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In Reply to: Is there any "best" ball bearing material for isolation . . posted by John PA on October 19, 2004 at 17:04:53:
Some of the common ball bearings include the usual chromium type, glass, Tungsten carbide, etc.In a situation like Symposium Rollerblocks, Tungsten definitely gives you more detailed, cleaner, denser sound compared to Chromium. However, the downside is a bit of harder sound, less bloom. Glass didn't sound so good to me compared to either.
So as usual, you have to take system synergy into consideration..
Follow Ups:
You gotta find what works for your ears in your system.I would avoid glass, however. Glass is not a very audiophile friendly material in general - its resonant properties tend to cause more problems than they cure. There would, of course, be cases where these properties would be exactly what a system needs, but, you will probably have trouble finding a sufficiently round glass ball (especially compared to any hard metals), and glass has a tendency to flow (just look at any old glass window pane).
I love the sound of brass balls in my system, but being a softer material, the balls are more delicate than others. I have some that work well, but I also have several that have some defects large enough to disrupt their effectiveness (I believe they may have gotten dinged up in shipping, as they were shipped in a plastic bag, not protected from one another). I haven't had the chance to try tungsten carbide, but many report good results with them. I do recall seeing a favorable report for a type of ceramic - silicon nitride, and if I do recall correctly, the user had switched from tungsten carbide and liked the ceramic better.
Another thing to consider is ball size. Size does matter. In my experience (with my DIY rollers), larger balls give smoother mids and highs, while smaller balls yield better bass. This makes sense to me, since larger balls are less affected by bearing surface imperfections, and therefore provide better isolation. The smaller balls do a better job of vertical coupling, which I've found always improves bass (not just with rollers, but anywhere two objects supporting components are vertically coupled). Do keep in mind that these observations are with my DIY rollers, which undoubtedly are less perfect than precision made rollers. YMMV.
-Pete
Hi Pete,One of the issues with glass balls is that glass flexes, hence absorbing some of the energy that should be put toward rolling the ball.
My first "Econo" roller bearings had wooden, Easter egg holder bases and used glass marbles. These definitely worked, showing the concept of roller bearings as a valid means of improving component performance (or more correctly, removing some of the things that inhibit component performance). But chrome steel in the same bases worked better and switching to a 7075 base worked better still.
I have tried Tungsten Carbide and to my ears it clearly offered the best roller bearing performance I've heard to date. But some bases with Chrome steel balls outperform other bases with Tungsten Carbide, suggesting that given a ball of sufficient hardness and sphericity, the quality of the base (its resonant characteristics and "Q" as well as bowl shape and smoothness) makes a larger difference.
Happy Listening!
Barry
Would these be considered a ball-bearing isolation device? Anyone with any experience using them??Bill
I have Ceraballs but I prefer my DIY Rollerblocks. Many local hifi enthusiasts use them and are very satisfied (because they haven't tried Rollerblocks?). They were the first equipment feet that I listened to and they convinced me that feet do make a difference.As you can see, the idea is totally different from rollerblocks. The ball is ceramic. It is extremely light and so smooth and slippery that it is almost impossible to hold it between fingers. I believe it would make a great ball for rollerblocks as it is so light that it doesn't storage any kinetic or potential energy (compared to heavy steel balls).
Is there any rolling motion in the Creaball design? It appears from the photo that the ball is captive in the dimple.
No rolling. The ball fits to the dimple tightly.http://www.finite-elemente.de/e,,products,ceraball,topcap.html
Thanks for the link DIAR. I don't get what function the ball serves in this design. Does the geometry of a sphere have some special properties(other than being able to roll)? It looks to be a coupling device, much like a cone. I might not be getting it. The web site really doesn't say much about the ball or why they use it at all other than the fact that it's ceramic and they seem to feel it has some advantage due to that. Perhaps the dissimilar materials in contact offer some advantave over a solid cone?
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