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Critical locations for damping.

Posted by Al Sekela (A) on February 22, 2010 at 14:26:05

In Reply to: RE: Dielectrics are a matter of sonic taste. posted by H5011 on February 22, 2010 at 02:21:56:

Vibrations are a fact of life in audio gear. Where we get the most trouble is when the equipment exhibits resonance. Think of the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse, where the suspension bridge design was made so light and without bracing that it exhibited a rocking resonance. Things were fine until a strong wind set up eddies in the air flow that happened to match the bridge resonance frequency, and the bridge was destroyed. The film of this is posted online in several places. See link for one of them.

A little damping in critical locations can kill the resonances for most vibration circumstances. This could be why you found a large effect with installation of what seemed to be insignificant amounts of damping.

George Cardas has made avoidance of overlapping resonant modes a fundamental design principle. Overlapping modes are more difficult to damp. His setup advice for speakers is a good way to start (look under his Insights page).

Electrical isolation is also possible but I think it is unlikely, as most stuff attached to the chassis is grounded in several ways.

I'll look forward to your photos, thanks.

• Youtube film of bridge collapse.   (Open in New Window)

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