According to sorbothane’s own site this material dampens vibrations by transforming them to heat. This is basically the "conservation of energy principle." Earlier above someone stated that it just stores energy, but that is not what it tries to do. Its damping comes about because of the transformation to heat.
I have used sorbothane footers for many years but have got far more effective results simply by attaching small pieces of it using the self-stick tape which it can be bought with, or other adhesives. I recommend Lord 7650 a fairly expensive industrial adhesive if you can’t get self-stick I have applied this on turntables amps, transformers and the like with excellent results.
However sorb comes in several grades and sizes. The best results for audio come with the more dense product, 70 duro is about the densest you can get. Also use the thickest you can get. I am using 1/2 inch where I can. It is certainly very effective attached to the front panel of my speakers. It is better to have some form of backing or clamping to the sorb but it is still surprisingly effective (after the adhesive or self-stick dries) just stuck in place, I generally apply two layers of electrical tape to the back to make what I believe is referred to as "constrained damping."
I got into this area when I realized that headphones had major damping issues. They all buzz around because the vibrations in the earcups are neither effectively damped nor able to drain away. So I and others have been sticking sorb inside earcups, on headband and the like.
I was surprised to discover the Sennheiser had already been doing this by installing what it variously terms"space-age material" or "polymer" to the headband of its previous TOL HD800. I would imagine they also do this with their current ultra expensive electrostatic but I haven’t seen anything from them saying this. It could just be that they are using sorb which is also a polymer, but there are other materials now with such damping properties. Grado is using a "proprietary polycarbonate" in its new e-series phones to obtain better damping.
The other dirty secret about vibrational problems in headphones is that there is quite a lot of mechanical cross-talk going on across the headband. That is why the Sennheiser HD 800 works with the damping material in the headband. I have found this to be true in various Stax phones as well. However, I prefer to start the damping right in the earcups where possible, but I am adding it to the headbands as well.
I have been running a couple of threads, mostly dealing with headphone damping, eg. http://www.head-fi.org/t/744839/damping-mechanical-energy-distortion-of-stax-and-other-phones-with-s...
I have used sorbothane footers for many years but have got far more effective results simply by attaching small pieces of it using the self-stick tape which it can be bought with, or other adhesives. I recommend Lord 7650 a fairly expensive industrial adhesive if you can’t get self-stick I have applied this on turntables amps, transformers and the like with excellent results.
However sorb comes in several grades and sizes. The best results for audio come with the more dense product, 70 duro is about the densest you can get. Also use the thickest you can get. I am using 1/2 inch where I can. It is certainly very effective attached to the front panel of my speakers. It is better to have some form of backing or clamping to the sorb but it is still surprisingly effective (after the adhesive or self-stick dries) just stuck in place, I generally apply two layers of electrical tape to the back to make what I believe is referred to as "constrained damping."
I got into this area when I realized that headphones had major damping issues. They all buzz around because the vibrations in the earcups are neither effectively damped nor able to drain away. So I and others have been sticking sorb inside earcups, on headband and the like.
I was surprised to discover the Sennheiser had already been doing this by installing what it variously terms"space-age material" or "polymer" to the headband of its previous TOL HD800. I would imagine they also do this with their current ultra expensive electrostatic but I haven’t seen anything from them saying this. It could just be that they are using sorb which is also a polymer, but there are other materials now with such damping properties. Grado is using a "proprietary polycarbonate" in its new e-series phones to obtain better damping.
The other dirty secret about vibrational problems in headphones is that there is quite a lot of mechanical cross-talk going on across the headband. That is why the Sennheiser HD 800 works with the damping material in the headband. I have found this to be true in various Stax phones as well. However, I prefer to start the damping right in the earcups where possible, but I am adding it to the headbands as well.
I have been running a couple of threads, mostly dealing with headphone damping, eg. http://www.head-fi.org/t/744839/damping-mechanical-energy-distortion-of-stax-and-other-phones-with-s...