Now a little lab work, nothing too difficult.
What I have done is take a simple audio receiver Sherwood rx4105 and put it in my system. After a week of constant play it’s time to see how it responds to both rubber and wood.
The stock feet have been removed and the receiver was place on the rubber. The first thing that was heard is that the sound has darkened and some of the notes have become more clear but other notes have seem to have disappeared, dropping into the background of the stage. There are lots of other things to listen for but that’s a quick start. Now using harder wood "Ebony" there’s a noticeable jump in high frequencies and a lack of bottom end even though the mid bottom is tight. Compared to the rubber product the ebony is fatiguing after a short time grading on my ears. Back to the rubber, I can clearly hear the notes that are missing as compared to the ebony but the rolled off type sound is less fatiguing, at least at first. The more I listen to the rubber the more I’m discovering a lack of true dynamics and made aware of that rubbery sound that starts to haunt every recording played. Both materials have without a doubt entered into the DNA of the audio signal. Trying springs, cones and other shapes and materials I can hear the materiel itself mixing in (interacting, mingling) with the audio signal. Even putting the original feet back on I can clearly hear that anything under the receiver becomes part of the receivers sound.
Comparing notes from as far back as the mid 80’s I see my notes are exactly the same, conclusions that no matter what goes underneath, on top of, on the sides of, or even touching there is absolutely a mingle taking place between signal and materials. Same is true with moving the same system from one room to the next or shipping the system to a different environment to another. The audio signal is part of the interactive fundamentals.
I have done this same testing hundreds of times, maybe thousands, and have never been able to conclude that the audio signal fits outside of the scope of the forces interactions. Everything literally affects everything else. The "audio signal" is tunable.
MG
