Here are some salient features from Joe's White Paper
Loudspeakers are transmission towers that convert electrical signals to vibration. Using the air that surrounds us, they turn the listening room into an intense energy field consisting exclusively of vibration. When we listen to music, we are sitting in an intense vibrating energy field that you can hear and feel. The amount of vibration we consume when listening is miniscule; for the purpose of hearing, we only consume the energy that enters our auditory canal. The rest of it is loose everywhere in the room; the air, the floor, the walls, the ceiling and the components vibrate in sympathy to the vibrations coming from the loudspeakers.
Constrained Layer Damping used in Critical Mass Systems can be defined as a specifically sequenced array of pressurized and non-pressurized materials within a precisely dimensioned encasement where the sequence of materials lowers natural frequency and additionally manages broad bandwidth, multi-directional mechanical waves released by loudspeakers into the air to greatly reduce vibration in components.
Unlike manufacturers that fabricate isolation systems in narrow weight ranges to avoid material failures, Critical Mass Systems are patented (US patent 7,290,759) systems that avoid this major limitation. Our constrained layer damping systems use the same Laws of Physics as isolation systems but have the benefit of supporting equipment in very broad weight ranges; typically from 1 pound to 300 pounds without adjustments or concerns about center of gravity. Higher load limits are possible.
Critical Mass Systems’ designs are based on a range of Laws and principals within physics including, but not limited to, the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics, Elastic Modulus and the thin rod speed of sound through metals at the molecular level. Elastic Modulus and thin rod speed of sound are utilized at the molecular level and at the atomic level to select materials in our rack architecture. The First and Second Law of Thermodynamics are used predominantly in our filter system construction; however Elastic Modulus and thin rod speed of sound are also as important in the sequencing and application of damping materials.
Critical Mass Systems chooses specific metals used for its rack architecture with respect to their elastic modulus and thin rod speed to ensure even energy transfer throughout the rack architecture thus transferring vibration into the filter systems at predictable frequencies and velocities. This greatly reduces energy spikes that can otherwise propagate through the filter systems and degrade the performance of electrical circuitry and mechanical devices such as turntables and transports causing audible degradation of the output signal.
Elastic Modulus is a mathematical description of a substance's tendency to be deformed elastically when force is applied to it. The elastic modulus of an object is defined as the slope of its stress-strain curve in its elastic deformation region: as such, a stiffer material will have a higher elastic modulus. The elastic modulus of a material is directly related to the degree to which it propagates and/or reflects energy as vibrations are applied to it.
Vertical legs and horizontal supports are high purity (96% to 99%), solutionized, stress-relieved, stretched and artificially aged aluminum alloy – 10 X 106 psi (69 GPA), with a thin rod speed of approximately 5,014 m/s.
Spikes and connectors are high purity (99%) titanium alloy – 15 X 106 psi (105 GPA), with a thin rod speed of approximately 5,090 m/s.
Fixed balls interfacing to filter systems are sintered tungsten alloy – 98 X 106 psi (550 GPA), with a thin rod speed of approximately 6,220 m/s.
Internal damping material is augmented by a metal alloy - 17 X 106 psi (117 GPA), with a thin rod speed of approximately 3,810 m/s.
Our patented filter systems possess a specific internal structural arrangement deigned to manage the transfer of vibration (mechanical energy) from the rack into the filter and from the component into the filter. It is important to note that the filter is not an isolation system in the classic sense as it does not prevent the transmission of vibration in the absolute sense. Rather, the filter system manages the flow of vibration into and out of the component resting upon it as well as the rack architecture supporting it. Thus, the component and the precision support system supporting it become fully integrated into a singular mechanical system.
Here are examples of 2 CMS filter systems:
Black Diamond
Certified aluminum alloy framework
Constrained Layer damping
Dual Zone damping sections separated by a 2.5” elastomeric buffer
Upper Damping Section
18 layer sandwich arrayed in constrained damping layers
3 different top plate materials for rigidity under load
6 different damping materials precisely sequenced based on nomographic damping data
Lower Damping Section
9 layer sandwich arrayed in constrained damping layers
Select bottom plate material for rigidity under load
5 different damping materials precisely sequenced based on nomographic damping data
Black Platinum
Certified aluminum alloy framework
Constrained Layer damping
Dual Zone damping sections separated by a 1.5” elastomeric buffer
Upper Damping Section
18 layer sandwich arrayed in constrained damping layers
3 different top plate materials for rigidity under load
6 different damping materials precisely sequenced based on nomographic damping data
Lower Damping Section
9 layer sandwich arrayed in constrained damping layers
Select bottom plate material for rigidity under load
5 different damping materials precisely sequenced based on nomographic damping data
