Isolation vs. Absorbtion


I am new to the audiophile hobby, and I am confused by what appears to be subjectivity and contradictions. When "mounting" a cd player and other components, is it best to use Soft Pads which ISOLATE vibration and RETAIN internal component vibration, OR is it best to use Hard Cones, which DRAIN (harmful) component vibrations into shelf material. Secondly, is it best to attach shelving to racks so that shelving makes Direct (hard) Contact - OR, should the shelving be Isolated from rack? Is there a scientific, indisputable answer?
128x128equa
Rick: Is "audiopoints" a specific product? If so where may I find info on them? David.
Dekay, you can find out about them at www.audiopoints.com. They are a very well designed hard cone. I have tried them and they are pretty good as far as cones go. They work particularly well onto MDF shelves and in a clamp rack system - that is, to couple the component top and bottom to the shelves. This is a very different approach to the light/rigid one that I have been pursuing. I personally believe that use of a very hard or very soft footer only sounds better when applying them as a band-aid to fix a bad support structure.
Well, I have been looking at various pre made metal shelf units that are available and unfortunately the ones that I like are way over $1000.00. What I am considering trying is Riveteer such as is used in super markets as support for Maple shelves. I have assembled many of these over the years and the only concern that I have is that the metal had a tendency to "ring." The shelf itself would be contained in a closet so I do not know if this characteristic would be a problem. It could also be welded into a one piece unit as an option. Has anyone tried shelving such as this, it's basically just "L" bar with hole slots cut into it not unlike that used in bed frames. Another option would be to just build a lighter version out of "L" bar which could initially be bolted and then later welded into one piece. I cannot weld myself due to sensitivity to light but know a sculpture that would probably do it for me.
"Ringing" is a myth.
Unless you plan to practice drumming on your stand during listening sessions, "ringing" DOES NOT OCCUR in a metal framed stand.What a rigid,spiked metal framed rack does do is to lower vibrational amplitude via the small points of contact with high energy sources providing an energy/vibration bottleneck.The natural resonant characteristic of steels will filter the energy into relatively high, primarily even order frequency bands that the shelf material and component "suspension" can more easily damp.Adding mass and damping material only provides the energy a storage medium where those energies are re-released back into the system at unpredicatable low frequency rates and over a longer timeframe, thus imposing itself into the music for a longer period before decaying and having greater power to disrupt component operation and the musical signal.Low frequencies have enormous power and cannot be stopped regardless of the amount of mass or type of damping material used.The remedy is to have structure that does not couple well to those frequency rates, hence the need for low mass design.
Stands from reputable manufacturers such as Standesign, Apollo,Mana, Audiotech, Sound Organisation, Target,etc., all accomplish the task very well. Their primary disadvantage has always stemed from the relatively simple shelving required to meet a broad market pricepoint rather than any imagined "ringing' problem.
Best,
Ken
GreaterRanges/Neuance