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40mm x 10mm Carbon Fiber Discs

104.14.166.252

Posted on February 18, 2017 at 15:35:59
bcowen
Audiophile

Posts: 1076
Location: North Carolina
Joined: December 19, 2015
These are the carbon fiber discs Duster recommended in a post a couple weeks ago. I ordered them on 2/5 and they arrived today. 2 weeks is most acceptable for a shipment from China (I was expecting a longer wait), and they arrived simply but effectively packaged. Very nice quality too. Thanks for the info and recommendation, Duster!

I paid $14 per set of 4...I see the price is now $22 for a set of 4. Duster must have caused a demand spike that caused a price increase. :)




 

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Which kind of Carbon ist this ?, posted on February 28, 2017 at 11:53:03
horst
Audiophile

Posts: 103
Joined: April 24, 2004
Just curious; carbon fibre is just a thin layer , held together by a bonding agent .

Cheap carbon products consist of up to 90% of glue, and are for appearance only .
There's little to no vibration dissipation with those things .

Are those discs optimized for Audio use, with a carefully designed weave pattern, or just the usual Chines pile of glue with some Carbon leftovers thrown in ?

 

RE: Which kind of Carbon ist this ?, posted on February 28, 2017 at 15:36:22
bcowen
Audiophile

Posts: 1076
Location: North Carolina
Joined: December 19, 2015
I'm certainly no expert on carbon fiber. These discs are 3/8" thick, and as best I can see there's about 10 layers making up that thickness. Are they optimized for audio use? Probably not, or they would likely be 10 times the price.

 

Similar Carbon Fiber Composite Disc Product, posted on March 4, 2017 at 16:30:08
Duster
Manufacturer

Posts: 17117
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: August 25, 2002



Image: BDR LM Disc Carbon Fiber Isolation Pad

The design of the 40mm x 10mm Carbon Fiber Disc appears to be identical to the BDR LM Disc Carbon Fiber Isolation Pad priced at $29 each via MusicDirect. However, the size of the BDR product is a smaller 38.1mm x 8.7mm (1.5" x 0.34") disc, whereas the somewhat larger generic 40mm x 10mm Carbon Fiber Disc is priced at $3.50 each when purchased as a quantity of 8 via eBay. If the the sonic benefit of the BDR product is trustworthy, I can only report that I find the 40mm x 10mm Carbon Fiber Disc to be an effective vibration control device, which requires very little cash outlay including the anti-skid, mild decoupling pads that make it an effective and practical vibration control device, IME.

As for the use of "glue", a resin material is what makes the use of carbon fiber for resonance control purposes possible. Resin impregnation is the "composite" aspect of a carbon fiber composite material. Otherwise, carbon fiber is useless without the use of resin within the structure of the design, including the vital aspect of rigidity.

For those with stand-mount monitors, I highly recommend that folks try a set of the 40mm x 10mm Carbon Fiber Discs with a 40mm Herbie's Audio Lab Thin grungebuster Dot (black version, with optional adhesive backing) adhered to both the top and the bottom of the disc. It's the best configuration I've tried as an interface between the bottom of a loudspeaker, and the top of a speaker stand, IME.

See link:

 

RE: Similar Carbon Fiber Composite Disc Product, posted on March 5, 2017 at 01:27:15
horst
Audiophile

Posts: 103
Joined: April 24, 2004
Thanks for the report, in the end all that matters are results .

I'm no expert in carbon either, but I'd like to point out that the to me, the Chinese offerings and the BRD product look nothing alike .

It's hard to judge from the available images , but the BRD pads look like layered carbon, while the other products look like they were cut from a pultruded carbon rod, and then covered on one side with a layer of carbon fiber .
That would basically be a graphite puck made to look fancy .

Now for audio gear, that might work as well or even better than a proper carbon fiber disk, it just isn't one .

As for resin, obviously it needs to be used with carbon fiber; the quality and quantity of the resin can vary a lot with carbon fiber products though .
Not to mention the quality of the carbon fiber itsself, weave patterns and fiber orientation .

Sorry for the nitpicking ;) .

 

RE: Similar Carbon Fiber Composite Disc Product, posted on March 5, 2017 at 05:43:36
bcowen
Audiophile

Posts: 1076
Location: North Carolina
Joined: December 19, 2015
I'm no expert in carbon either, but I'd like to point out that the to me, the Chinese offerings and the BRD product look nothing alike.

