Vibratory Code

Why do components, parts, pieces and mechanical structures sound different from each other?

It's because of the "Vibratory Code" they develop as atoms intermingle. We look at frequency values, but there are deeper involvement levels to look at than just the outcome value. We should also be looking at value changes that take place constantly in our systems because of conditions, environment and movement. The way your system is charged and active, both electrically and mechanically, makes up the sound you get. Which one is bigger, electrical or mechanical? They are one in the same and can not be separated from each others existence, but instead depend on each other.

Energies intermingle

As we are listening to our systems we are thinking of an audio chain that runs from one end to the other carrying the audio signal. What we are not thinking about are the atoms interactions while this is going on. As you have discovered changing anything mechanically anywhere along the audio signals pathway major changes happen to the sound. What are these changes? It's reconstructing the pathway, as if you were deciding between taking the Turnpike or the side roads. The audio signal/path is not this magical language that just appears and makes sense, it's an active process of mechanical and electrical design. When we see our systems as full of energy and conduits we can start to feel more comfortable in making sonic changes by using the energies themselves as part of the system. It would be a good thing to learn more about the parts that host and pass energy from the smallest to the biggest of values.

lets go a little deeper

Energy level

A quantum mechanical system or particle that is bound -- that is, confined spatially can only take on certain discrete values of energy. This contrasts with classical particles, which can have any energy. These discrete values are called energy levels. The term is commonly used for the energy levels of electrons in atoms or molecules, which are bound by the electric field of the nucleus, but can also refer to energy levels of nuclei, vibrational, rotational energy levels in molecules. The energy spectrum of a system with such discrete energy levels is said to be quantized (spherically harmonized).

If the potential energy is set to zero at infinite distance from the atomic nucleus or molecule, the usual convention, then bound electron states have negative potential energy.

If more than one quantum mechanical state is at the same energy, the energy levels are " degenerate ". They are then called degenerate energy levels. In quantum theory this usually pertains to electronic configurations and the electron's energy levels, where different possible occupation states for particles may be related by symmetry.

Explanation

Quantized energy levels result from the relation between a particle's energy and its wavelength. For a confined particle such as an electron in an atom, the wave function has the form of standing waves. Only stationary states with energies corresponding to integral numbers of wavelengths can exist; for other states the waves interfere destructively, resulting in zero probability density. Yes, standing waves happen on a molecular levels as well. This explains distortion from dampening and over mass proportions.

Molecules

Chemical bonds between atoms in a molecule form because they make the situation more stable for the involved atoms, which generally means the sum energy level for the involved atoms in the molecule is lower than if the atoms were not so bonded. As separate atoms approach each other to covalently bond, their orbitals affect each others energy levels to form bonding and anti-bonding molecular orbitals. The energy level of the bonding orbitals is lower, and the energy level of the anti-bonding orbitals is higher. For the bond in the molecule to be stable, the covalent bonding electrons occupy the lower energy bonding orbital. One becomes part of the other (signal path wise) as connections or expansion of the conduit.

A chemical bond is an attraction between atoms that allows the formation of chemical substances that contain two or more atoms. The bond is caused by the electromagnetic force attraction between opposite charges, either between electrons and nuclei, or as the result of a dipole attraction. The strength of chemical bonds varies considerably; there are "strong bonds" such as covalent or ionic bonds and "weak bonds" such as dipole-dipole interactions, the London dispersion force and hydrogen bonding.

Since opposite charges attract via a simple electromagnetic force, the negatively charged electrons orbiting the nucleus and the positively charged protons in the nucleus attract each other. Also, an electron positioned between two nuclei will be attracted to both of them. Thus, the most stable configuration of nuclei and electrons is one in which the electrons spend more time between nuclei, than anywhere else in space. These electrons cause the nuclei to be attracted to each other, and this attraction results in the bond. However, this assembly cannot collapse to a size dictated by the volumes of these individual particles. Due to the matter wave nature of electrons and their smaller mass, they occupy a much larger amount of volume compared with the nuclei, and this volume occupied by the electrons keeps the atomic nuclei relatively far apart, as compared with the size of the nuclei themselves.

In general, strong chemical bonding is associated with the sharing or transfer of electrons between the participating atoms. The atoms in molecules, crystals, metals and diatomic gases— indeed most of the physical environment around us— are held together by chemical bonds, which dictate the structure of matter.

Energy level transitions

Electrons in atoms and molecules can change (make transitions in) energy levels by emitting or absorbing a photon (of electromagnetic radiation) whose energy must be exactly equal to the energy difference between the two levels. Electrons can also be completely removed from a chemical species such as an atom, molecule, or ion. Energy in corresponding opposite quantities can also be released, often in the form of photon energy, when electrons are added to positively-charged ions or sometimes atoms. Molecules can also undergo transitions in their vibrational or rotational energy levels. Energy level transitions can also be non-radiative, meaning emission or absorption of a photon is not involved.

If an atom, ion, or molecule is at the lowest possible energy level, it and its electrons are said to be in the ground state. If it is at a higher energy level, it is said to be excited, or any electrons that have higher energy than the ground state are excited. Such a species can be excited to a higher energy level by absorbing a photon whose energy is equal to the energy difference between the levels. Conversely, an excited species can go to a lower energy level by spontaneously emitting a photon equal to the energy difference. A photon's energy is equal to Planck's constant times its frequency and thus is proportional to its frequency, or inversely to its wavelength.

