Vibration Control


Why do solid state audio electronics with no moving parts need or benefit from vibration control? 
 

It makes perfect sense that turntables, CD transports, R2R tape decks, loudspeakers & tubed electronics (w/ potentially micro phonic tubes) might all benefit from various methods of vibration control or mitigation but I don’t see why anything else would. Any thoughts??

jonwolfpell

@nonoise 
I used the very best professional recording equipment at the time including Nagra, Fostex, and Zaxcom, I've spent millions on sound equipment for location recording. Only the Zaxcom recorders were solid state they were the first  company to have a completely solid state recording chain including being able to record in the wireless transmitter itself fully solid state with no moving parts. With the solid state recorders you could subject them to vibration like jets cockpits and rollercoasters and drag race cars

I think you are mixing up some important factors on the effects of vibration on sound quality. If there are moving parts in the equipment or circuit vibration of course is detrimental to sound quality because of mechanical considerations. If the equipment has no moving parts, not even a spinning hard drive, the equipment will not be venerable to mechanical vibrations. Switches knobs anything non solid state will fail with enough vibration. 

Pick up a Mix magazine and look up the monitors used in professional recording studios you'll find nearly all the monitors are powered internally. This means that if what you say is true, that vibration affects sound, there would be a limit of what the mix engineers would hear to make recordings and mixes because of vibration internally in the speaker. I use powered speakers professionally now because only a few years ago the technology to allow very precise monitoring didn't exist. The argument that vibration affects solid state sound is simply false, understanding that vibration affects mechanical equipment is true. 

My personal experience - it is the cabinet and the drivers that are most affected by vibration whereby the music suffers.

@donavabdear Okay, but it still sounds like you used some top notch equipment built to higher standards and not some off the shelf generics. I guess I read too many reviews.

All the best,
Nonoise

I've had some experience with using a "Vibra-Plane" device to quell vibration.  It was a total surprise to hear the results of placing a preamp, a CD player and a turntable on it in rotating sequence.  An immediate improvement was obvious on all components tested.  I was told that electron microscopes are commonly placed on the VibraPlane to improve imaging, but I have no experience with that use. This post might encourage me to dig it out of storage and give it another try !