As long as we're nitpicking :), I don't know what pictures you're looking at, but the Music Direct picture of the BDR disc that Duster posted and the Chinese disc I have in my hands look exactly alike down to the layering of the carbon fiber. That's why I posted earlier that they appeared identical. Granted my iPhone can't clearly capture the detail of a professional product photo, but perhaps you could post the photos that you're comparing?


BDR disc photo from Music Direct:







Chinese disc photo from my iPhone:




 

RE: Similar Carbon Fiber Composite Disc Product, posted on March 4, 2017 at 16:54:57
bcowen
Audiophile

Posts: 1076
Location: North Carolina
Joined: December 19, 2015
From the Music Direct picture, the BDR discs look so perfectly identical to the Ebay/AliExpress sourced ones it certainly makes me wonder if they're all coming from the same manufacturer.

 

RE: Similar Carbon Fiber Composite Disc Product, posted on March 4, 2017 at 17:27:52
Duster
Manufacturer

Posts: 17117
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: August 25, 2002
I wouldn't doubt it. There are plenty of examples of seemingly knock-off Chinese manufactured products that are actually the same as what a higher-priced North American or European brand offers, especially their entry-level product lines that are sourced from Chinese manufacturers. I could list many audiophile products that are sourced from Chinese manufacturers based on Japanese and Western products that are re-branded as North American or European products. I wish this issue were not the case, but the reality of such a thing cannot be denied. From an end-user POV, the global economy is so convoluted that I feel little guilt about buying anything that offers the same quality at a lower price point, unless there is a level of blatant counterfeit fakery of poor quality involved in the matter, which needs to be recognized.

 

RE: Similar Carbon Fiber Composite Disc Product, posted on March 5, 2017 at 01:39:03
horst
Audiophile

Posts: 103
Joined: April 24, 2004
I agree, and there is nothing wrong with Chinese made products - they are usually as good or bad as the buyer / western reseller demands .

Cheap materials, poor quality control, for the lowest possible price, you can get that .
Decent quality, you can get that too, but you have to pay for it .

 

Yeah, gotta wonder what's betwen top & bottom., posted on February 28, 2017 at 13:28:45
This stuff is supposedly solid - sold by square inch. Think ya can customize orders, so round with a dimple may be a possibility.

 

RE: 40mm x 10mm Carbon Fiber Discs, posted on February 25, 2017 at 08:44:13
el34eh@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 1921
Location: Michigan
Joined: September 6, 2003

Great report bcowen,

As I've been using these for awhile as well. And can even say I've had good luck in using them with the surprisingly small Ebony footers like the ones Duster has shown above, which fit underneath several of my LPSs with ease, lesson learned........, always go with the ones listed as between 33-40mm from now on.

 

RE: 40mm x 10mm Carbon Fiber Discs, posted on February 21, 2017 at 15:20:44
welly
Audiophile

Posts: 1648
Location: QLD
Joined: January 22, 2001
I bought a set of these, which arrived about a week ago. Seem nicely made and a lot smaller than the images suggest...







Cheers

Welly

He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife.
- Douglas Adams



 

RE: 40mm x 10mm Carbon Fiber Discs, posted on February 20, 2017 at 10:04:05
Duster
Manufacturer

Posts: 17117
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: August 25, 2002
Glad they arrived in a timely manner, bcowen. How do you plan to use them?

BTW, $14 per set of four when purchased as a quantity of eight is available on eBay from this seller.

See link:

 

RE: 40mm x 10mm Carbon Fiber Discs, posted on February 20, 2017 at 18:04:52
bcowen
Audiophile

Posts: 1076
Location: North Carolina
Joined: December 19, 2015
I'm going to try the configuration you suggested with the BDR cones and Herbies Grungebusters. Only main difference is I'll be using Neuance shelves instead of the tonewood board(s). I'm using Herbies Tenderfeet under the transport and DAC and have been pleased with the result. Not to say things can't be improved from there, but I still have the factory feet under my amp and preamp (I know, I know, I should be ridiculed out of town) so these will be the first two pieces to experiment with. Both are Art Audio components, and both have substantially better feet on them than most components come with which is why I haven't really messed with them so far. But time to try something new.

 

RE: 40mm x 10mm Carbon Fiber Discs, posted on February 21, 2017 at 12:43:13
Duster
Manufacturer

Posts: 17117
Location: Pacific Northwest
Joined: August 25, 2002
I look forward to knowing your impressions of the footer. BTW, the way I place them under my component is two at the back at each corner, and one in the front. I haven't found placement to be very sensitive to where the cone tips actually make contact with the bottom of the enclosure, but when two are placed at the back, it provides better stability when audio cables and a power cord are connected at the back of the component.

 

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