I believe that isolation from the environment is important in audio, (as it is in engineering / photography / quantum physics etc).
With turntables you can also get all kinds of internal resonances generated by the deck itself. We/the manufacturer can try to damp down resonant peaks generated mostly by the bearing, motor and the stylus / vinyl interface. This is why springs (damped/undamped) are often preferred to sorbothane in decks where isolation seems critical in high performance. Springs can isolate further (< 10 HZ ) than sorbothane. As can air bladder systems.
With loudspeakers we can often get massive internal pressures in the box itself (big smile from the open baffle fans). These pressures do nothing to help the cone do its job. No matter how much we tighten everything down, or increase the panel thickness we seem to merely add to the problem by shuffling the resonances around. Usually into the critical midband where these resonances can be most annoying. This noise often gets worse and worse at high volumes where its is almost as loud as the music.
Its encouraging to see more and more manufacturers starting to tackle these issues, and not just the high end stuff. Even a no nonsense company like ATC acknowledged these issues by changing the shape of their cabinets.
With turntables you can also get all kinds of internal resonances generated by the deck itself. We/the manufacturer can try to damp down resonant peaks generated mostly by the bearing, motor and the stylus / vinyl interface. This is why springs (damped/undamped) are often preferred to sorbothane in decks where isolation seems critical in high performance. Springs can isolate further (< 10 HZ ) than sorbothane. As can air bladder systems.
With loudspeakers we can often get massive internal pressures in the box itself (big smile from the open baffle fans). These pressures do nothing to help the cone do its job. No matter how much we tighten everything down, or increase the panel thickness we seem to merely add to the problem by shuffling the resonances around. Usually into the critical midband where these resonances can be most annoying. This noise often gets worse and worse at high volumes where its is almost as loud as the music.
Its encouraging to see more and more manufacturers starting to tackle these issues, and not just the high end stuff. Even a no nonsense company like ATC acknowledged these issues by changing the shape of their cabinets.