Hi Couvajazz,
Corian is relatively dense which, of course, makes it heavy. It is also quite stiff. On first glance it would seem that it would be a pretty good material for vibration control. Unfortunately, it is exactly those two qualities that make it inappropriate. Being rigid, it transfers vibration up from the floor into whatever is set upon it - it does not have the ability to absorb and dissipate vibration. Also, like all solid materials, Corian has a resonance frequency and it can be excited by floor-borne and air-borne vibration and exhibit ringing effects. It may not be as resonant as some other solid materials but it is far from non-resonant - even very thick pieces of Corian…or granite, or Plexiglas, or Fountainhead, or concrete, or marble, or glass, or steel, etc, etc, etc.
When used in a speaker design Corian does have interesting and potentially beneficial capabilities. Because it is rigid it can serve as a very good baffle material when incorporated into the design correctly. Two speakers that come to mind that use Corian baffles are the Genesis Model One and the new Gilmore speakers. You may note that both of these systems are dipoles and as such do not place a Corian panel in an environment where high pressure would be applied unevenly to one side of the panel versus the other as it wood in a traditional closed box design. The results in much less flexing of the Corian than it would be exhibiting in a closed box system.
There is much more that can be discussed about the use of Corian in a loudspeaker.
Best,
Barry
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products and loudspeakers. In addition, it should be noted that Bright Star Audio shared display suites at CES and T.H.E. Show in January with Gilmore Audio and that a company affiliated with Gilmore is a Bright Star dealer. Genesis is not associated with Bright Star but they have used our vibration control products in their show displays at a number of audio shows.
Corian is relatively dense which, of course, makes it heavy. It is also quite stiff. On first glance it would seem that it would be a pretty good material for vibration control. Unfortunately, it is exactly those two qualities that make it inappropriate. Being rigid, it transfers vibration up from the floor into whatever is set upon it - it does not have the ability to absorb and dissipate vibration. Also, like all solid materials, Corian has a resonance frequency and it can be excited by floor-borne and air-borne vibration and exhibit ringing effects. It may not be as resonant as some other solid materials but it is far from non-resonant - even very thick pieces of Corian…or granite, or Plexiglas, or Fountainhead, or concrete, or marble, or glass, or steel, etc, etc, etc.
When used in a speaker design Corian does have interesting and potentially beneficial capabilities. Because it is rigid it can serve as a very good baffle material when incorporated into the design correctly. Two speakers that come to mind that use Corian baffles are the Genesis Model One and the new Gilmore speakers. You may note that both of these systems are dipoles and as such do not place a Corian panel in an environment where high pressure would be applied unevenly to one side of the panel versus the other as it wood in a traditional closed box design. The results in much less flexing of the Corian than it would be exhibiting in a closed box system.
There is much more that can be discussed about the use of Corian in a loudspeaker.
Best,
Barry
Disclaimer: I am a manufacturer of vibration control products and loudspeakers. In addition, it should be noted that Bright Star Audio shared display suites at CES and T.H.E. Show in January with Gilmore Audio and that a company affiliated with Gilmore is a Bright Star dealer. Genesis is not associated with Bright Star but they have used our vibration control products in their show displays at a number of audio shows.
