post #8 of 24
11/24/05 at 2:04pm
Sweet rig, Yikes. Ever tried removing the wheels from the rack & use spikes or sth. instead?

I think I shall pick up some heavy piece of car-audio tar-mat or whathever it's made of for my DVD-2900. Don't give much about sonic improvement (is that even allowed to say here? ), but about reducing the darn noise it makes with some SACDs. It already had a sack'o'quartz sitting on top, which didn't help much though. I also wonder about possible heat problems arising due to internal mods, it is not that this player would be exactly well ventilated...
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post #9 of 24
11/24/05 at 4:21pm
I've recently purchased a new Music Hall CD25.2 which is a very solidly built player (around 15lbs in weight). However, the chassis cover was still a little resonant, so I applied Dynamat Xtreme on the top and sides of the chassis cover. While I was at it, I also applied Dynamat to the bottom chassis plate surrounding the transport mechanism as well as on the plastic transport "bridge." I also put small blobs of Blu-Tack on top of the oscillator clocks to further "shield" them from vibrations. I've even put a couple sheets of Sorbothane underneath the toroid transformer to dampen any microvibrations which may emanate from it. I think I've added around 2lbs of mass to the CD player.

For those who are not familiar with it, Dynamat Xtreme is a thin tar-like material with a foil backing and is normally used for car audio installations. It is expensive stuff at retail prices, but can be found at reasonable prices on eBay.

Alternatively, you can try using a box of rope caulk, which for $4, can treat several CD/DVD players. I've lined the whole interior of my cheap Sony DVD player with rope caulk and Dynamat, effectively doubling its overall mass.

I can't really say for sure if their are any sonic improvements from vibration damping, but I certainly like the sound I'm getting out of my digital gear. However, I'm sure I pretty much voided the factory warranties.
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post #10 of 24
11/24/05 at 4:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wmcmanus
Yikes, what is the approximate cost of the platforms? I'm sure it varies based on specific dimensions, but ballpark would be Ok. Thanks.
About $699 each. The platforms are amazingly well built. The pictures don't do them justice. I'm considering removing the castors and getting another Ultra Platform to go underneath. The problem is that doing so will change tearing the system apart for meets from a one-hour exercise into a three-hour ordeal. Castors are so freaking convenient.

Symposium Acoustics: http://www.symposiumusa.com/main.shtml

If you have a reference caliber system the difference that these things make is significant.
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post #11 of 24
11/24/05 at 4:47pm
Thread Starter 
If you have questions about using such products I’d suggest reading Symposiums technology section.


http://www.symposiumusa.com/technology.shtml
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post #12 of 24
11/24/05 at 5:00pm
Thread Starter 
Ahhhhhh..................... I've been moved.
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post #13 of 24
11/24/05 at 5:23pm
Your computer chair looks uncomfortable.
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post #14 of 24
11/24/05 at 5:38pm
Congrats on both the purchase of the new Symposium products, and the eXemplar Audio Denon. As someone who's owned the eXemplar Audio products for a while it's nice to see that John's getting some attention from this site.

I'm curious to know about the Denon stuff they sent you. Is it something they normally sell, but threw in with your stuff for free? Was it something nice they did since you ordered a couple of Ultras? Or was this something they did just for you with adhesive added and everything?
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post #15 of 24
11/24/05 at 5:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patu
Your computer chair looks uncomfortable.
and you can't even see the electrodes


Pain lets us know that we're alive.


It's a new room so I have'nt found a suitable chair.
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