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Vibratory or Not?

This is a discussion that for me began on the Stereophile forum which went horribly wrong in my opinion. I was wondering though if this same topic could be discussed here as it comes up a lot in one form or another. My background has been about vibratory tuning as far back as the 70's work in the recording industry and continued into home audio and beyond. The audio signal is one that can be easily tuned, I doubt there is much room there for debate, but we will see, it's Audiogon after all. This being the case I have always concluded that the audio signal is vibratory so has anyone I have ever worked with. It's a common and sometimes even daily practice for someone here to make a vibratory adjustment changing the sound which is obvious to all.

On some of these forum threads however you will see posts saying to get rid of the vibration, without any explanation as to how to remove vibration without altering the audio signal. Every vibratory move I have ever seen done changes the performance of the sound. I've also been a part of the variables of the audio signal during play in real time. If the audio signal is not vibratory how does it change?

I invite you to discuss the vibratory structure and nature of the audio signal.

thanks, lets keep trolling to a minimum please

128x128michaelgreenaudio
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michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio OP
1,019 posts
 

On this thread and others I talk about getting the sound you want as being more simple than you think. If you don't complicate or try to add to basic physics audio isn't all that hard to get right, here's why. The all of audio is tied together by interacting. If you study the fundamental interactions and apply them to audio and the different parts that make up audio you will find that they are all meant to work together. Vibratory!

Fields

Each of the known fundamental interactions can be described mathematically as a field. The gravitational force is attributed to the curvature of spacetime, described by the general theory of relativity. The other three are quantum fields, and their interactions are mediated by elementary particles described by the Standard Model of particle physics.

Sounds tough? It's not, and all you really need to know how to do is make the interactions adjustable, so they work together in tune.

Michael Green

audionuttoo
5 posts
 
MG - I concur.  I have never heard two isolated systems sound the same - only different from an non isolated system.  Regarding Geoff's continuing problem with the word vibratory in this context, I offer the Merriam-Webster definition:1 : consisting of, capable of, or causing vibration or oscillation 2 : characterized by vibrationWe all know that the pressure waves in the room coming from the speakers are a result of the amplifications of the audio signal, which oscillates over a range of frequencies and changes in amplitude. The pressure waves produce vibrations. Therefore, we are dealing with a variety of vibrations/oscillations/vibratory signals and waves.  Choose the wording you prefer - it's just different ways of saying the same thing.   
michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio OP
1,019 posts
 

With everything audio being Vibratory and Interactive we can get down to business with Vibrations.

Vibratory structures are at the heart of how our systems sound. We get marketed into thinking of brands and models but when you break an audio system down to it's vibratory core many of the physical parts and pieces can actually be obstructions to allowing the audio signal to flow without contamination, resulting in distorting the signal. Keep in mind you can play part of the audio signal and it still be distortion free. That's why all of our systems sound different. Every system plays back part of the audio signal but rarely the whole signal. The conditions you need to play the whole signal is not difficult but it does require more than an audio playback system sitting in a living room.

I'll get into the tuning of the interactions but first want to say, sometimes in this hobby folks come in and give negative spins on sound, your sound. Your sound is uniquely yours and belongs to you and no one else. This hobby can get as involved as you want it to be, skies the limit (I'm not talking about money). Learning about audio is your own personal journey and as you travel it you are going to go through periods of successful listening and other times when things don't quite sound right. I don't care how much of an expert one is every recording type can offer up bliss or disaster. My goal is to help you play as much of your collection as possible, but that never means I'm telling you what you should be hearing, what you want to hear and that any of you should be listening the way I do or any of your friends here on Agon do. The fun of this hobby is that it is yours and you are the master of your own sound. That's why I do and promote the variables.

MG

geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
OK, Class, settle down. Put your listening ears on. This is how the big boys do it.

Sneak preview:
“To operate effectively, the lengths of LIGO's arm cavities (i.e. the distance between the test masses at the ends of each arm) must not vary by more than a fraction of a picometer (one-trillionth of a meter). To hold the masses in place, we need to push on them–but very carefully, and we use the reaction chain (see figure above) for that. Simple motors made of permanent magnets and electrical coils push on the upper masses; these 'voice coils' work like audio loudspeakers, with the coil producing a magnetic field which attracts or repels the magnets. On the test masses themselves, we use more gentle electrostatic forces, like that which attracts a balloon rubbed on a sweater to a wall (or hair to a comb on a dry day). The goal is to keep our hands off the masses as much as possible so they will move only due to gravitational waves.”

The entire article,

https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/page/vibration-isolation



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