Shocked removed spikes, used blue tack, what other non spike footer

“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.

I tried the 3" rubberized squares under my stands instead of spikes and then we just settled on the stands without the spikes and the SQ improved.  there is a more focused and deeper 3d sound stage.  my wife and I listened for three days in a row just to make sure and by gosh a real improvement!  no more spikes for us.  now this is carpet over concrete slab so don't know if this would be the same for others with different floorings.  thanks paulcreed for this thread!

Gaia +3 man.  There is no better solution.  It is truly shocking.  All of the other rhetoric is just that.....rhetoric.  There are few absolute truths in this crazy hobby, but this one is immutable...Gaia footers currently work better for this assigned purpose than anything else.

And please also use the carpet spikes if you go there.  I use both products under my ATC 40 actives and it is night and day.

Say, aren’t you the guy who says isolation is impossible?

Geoff, to answer your question in short form is difficult so **warning** this is a lengthy read. Some of this information may be boring to you but for those who are new and want to increase their knowledge, please take your time in reading and refer back as many times as needed in order to increase your understanding.

I stated on record that our company has been involved in vibration management used in audio for twenty plus years and have history working with absorption, constrained layer damping, isolation techniques both individually and in combination with others establishing a Pandora’s Box scenario limiting the company from achieving its goals.

All these theorems involve the age old beliefs of killing, eliminating or somehow stopping vibration from taking place. We then took an opposite approach and built a high-speed mechanical grounding device that permits an object to vibrate then transfers amplitudes of “resonance” formed from vibration to earth’s ground.

We are very familiar with isolation, its heritage and benefits and have discovered the inefficiencies related to sonic performance, functionality and quandaries that are additional elements involving any theory.

The isolation theorem using the microscope analogy makes you want to believe sound rooms and equipment require eliminating vibration and/or chassis movement using the sensitivity of human touch as a testing method for electronic component and speaker chassis.

The concept why you should “not” feel any vibration has been eliminated from our program as we have deemed it irrelevant because one cannot eliminate vibration from any device that uses power to operate or generates acoustic energy – period.

When deadening a chassis, room environment or any product related to sound reproduction you also deaden or destroy harmonic structure and dynamics we humans seek and need to increase the emotion and enjoyment we get from listening.

Regards to Electron Microscopes:

No one has ever discussed why electron microscopes require isolation techniques other than seismic or outside structural born vibrations being present. A well known fact is alternating electric current vibrates the smallest of parts, optics, electronic circuits and chassis playing a role in limiting the performance of this type of sensitive device. When using power, both “AC and DC” current establish vibration that creates “resonance”.

Resonance and the buildup thereof limit the operational efficiency of any electronic or acoustic product or part.

Active Isolation Products:

We placed a $400 mechanical grounding Platform (brass points and steel mass) beneath a much higher priced name-brand active isolation table with a turntable residing on top of the iso-device. There was no doubt, the sonic changed for the better in every way so how is this possible?

Our opinion is; we allowed the iso-table and turntable combination to vibrate and transferred the resonance generated within and on the surface of the two products to the equipment rack (ground plane) below which in turn transferred resonance to the greater mass or energy sink known as the floor. How does this play into the isolation theorem as it makes no sense or does it?

We then placed a Platform between the turntable and the top of the iso-device and the sonic quality increased yet again delivering a substantial wow factor!

Disclaimer – these were in house testing methods with multiple listeners where test equipment resided on one of our larger Platforms although it would be interesting to see or hear results from other equipment racking designs. We believe the results will be much the same and encourage everyone to try this testing protocol in order to verify our assumptions and results. Call us if you own an active iso-device and we will be happy to talk should you wish to participate in beta-testing.

Isolation theory (decoupling) keeps resonance formed from vibration within the chassis and establishes operational inefficiencies per the laws of Coulomb.

The question now becomes; does isolation require combining other processes such as absorption or constrain layer damping or mechanical grounding in order to maximize the theory and/or sonic performance?

When we implemented our products beneath and on the top surface of isolation’s most talked about product, the sonic performance increased based on mechanical grounding principles and resonance transfer theorems exposing limitations of isolation theory.Therefore we posted this statement:

“True isolation cannot be achieved in ‘real world’ applications”.

Why?

Because the science and physics governing our planet dictates that all energy seeks earth’s ground and will gravitate there via the pathway of least resistance. Most everything on earth that consumes power requires a ground to function (real world applications) and earth is the ultimate ground plane.

We did not state isolation techniques do ‘not’ work however there are drawbacks to the various applications and questions regarding the theory.

Another example of this is a competitor who retails spring devices for loudspeakers recommends the use of their ‘spiked’ footers to be used in combination hence mechanically grounding the entirety of the device. I believe this information has just been confirmed by a listener on this thread.

Our studies and experiments conclude we have discovered a methodology that increases product operational efficiency and reduces temperature (heat) in electronic components. We titled it Live-Vibe Technology™.

Resonance Transfer (direct coupling) to earth’s ground at high-speed is our theory and basis for improving product operational efficiency and function. Over the years we have adapted the technology to electronics and loudspeakers, circuit boards, capacitors, AC wall panels and power distribution products, structural room environments and various musical instruments.

Live-Vibe Technology is scalable and also functions under large transformers, electric motors, microwaves and compressors as well.

Weight limits on our smallest Platforms exceed one-thousand pounds of mass so in audio weight tolerances are a non-issue, unlike many isolation products.

It all began with a metal resonance conductive sphere. The founding fathers originally tested spheres until an engineer drew a circle with a line through it and convinced everyone the contact points were too linear and were responsible for thinning out the sonic which then led to a cone shaped part titled Audio Points™. Those parts led to implementing additional conductive mass (steel) and advanced geometry arriving at Live-Vibe Technology.

Spikes are forty-five cent parts and this is High-End Audio - right? 

Robert

Star Sound

I find it some what ironic that the Acoustic Coupling Disc for which I was granted a design patent  in 2012 and updated again in 2018 is now being used in conjuction with a so called isolation device so it can become more effective and efficient when terminated to the higher mass of ground. So what is it.. an isolator or a grounding scheme..or just a??? Tom