Andy Evans wrote:

Following on from previous posts where I found that various damping
materials affected the sound of my Pioneer CDP used as transport only (I
have an outboard DAC), I've found the same with the CD-Rom I'm now using.
I went over to the CD-Rom because the build was more sturdy and there
seemed to be a better sound in it, which started to happen when I swapped
the switch-mode power supply for a normal toroid PSU. That's the story so
far Latest step was to bolt the CD-Rom down to a 10mm slab of aluminium
9.5" by 6.5". This after seeing the Flatfish which is exactly that. It's
sitting on the carpet as I write - haven't tried any fancy feet yet!
Well, the sound is very noticeably clearer. A CD-Rom vibrates quite a bit
in your hand, so I guess this is dampening it usefully. The most
noticeable thing is that louder passages are less congested and shouty -
they have soothed out audibly.
Now I have no idea why resonances affect CD transports, but this is
without any doubt what I'm hearing - change the damping, change the sound.
I suppose this is back to the debate whether 'bits are bits' or whether
the signal is complex and affected by other factors.
Since it isn't hard to try, maybe somebody else would like to replicate
bolting a CD-rom down to a 10mm slab of alu? I wonder if the measurements
would be different on any parameters. Andy


No doubt these will be available soon from all good snake oil outlets.

IAn

--
Ian Bell

No doubt these will be available soon from all good snake oil outlets.


We're talking engineering here - Fays metals, Chiswick. The difference is quite
audible, as I said, so I'm interested in knowing how resonance dampening
affects CD transports. Andy.

=== Andy Evans ===
Visit our Website:- http://www.artsandmedia.com
Audio, music and health pages and interesting links.

On 05 Nov 2004 22:27:54 GMT, ohawker (Andy
Evans) wrote:

No doubt these will be available soon from all good snake oil outlets.


We're talking engineering here - Fays metals, Chiswick. The difference is quite
audible, as I said, so I'm interested in knowing how resonance dampening
affects CD transports. Andy.

Perhaps you need two transports, two identical CD-Rs, and a bit of
time to try a DBT, before rushing off on what's likely a wild goose
chse.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

In article ,
Andy Evans wrote:
We're talking engineering here - Fays metals, Chiswick.

You're talking engineering *materials*, not engineering.

The difference is quite audible, as I said, so I'm interested in knowing
how resonance dampening affects CD transports.

It can only have an effect if the transport is subjected to external
vibration sufficient to make it miss-track in some way.

--
*Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

The difference is quite audible, as I said, so I'm interested in knowing how
resonance dampening affects CD transports.

It can only have an effect if the transport is subjected to external vibration
sufficient to make it miss-track in some way.(DP)

Why not internal vibration? This is considerably larger than anything external.
As I've said, the effect of damping the motor vibrations by fixing it to an alu
slab is most audible in highly modulated passages. This should give a clue to
something. Andy

=== Andy Evans ===
Visit our Website:- http://www.artsandmedia.com
Audio, music and health pages and interesting links.

In article ,
Andy Evans wrote:
It can only have an effect if the transport is subjected to external
vibration sufficient to make it miss-track in some way.(DP)

Why not internal vibration? This is considerably larger than anything
external. As I've said, the effect of damping the motor vibrations by
fixing it to an alu slab is most audible in highly modulated passages.
This should give a clue to something.

The only clue it gives me is that you're endowing digital apparatus with
analogue symptoms.

--
*Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how it remains so popular?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

I have no wish to 'endow' (DP) anything. I'm reporting less distortion in
highly modulated passages when a transport is damped. So far I've had no
explanation. I don't mind if this is outside the subjective technical knowledge
of posters - our knowledge always has its limits.

=== Andy Evans ===
Visit our Website:- http://www.artsandmedia.com
Audio, music and health pages and interesting links.

Andy Evans wrote:

I have no wish to 'endow' (DP) anything. I'm reporting less distortion in
highly modulated passages when a transport is damped. So far I've had no
explanation. I don't mind if this is outside the subjective technical knowledge
of posters - our knowledge always has its limits.

You are using a cdrom drive and an external DAC?

How about a little experiment:

Fit it into a PC.
Copy an audio track as a .wav file with and without damping,
then repeat with your stereo system playing some heavy metal
turned up to 11.

Alternatively connect the digital output to a soundcard with
digital input.

I would be interested to find whether there was a bit of difference
between the files.

--
Eiron.

In article ,
Andy Evans wrote:
I have no wish to 'endow' (DP) anything. I'm reporting less distortion
in highly modulated passages when a transport is damped. So far I've had
no explanation. I don't mind if this is outside the subjective technical
knowledge of posters - our knowledge always has its limits.

Rather a patronising statement since it also assumes you've discovered
something the designers of the device didn't understand either.

You're reporting what you *think* you've heard. Until you can support it
with proper repeatable and verifiable results, it remains just that.

--
*Wrinkled was not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 06 Nov 2004 11:27:16 GMT, ohawker (Andy
Evans) wrote:

I have no wish to 'endow' (DP) anything. I'm reporting less distortion in
highly modulated passages when a transport is damped.

No, you're reporting that you *think* something is happening. You have
as yet shown no indication that anything *real* is occuring.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering