“No two spikes, springs, discs, cones or wood blocks sound the same if they are shaped differently, even if they are manufactured from the same material. As an example, pick up any two different brass products and listen to their performance as the differences are surprisingly ‘not’ close at all.”
>>>>>Brass composition varies wildly. Springs have even more variables. Geez, talk about comparing apples 🍎 and watermelons 🍉.
To whit,
“Brass is an alloy made primarily of copper and zinc. The proportions of the copper and zinc are varied to yield many different kinds of brass. Basic modern brass is 67% copper and 33% zinc. However, the amount of copper may range from 55% to 95% by weight, with the amount of zinc varying from 5% to 40%.”
As I’ve oft described, performance of cones is also a function of Hardness. Brass for example is a relatively soft metal, and carbon fiber is a relatively soft material, whereas tempered steel and NASA grade ceramics rank very high on the Mohs Hardness scale - and are audibly superior to softer materials like brass.
A strange thing about the Jumbo and Super DH Cones, which are the same NASA grade ceramic material, and the same size. The only difference is that the Super DH Cone has a slightly more ballistic shape, whereas the Jumbo is more conical. That slight difference in shape translates to noticeably better performance of the Super. But even the smaller size DH Cones, Medium and Small, outperform, it’s just a matter of cost vs performance. You would not believe how many Supers I had in my system at one time. They make excellent tuning devices as their Hardness allows vibration to exit very rapidly. So just placing them on top of speakers or tube traps or components can be quite beneficial.
Springs are decouplers so probably shouldn’t be compared to cones, though cones can act as mechanical diodes. Springs can be rubber airsprings, rubber bladders, rubber tubes, or metal. Metal springs can be any of a wide variety of alloys and can undergo varies performance treatments. Spring rates should be selected based on load.
