Vibrations induced from loudspeakers can turn the surfaces of a room into unwanted delayed sound radiating sources. Vibrations can also induce noise in the output of sensitive electronics such as turntables.
The patent pending design of our Carbide Base and Carbide Base Micro audio isolation feet control and isolate these vibrations in all six degrees of freedom when placed under your audio electronics and loudspeakers.
Separate upper and lower portions are designed to optimize vibration isolation and dissipation in vertical and horizontal directions.
The upper portion utilizes an aluminum housing machined to accept a specially formulated viscoelastic member called ViscoRing™. The ViscoRing™ acts as a damped spring supporting the equipment while isolating it from vertically oriented vibrations. It is replaceable depending on the intended supporting weight range. Carbide Base Micro utilizes 3 smaller Micro ViscoRings™ to minimize size.
The lower portion incorporates zirconia ball bearings and viscoelastic elements to enhance horizontal isolation and damping. The large bearings roll on raceways formed from polished hardened steel to minimize rolling resistance. The bottom can be unscrewed to facilitate height adjustment. Optional spikes can be used to pierce through carpet.
When it comes to viscoelastic materials providing isolation, more is not necessarily better. It is the low ratio of surface area supporting weight to the surface area free to bulge outward which is important for improving isolation performance. The term for this ratio is Shape Factor. The lower the Shape Factor, the greater the potential degree of isolation.
Carbide Base audio isolation feet implement viscoelastic materials with Shape Factors lower than most previous designs. The tubular shape of the ViscoRing™ and Micro ViscoRings™ maximizes the surface area that is free to bulge. This yields a Shape Factor around half of the lower limit traditionally used for elastomeric isolators. The low shape factor is made possible by the patent pending design of the footers. Ridges within the upper portions progressively brace the viscoelastics as they compresses to stabilize them while leaving a substantial surface area free to bulge.
The Sapphire and Diamond versions of the Carbide Base footers incorporate an additional ball bearing isolator insert in the top of the footer. These special inserts utilize extremely hard bearing raceways to further improve isolation performance. The modular design of the footer allows the standard versions of the footers to be upgraded at any time.
Carbide Base footers can be optionally mounted to equipment and loudspeakers using commonly available flat head machine screws. Metric thread sizes from M4 to M10 and imperial sizes from #8-32 to 1/2″-13 can be used. A stainless steel jam bolt is provided to thread in behind the screw to secure it in place. A bolt kit including screws for 8 footers is available.
The top of the jam bolt has a threaded hole to optionally accept a spike to point upwards for maximum coupling to the supported equipment. The hole can also accept the tip of a spike when used under loudspeakers.
"I really enjoyed playing with the Carbide Bases and seeing how they could improve–without question–the clarity, transparency and overall performance of my audio system. Highly recommended."
"The exceptional way Carbide Audio handled the lower registers anchored the orchestra’s energy with vigorous dynamism, lifelike forward motion, and a far better foundation of sonic architecture."
"Same sound. Higher potency. I think that best captures it."
"These are the best anti-vibration feet I've ever heard."
"Bass cleaned up even more, my small knots of structural striations vanished and floor-borne involvement felt eradicated. On a good day I'd expected that, just not this much. What came as a shock? The entire system's noise floor seemed to have fallen."
"We have probably never noticed a change after putting on feet or pads so significantly."
"Elevated O2 content, increased imaging size, wider dynamic range and sensible instrumental/vocal closeness were uniformly positive changes rather than shifts to the side."
"The Carbide Base Footers deliver as advertised, adroitly ameliorating vibration, clarifying and refining the aural imaging of high fidelity speakers—especially in the bass region."
The ultimate in vibration isolation and damping.
Weight Capacity per Footer with Installed ViscoRing™
Exceptional isolation performance in a compact form.
Weight Capacity per Footer with Installed Micro ViscoRing™
Conventional floor spikes under loudspeakers transmit a significant amount of vibration energy into the floor throughout the bass and midrange frequencies. Many traditional vibration isolation devices will provide isolation at higher frequencies but exhibit an amplification of vibrations in the lower frequencies near the natural frequency of the device.
The Carbide Base footers excel in their ability to effectively both isolate and damp the lowest audible frequencies. Low frequencies are important to isolate as they travel with little impedance throughout the room structure and equipment, degrading audio fidelity along the way. The reduction of these structure-borne vibrations improves midrange clarity and bass extension by reducing the masking effect brought on by room structure noise. This reduction in noise transmission provides equally important improvements in the high frequencies.
Horizontal vibration energy transmitted from a 2-way loudspeaker into a 3.6 kg (8 lbs.) weight placed on top of the loudspeaker. Measurements were taken with the weight on 3 floor spikes and then with the weight on a Carbide Base footer with a Super Light ViscoRing™ installed. Horizontal acceleration was measured with a ACH-01 sensor, 10 dB gain, using 30 Hz to 8 kHz log swept sine excitation.
Loss factor, or tangent delta, is a measure of how much vibration energy is dissipated through a conversion to heat due to the phenomenon of hysteresis. A loss factor of 0 indicates a perfectly elastic material where the oscillating force of a vibration occurs in-phase (at the same time) with the accompanying deformation of the material. A loss factor of 1 indicates a perfectly viscous material where the force and deformation are exactly 90 degrees out of phase resulting in total dissipation of vibration energy to heat.
The viscoelastic materials utilized in Carbide Base footers are engineered to have an exceptionally high loss factor over a wide frequency range. The larger ViscoRings™ in the Carbide Base footer have the highest loss factors, followed closely by the smaller Micro ViscoRings™ in the Carbide Base Micro footer.
The vibration dissipation ability of a Carbide Base footer is significant enough to measurably subdue resonances in equipment being supported. The graphs below show low frequency vibrations in the panels of a test loudspeaker enclosure as measured using a calibrated accelerometer. Dips and spikes in panel acceleration indicating resonances are effectively damped when the same measurement is taken with Carbide Base footers placed under the loudspeaker.
Loudspeaker panel acceleration measured with a ACH-01 sensor, 10 dB gain, using 35 to 150 Hz log swept sine excitation. The measurements on Carbide Base footers are shown in blue. The measurements on floor spikes directly on the concrete floor are shown in red. See the Vibration Dissipation Measurements for details.
Instructions for the removal and installation a ViscoRing™ inside the Carbide Base footer.
Instructions for installing bolts onto the Carbide Base footer. This allows the Carbide Base footer to screw into speakers and equipment in place of spikes or stock footers.
Instructions for upgrading a standard Carbide Base audio footer to Carbide Base Sapphire or Carbide Base Diamond.
