The Fallacy Behind The "Isolation" of Components

Below is a quoted post that I put up in response to questions by TuneLand member Matt Marquardt. Both Matt and TuneLand member Doug are providing some very thought provoking questions to which everyone who is tuning their system should give considerable thought:

Below are some of my thoughts on racks in response to questions from Matt:



Matt Marquardt wrote:
Hi guys,

I was thinking about what you guys were talking about here yesterday with regard to getting each component into its own individual little rack. This of course is a great idea but I wonder if this step would have any value for someone who has their components located within their listening room?

Doug, if I remember correctly you plan to have a dedicated equipment room for your "peacable kingdom", so by all means go for it. This would be the ultimate! For most of us though, people like Roy and me who have their equipment located in the listening room with them, acoustical and mechanical vibrations from the room will make their way into your components regardless of which set up you use. In other words, I would think it would be fruitless to try to separate your components from each other, if they're still going to be influenced by the sympathetic vibrations going on in your room. Especially since in any given system, these are the strongest vibrations of all!!!

This is exactly why components usually come with some sort of rubberized feet, and why the industry continues to push the idea of isolation. It is also why I briefly considered the Idea of having my own dedicated equipment room, but in my current situation it just isn't practical. Besides I Kind of like the idea of being in the listening room while trying to make adjustments. While I'm sure a dedicated equipment room would produce superior results, I just figure that when I use my rack to tune a component, I'm tuning all of the vibrations both native and sympathetic.

What do you guys think?



Michael wrote:
Hi Matt,

I've had a system in the room taken down to the level Doug is talking about for over 20 years. I have one set up this way in Listening Area # 1. It does blow away the other systems doing it this way, but people should set it up the way they want to. I'm only here to help guide you.

Note: You want your system to vibrate (a lot). Those vibrations are harmonics.

As far as the rubber feet goes, this was not done by research or listening. This was done to protect the furniture. There are very few high end companies who have gotten this far, believe it or not. Remember, the "cone" was not even introduced until 20 years ago. If you read Stereo Review and Audio magazine, 12 years ago you will see that the reviewers believed all CD players sounded the same and that all amplifiers with the same specs sounded the same.

You're giving these guys way to much credit there Matt Wink They're not as much up on sound as you might think. Sorry, I'm sure the other guys will tell you the same thing.

See ya. Wink


"Hi Matt,

"You definitely are giving the industry a lot more credit than they deserve when it comes to building components and their research with "listening". Without mentioning names, do you know that one of the most highly regarded designers of amps and preamps (very, very expensive) proclaims that he designs by "spec" only and never listens to his designs? Okay, a little hint -- the company name starts with an "L".

"Matt, these "vibrations" as you call them are a part of the audio signal. Think about it. Where did they come from? Where was the energy generated to produce them? They didn't just appear out of thin air. Are you aware that mechanical vibrations leaving the bottom cones on your rack then travel across and through the floor and, if you have floor standing PZCs (or a SAM), are picked up by these PZCs (just like the wall PZCs also do) and converted back into acoustical energy for your soundstage? Are you sure you would want to do anything to impede this process? Do you now see what these rubber feet are doing and why horizontal setups would be best?

"There is no such thing as "isolation". There is only "coupling". Even air "couples". Thump a rubber inner tube and what do you hear? Correct, a resonant tone. Ever try the Bright Star sand boxes? Place a component on top of one and play your system. Place your hand on the shelf below the sandbox and you will feel "vibrations" in the shelf from the component. There is no isolation going on here -- just some dampening. Do rubber tires or shock absorbers on your car prevent vibrations from the road reaching your driver's seat? Well, the auto industry pays a lot more attention to vibration and finely tuned cars (and motorcycles) tune their suspensions to the engines and vice versa so that the entire vehicle is in "tune".

"Because of living space restrictions, I have always had my audio components in the same room as my speakers. Even with a dedicated component room, if your system and room parts are not "balanced", you will not get better results just because you have a separate component room. Both the component room and the listening room must be "balanced" and set up correctly -- acoustically, mechanically and electrically.

"Actually, even before the 'cone', the British were experimenting with spikes underneath loudspeakers back in the 80s if you read any of the British hi fi magazines back them. I experimented with spiking my Dahlquist DQ-10A's back then by using 'nails' placed into their bottoms and then placing the speakers on top of their dedicated platforms. I even experimented with "nails" in the bases of the platforms. And, yes, it did make a huge improvement. That's when I moved onto cones when 'Tip Toes' by The Mod Squad came out with their aluminum cones. This really started the component "coupling" revolution in audio. But, as quickly as the cone appeared, so did Sorbothane and then Navcom (both "rubber" type devices). In the late 80s, they even started making rubber (Navcom) "bands" to go around the edges of CDs. Did these bands ever "dampen" vibrations and harmonics in the music Exclamation.

"So, this whole concept of 'isolation' is really bogus and has never really been given a whole lot of careful thought or research, until Michael started distributing cones. He even used marbles as coupling devices on his first AmpClamps Exclamation. But, here on TuneLand we are going much further than this industry has ever gone, until now, when it comes to component and room setup. So, don't try to rationalize the concepts of "isolation" nor try to figure them out because you will be starting out with an erroneous premise.

"If you spread things out horizontally, do you think things will vibrate more or less, and why? If you can answer this question (and you can), you will understand why horizontal setups are the optimal setups. Unless we are fortunate enough to have space and can build separate component rooms, either way, horizontal setups, using multiple racks, are always best. They will tune much easier than vertical setups with many components placed in one rack. The 'weight' alone from all the components (setup in one vertical rack) will restrict the rack’s ability to vibrate which in turn will restrict the components ability to vibrate, etc., down to the parts ability to vibrate."
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Jim Bookhard