Cones, stones, bones, and other "audiophile tweaks"

You are right. I got confused because the picture on the totem website shows two beaks on one speaker.

 

Vinyl Addict's boss steps up from behind and says, what are you working on? What the heck are those things?

 

This system is called Ceraball and it is being made by a company called Finite Elemente. More detail can be found here:
http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AFINCBALLA

By the way, I am surprised how well you made your version - I would not expect that this kind of finish was possible to attain on the DIY basis. Congrats!

I use Ceraballs under my tube integrated amp and I am delighted with the result. Herbie's HAL-O Damping Instruments on the same amp are only half as effective as the suspension feet, even though they are twice as expensive ($130 for HAL-O's versus $65 for Ceraballs). The HAL-O's brought a more than worthwhile improvement, but Ceraballs were a must. With this amp, that is.

Goran

 

LOL, Tullman I am the boss, I run my own Machine shop so when I have the urge to play I make tweaky things like this.

Yes, Triple I am aware of the Ceraball design. I liked what they did but did'nt like the fact they couldn't handle more than 65 lbs. so I made my own with a larger diameter shaft and O-Ring in the base, and 3/8 diameter ball bearing.
As you can see in the pic. I added O-rings to both the cap and base. The O-ring in the cap is Silicone and can handle very high temperatures. I use tungsten ball bearings for the set I am installing under my tube-amp, all the rest have ceramic ball bearings. They are all finished in a Black Anodized finish.
For those who like a more shiny silver appearance:

 

Gary, They just replaced the stock feet that came on the EAR 864 preamp. All of my gear has the stock feet , that will all change now.
Since I live in a high risk earthquake area I don't want to use cones. The Ceraball devices don't have the o-ring feature which both dampens the chassis and keeps the component in place. I shake the heck out of my audio rack and the preamp stays put, without the o-rings it goes all over the place.

 

Steve, the marble slabs are just to protect the hardwood floor from the spikes.

 

Well yeah it does kill the bass from being heard in the suite below me. A side benefit really.

 

Yes. Spikes couple the speakers to the ground (like the old 78rpm needles transmitted audio vibrations). They perform two functions:

1. Hold the speaker still
2. 'Drain' vibration from the speaker cabinet

The downside is that they cause the floor to vibrate and this may be particularly bad with a suspended wooden floor. The vibrations feedback to the equipment and the vibrating floor itself may muddy the sound.

Superballs work well as decoupling or isolating devices. They also hold the speakers still (unless pushed) but they reduce the floor's vibration.

Their downside is that there's no draining of the speaker's vibration.

All other supports can be analysed in the same way.

Marble and similar platforms offer a large mass to drain the speaker vibrations and, yes, they protect the floor from the spikes. The downside is that the marble has its own ringing qualities.

This decoupling/isolation business starts with how the drive units are fixed to the speakers and is affected by the cabinet weight and design, whether the speakers are floorstanders or stand-mounts (and, if so, the coupling between speaker and stand) the frequency range of the speaker and the amount of its vibration, the type of flooring and the way the rest of the equipment is supported.

The reason that we're having this debate is because there are no fixed answers. With so many variables, different setups will need different solutions. Anyone who says they have the answer probably hasn't.

Anyway, that's my understanding so far but I'm learning all the time and hey, what do I know? I'm only a speaker designer.

Goodnight from the other side of the pond.

 

Hey VA I live behind Prospect HS off Saratoga Avenue.
We should hook up some time.
Metralla lives around here also.

 

I would venture to say that all this isolation of the speaker from the floor that is being recommended may actually be a detriment to bass propagation. There is something to "feeling" the bass that cannot be discounted. If you can just keep this bass vibration from impacting your other components, you will be better off than you would be by eliminating it altogether IMO. Try it both ways and make up your own mind..

 

Good morning colonials.

Now you're talking. You might need a fair few superballs/bolts to support the weight and avoid the dreaded 'superball breakup' but I honestly think this approach is worth a try. What does it cost?

So far we have been discussing mechanical transmission of vibration. It would be remiss of me not to now mention airborne vibrations and Helmholtz Resonators.

A Helmholtz Resonator is where something hums at a particular frequency - like when you blow over the top of a coke bottle. Its importance is that at the resonant frequency you can get mucho sound for little energy.

Airborne vibration may have the effect of feeding back to the equipment just like mechanical. However, it can also cause pieces of equipment to hum at certain frequencies. More relevant here is that the cavity of your hollow floor could also act as a bass resonator. I suggest that, if it's possible, you stuff the floor with something absorbent - dense pillows, sand-bags or bodies could all do the trick here. The stuffing will be most effective if placed in the middle of the cavity (where the velocity of the standing waves is highest).

Randy, like you, I'm a proponent of trying, listening and then deciding. As I said, there are so many different components here that there are no 'one way fits all' solutions.

Hey guys, I realize that some of these suggestions may be a little unconventional, even 'off the wall' and certainly 'off the floor'. However, my experiences in speaker design have taught me that there may be genuine value in thinking out of the box.

Must go now - time for my pills.

 

Steve and Gary, I missing something here. Where/how do the bolts fit into the picture, are you suggesting bolt the superballs to the floor, then place the stone on top?

 

I was guessing that Gary meant to use large bolts as cups to keep the superballs from moving.

 

I think you mean nuts, because the nuts have holes. errr... does this sound bad?

 

Good point. I guess we'll have to wait for Gary to clarify.

 

Ok, so from the floor up we are talking nuts, superballs, patio stones, spikes, and speakers Gary or...?

 

Oh, I thought it might add stability.

Are you using them whole or cut in half Gary?