Symposium Acoustics - Point Pods, Fat Padz, Ultra Padz & Couplers

Point Pods are an affordable solution for treating components with an effective, performance-improving vibration control device.

Description
The Point Pod is a slim, "mini" Symposium platform- only 2" by 3" (5 x 7.6 cm), and 0.315" (8 mm) thick. Their tops and bottoms are layers of hand-finished, polished stainless steel, and their interior consists of 3 constrained layers of specially selected materials that damp and absorb mechanical energy with minimal reflection and time delay characteristics.

Application

Point Pods are ideal for use with small active components, such as mini-digital processors and power supplies, or with loudspeakers. They are also ideal for use with an inverted Rollerblock setup, as their stainless steel tops are hard enough for direct contact with the Rollerblock ball. Point Pods are most effective when used in direct contact with the chassis of components. In this primary application, they are effective either beneath or on top of the component, or both. They are also excellent for use when larger or taller isolation devices aren't appropriate or practical, as in equipment racks with limited vertical space. They are ideal for use on wood floors to protect spikes and cones from damaging surfaces and can be used together with Symposium Precision Couplers or Rollerblocks to improve overall sonic results by providing a more neutral support surface. Point Pods are very effective with loudspeakers; in this application, they improve sonics by damping cabinet wall vibrations which cause loudspeaker driver intermodulation distortion.

SetUp
Use Point Pods as damping devices on small chassis devices; you will find them to be quite effective in improving dynamics, timbral character, etc. If you are STACKING components on top of one another, use Fat Padz to separate, isolate, and damp your components all at the same time!

Fat Padz are stand-alone, vibration-absorbing devices that provide effectively, "problem-free" resonance control and vibration damping with active and passive components. Compared to conventional cone-type isolation devices, Fat Padz is more tonally neutral and more effective at reducing distortion, since they have the ability to dissipate energy as well as reduce the amount of new energy that can be introduced into the component from its support surface. They are more convenient and somewhat safer to use than cones since they are physically more stable and cannot topple over.

Description
The Fat Pad is a mini Symposium platform- only 2" by 3" (5 x 7.6 cm), and 7/8" thick (2.2 cm) with tops and bottoms that are layers of precision laser-cut, polished stainless steel. Their interior consists of 3 constrained layers, including a 3/4" (1.9 cm) thick foam center section banded with textured vinyl edgebanding. The foam section is the same thickness as the Super Plus Platform. A Fat Pad can be considered an "expanded" Point Pod since it is identical save for its thicker, banded foam center.

Application and Function
Fat Padz is convenient in situations where a full platform isn't practical. Their 7/8" (2.2 cm) height is enough to bypass most existing equipment feet and should be used to directly support the metal chassis of active components. By coupling directly to the equipment chassis, Fat Padz damps excess mechanical energy from the component's structure, dissipating it as heat. By providing a non-resonant, non-compliant mechanical ground connection that simultaneously dissipates energy as heat (an important distinction to make over ordinary footer devices), Fat Padz reduces background noise induced in the electrical pathways of electronic and electro-acoustical devices.

Fat Padz also provides isolation from vibration originating in the support surface, such as a floor or rack shelf. They are very effective with loudspeakers and can improve overall loudspeaker distortion levels by reducing intermodulation distortion caused by the reflection of mechanical energy to the drivers from the speaker cabinet.

Ideal For Stacked Components!
Fat Padz is ideal for stacked components; when convenience or room does not allow other deployments, Fat Padz is perfect as isolation and damping solutions for components that would otherwise simply sit on top of one another with their built-in feet. By placing Fat Padz in between the components, one will simultaneously damp both components AND isolate each one from another, improving results.

Placement and Set-Up
Place Fat Padz as you would other "footer" devices. We recommend three, placed under the component so that the stainless steel top contacts the underside of the chassis, bypassing the rubber feet. If you're treating a small component, two may be sufficient. If possible, "butt" the edges of the top plate against any protruding screws, bolts, etc., as this will improve results. Please click on the link provided immediately below for a separate page on Fat Padz Setup Tips.

The Precision Coupler replaces our former Large Coupler to provide improved performance and convenience. Made of top-grade 7075 aircraft aluminum and precision machined to scintillating surface finishes, Precision Couplers are used to form an efficient mechanical connection to the components placed upon Symposium Platforms and Foundation Osiris Racks, for effective damping of internal equipment resonances - an essential requirement for best results with vibration control devices. The high mechanical transmission efficiency of the aluminum alloy also provides an excellent transmission path for the evacuation of mechanical energy out of components and into a mechanical ground, where it can be absorbed and/or converted to heat energy.

All Symposium platforms work best with a good mechanical connection or pathway between the component's chassis and its top layer; soft materials, such as rubber or Sorbothane, impede the transmission of mechanical energies. Think of the Precision Coupler as the mechanical equivalent of the theoretical "Straight Piece of Wire" in an electrical circuit: its sole purpose is to conduct mechanical energy without amplification, attenuation, or filtering. In this way, internal mechanical noise (vibration) can be conducted directly out of the component and into the Svelte Shelf, where these energies can be converted to harmless heat energy without added colorations. If your component already has built-in metal feet or has a flat bottom which will be placed directly upon the platform, or if you already have special footers for this purpose, then they are not necessary. Precision Couplers will not add any "harshness," will not exaggerate bass, or "spotlight" upper midrange. In other words, they are neutral. We recommend them if you don't have an alternate, suitable "footer" device, such as Symposium Rollerblocks, cones, or some other appropriate footer device.

Each Precision Coupler features nearly perfectly parallel top and bottom surfaces, and one side has a threaded 1/4-20 hole for attachment to similarly threaded foot posts or for screwing two Precision Couplers together to form one high coupler to clear very high feet. The Precision Coupler is 13/16" (0.8125" or 2.06cm) thick; two joined together form a double thickness unit that is 1 5/8" (1.625" or 4.12cm) high.

Precision Couplers may also be joined to the same 1/4-20 threaded hole found in Rollerblock Jr. devices in order to facilitate higher clearance requirements using Rollerblock Jr. In the picture at left, Precision Couplers were joined with Rollerblock Jr. to facilitate proper height of the turntable when deployed with its separate drive motor. Please click on the image for a larger picture.

The Precision Coupler's threaded hole may also be used as a receptacle for spikes and cones. Beyond protecting your floor or surface from the sharp point of a spike, the Coupler improves sound quality by damping the spike in an effective mechanical termination.

Each Coupler is 0.8125 inches high (13/16" or 2.06 cm) and 1.875" (4.76 cm) in diameter. For a further discussion of the Precision Coupler.