A transition in an energy level of an electron in a molecule may be combined with a vibrational transition and called a vibronic transition. A vibrational and rotational transition may be combined by rovibrational coupling. In rovibronic coupling, electron transitions are simultaneously combined with both vibrational and rotational transitions. Photons involved in transitions may have energy of various ranges in the electromagnetic spectrum, such as X-ray, ultraviolet, visible light, infrared, microwave radiation, or lower depending on the type of transition. In a very general way, energy level electronic states and vibrational levels can be overlap. Translational energy levels are practically continuous and can be calculated as kinetic energy using classical mechanics. On a bigger scale we can see why the dissipation rates of vibrations should not be dampened before reaching a secure harmonic balance.

Higher temperature causes fluid atoms and molecules to move faster increasing their translational energy and can thermally excite (nonradiatively) polyatomic molecules to a higher average distribution of vibrational and rotational energy levels. This means as temperature rises, translational, vibrational, and rotational contributions to molecular heat capacity let molecules absorb heat and hold more internal energy. Conduction of heat typically occurs as molecules or atoms collide transferring the heat between each other. At even higher temperatures, electrons can be thermally excited to higher energy orbitals in atoms or molecules.

The Vibratory Code is energy at work in audio's mechanical parts. You might even call it a variable constant. On one hand the parts are the same as we know them from our view down, but from an atom up these parts are needing to be tuned to prevent distortion of any language (signal) passing through it. Distortion is the plus or minus of any signal that is done without a faithful harmonic structure. In other words being in tune.

In high end audio we tend to move much too quick, not giving things a chance to settle into a dependable value. Learning how to treat the system as moving parts can make or break the sound. For example: when you hear your system get bright it almost always means you are not letting things settle or you have some kind of blockage going on.

I spend as much time listening to parts settle as I do tweaking. Or maybe I should say "settling is tweaking".

Here's something that you may not have thought about. As you change the air pressure in the room you are also changing the way the amplifier is driving the speakers. If the speaker has to be driven harder because of how the pressure effects the mechanics of the speaker the system will sound less loud. The oposite is true if the speaker is easier to drive. Any room change actually changes the performance of the whole system and therefore the system has to have a little time to resettle. How much time depends on how versed you are at hearing harmonics develop and knowing which direction the system is going in. This is a learned thing and takes time and patience.

vibration and oscillation

First thing we need to look at once accepting the facts of energy, is the shape. Next thing is the movement. This helps us see waves, vibrations and fields in action.



The vibratory code of any material is always in motion. Meaning your audio signal is always in motion. Your not going to separate the movement of physics from the audio language being passed through your equipment. Your equipment and every part of your equipment is vibrating and should be cause this is what holds matter together.

the molecule


there are 4 states of matter


Each of these have two things in common, movement and a root shape of spherical.

We call the motion of molecules "energy". In the audio realm this energy is always producing a spherical oscillation to the mechanics of the parts hosting the passing signal. This creates vibrations and fields. These vibrations become part of the natural order of "fair exchange".



here's what is going on with the simplist part of the audio chain, the signal conduit



Sometimes it's hard to look at a material and understand it's interaction with the matter around that mass, but that area and energy around any conduit has a big influence on how the signal passes through the material.

What we found in our testing is not only did the type of material touching the conduit affect the signal but so did the amount of material touching the conduit. What we found is the materials and environment near the conduit became a part of the sound. And became predictable in how it affected the sound.

our cable/mass tests



chassis mass tests



The heavy chassis sounded distorted as compared to no chassis. In recording tests of a guitar in sustained oscillation the image of the guitar lasting 7 seconds with no chassis, and only 3 seconds with the same recording with the heavy chassis.

The same results happened when applying any kind of dampening to the chassis or directly to the wire or component parts or circuit board. Recorded sustain oscillation times shortened and caused a black or fuzzy hole in the stage around the instrument. As a result we realize that the audio signal is variable and if we open up the signal then apply transfer tuning to the mechanics we can adjust the sound much like musical instruments do with tention.

Once we realized that the signal was variable we set out to design products that allowed us to put the signal in tune with it's original state.

We found that transfering the vibration to a better proportioned "tuning board" through the use of "tuning rods" did a far better job of putting the vibratory code in balance (tune). We also found that sending vibrations up along with gravity gave us even more control over the signal, turning the parts into finely tuned intruments.



With this design the a true sizing of the recorded soundstage can be made along with far more of the recorded signal being reveal that is not possible through a standard chassis type setup.

Now simple audio designs begin to out perform the complicated ones, and the goal to high end audio is changed from many parts to the few. Parts that are able to vibrate instead of over built componentry.

Vibrations Bigger Picture

In 1980's I discovered something I didn't know before, or should I say I knew but wasn't able to put it all together because of not having a chance to experience it in the making before at this level. If you have all of the parts to a system in free resonant mode (vibrating freely) and if the room is able to display this, the parts and pieces of the system will play off of each other.

I was miking in the middle of the Atlanta Symphony when I heard this for the first time with strings.

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra



I've heard it with drums before but not a string section. During practice for an up coming concert I raised my head to a level just above the string section, and was able to hear the instruments playing off of each other. It was very strange, and was like a sea of harmonics. I could hear exactly where each insrument was and how the violin would play off of the cello. But it was much more than this. The violin "was" playing the cello   . This seems impossible I know but I had some friends in the orchestra demo this for me. We took a viola, violin and cello and surrounded a cello that was sitting against a chair. I sat right infront of the un-maned cello maybe a foot away, and when the other instruments played I could hear the lone cello play with the others.



  The lights came on for me and I went back to my audio store and tore apart a Superphon pre & amp and my player, and sat there pretty much as shocked as I was at practice. It took me years to put this all together in my brain cause I wanted to hang on the the notion of high end audio, but on the side I kept coming back to this somehow by default till I finally gave in to the fact that the audio signal was much more powerful than I was giving credit to. This was not the beginning of my tuning journey but it was when I realized that there was a far bigger picture here to explore than what the industry was offering, or even  knew about.