Have you ever solved a high end audio issue using non-audio technology? Or, visa versa?


Sometimes we just have to be creative to fix a problem.  Our "bag of tricks" may go well beyond the usual "audiophile grade" tools of the trade to produce a positive result.

Here's one:

Years ago, I acquired a little British sports car.  This, itself is an unusual story.  I'm a performance car enthusiast with a 835HP vehicle is parked in my garage.  

At any rate, the little 4-cylinder "tractor motor" had solid lifters that sounded like a Singer sewing machinegoing down the road above 3,000 RPM.  It distracted from the driving experience.  I was thinking how nice it would be to quiet them down a little.

Then I remembered the can of Acoustical Magic material I had in the basement.  For those unfamilar with this material, it's used to dampen the vibration/resonance of turntable platters.  I pulled the aluminum valve cover, cleaned and degreased it thoroughly, then applied a generous portion of Acoustical Magic.  After a little curing in the oven and allowing it to set for 24 hours, the valve cover was reattached.

If I had it do over again, I would have measured before/after with a spectrum analyzer. But, my best guesstimate is that there was a 6-9db drop in the tapping sound, and I could hear the sounds around me while cruising.  The driving experience improved exponentially.  Thanks to Acoustical Magic for a cheap, effective solution to my "acoustical" problem.

I have to admit that a year later the true "hot rodder" in me required that I add a turbo to the little engine.  The sound of the off-throttle blow off valve is music to my ears.  And, driving something resembling a real sports car, as opposed to a British commuter car was a plus.

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active isolation is used in laboratories to reduce ground noise and resonance from corrupting the performance of electron microscopes for various purposes. i have applied it to my hifi system and use 5 active isolation devices.

https://www.herzan.com/products/active-vibration-control/ts-series.html

these products are then optimized for music reproduction purposes with improved linear power supplies, and added passive resonance control. this system is the Taiko Tana.

https://taikoaudio.com/taiko-2020/tana-150-140-active-anti-vibration-platforms/

 

 

$1.69 hardware store cheater plug to lift the ground on an amplifier with a hum...

there are many examples... bill firebaugh/well tempered labs put their wonderful turntables on squash balls for isolation, as does gingko audio with their platforms...

I once used 20-24 gauge stranded speaker wire to jump start a car during a blizzard (out in the middle of nowhere Iowa - 1971).

The dead car's owner laughed and said no way.

WAY, as we successfully jumped an 8 cylinder Caprice with the speaker wire I used in my 1967 VW (ran from the under dash 8-Track to speakers located behind the back seat).

The speaker wire insulation melted @ both ends, but it worked.

I once used small corse foam rectangular blocks (my wife used them to buff her nails) as footers for a light weight Bel Canto DAC 1 (sounded better the the audiophile footers tried and the DAC didn't slide/fall off them).

 

DeKay