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Isolation Feet for Laptop

It seems fairly common knowledge that vibration is a form of distortion in many electric components, not just for turntables and speakers. Isolation feet seem to work well in most applications.

I searched around and I didn't find any information to suggest that folks are using isolation feet on laptops or desktops, despite increased streaming usage. In a great many cases, there are indeed heavy vibrations coming from within the computer.  Whether it is the fan for the CPU or even GPU to the all the various chips/transformers, etc or even power supplies and batteries. If adding isolation feet to a streamer, DAC or power supply makes sense, then wouldn't it also make sense to apply isolation feet to your laptop; if you use it for music?

Well, I am going to find out. :)

I ordered some IsoAcoustics Orea Series Audio Equipment Isolators with a max weight of 16 pounds. The laptop weighs about 6.7 pounds, so it shouldn't be that much strain, even with all the cables creating some measure of down force as they dangle over the edge.

My expectation is that the DAC will be able to perform slightly better due to reduced vibration across the USB port and power filter. The DAC is a USB stick (Dragonfly Cobalt) so it has a very rigid hard connection to the laptop; so vibration is very easily transferred.

Has anyone else tried this?

128x128guakus
mrskeptic
262 posts
 

Just when I think I've read something that is the silliest thing ever in audio, along comes something sillier.

 

Could someone explain how vibrations are transferred from a laptop (or any other source) to your pre-amp then to the amp (or integrated for us low-fi heathens) then to your speakers and be audible, using science and measurements, not "I know what I hear"? Preferably supported with studies and/or blind tests.

 

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,865 posts
 

My dac came w HRS isolation feet :-) My amplifiers came w hanging truss…wait for it….. HRS isolation…so when it came time to isolate my server and preamp…i chose HRS Nimbus and a damping plate for the server….. Even the Teddy Pardo is isolated….

BTW dedicated audio servers / streamers, the really great sounding ones anyway run a very lean ( think reduced instruction set ) operating system for a reason….

Hint : have ya looked at the electrical panel yet ?

mazian's avatar
mazian
363 posts
 

For the cost of decent vibration feet, which as someone has pointed out , might not work, because the laptop is too light, you could almost buy a Bluesound Node, a basic but competent streamer/DAC. It would give you much better SQ than streaming from a laptop, isolated or not. Even something like an Auris BluMeHD at around $100 would be better . 

clearthinker's avatar
clearthinker
1,582 posts
 

@guakus 

You keep saying you're going to try it.

OK go and try it and stop bothering us.  Do it, don't talk about it.  When you've finished try putting springs under the laptop.   I have to say this as Miller's gone now.  Or hanging it from wires attached to the ceiling.  Or maintaining it in mid-air using magnetic fields....etc

Boing boing!

discopants
149 posts
 

Black ravioli pads are a good bet to try , see or rather hear if they are audible. If not move them elsewhere as they really do work well. 

 

I can hear very clear results from using them to isolate my network switches so I think they will likely improve on a laptop too.

 

I've got everything isolated in the signal and power chains YMMV

 

 

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