Is there any way that your tech can shrink in size? There had to be good reason though why your introductory product is bigger than other footers on the market.
Carbide Bases are large indeed. We could have made them smaller but then compromised performance. As the ViscoRing gets smaller and shorter, you shrink the surface area that is free to bulge outward under compression. That raises the resonance frequency. The ViscoRings are most optimally used near their maximum support rating where their isolation performance is best. As the ViscoRings become smaller, the sweet spot for their stiffness narrows. The ability to have such good isolation performance over such broad weight ranges simply necessitated a larger size. Additionally, the inclusion of the separate lower stainless steel section with zirconia ball bearings slightly raised total height yet greatly improved horizontal isolation. These tiny spheres are roughly the same hardness as the more common alumina-oxide ceramic bearings but over three times as tough so much less likely to fracture. Our pursuit of the absolute best in isolation and damping performance does come at the price of a fairly large size. The upper limit of our footer was designed so that placing it under speakers would not raise their total height enough to perceptively alter the sound. The change in vertical angle from a typical listening position is usually less than 1°. Often it's less than half that for speakers with already tall floor spikes. We went through quite a lot of iterations to shave off every possible millimeter of total height and still hit our performance goals.
It looks like your ViscoRings are removable and can be replaced?
Viscoelastic materials are inherently very tacky which can make separation from the footer and removal a slow arduous process. You won't hurt the ring which is actually quite hard to tear. You can pull on it but some patience is advised. Our ViscoRings are coated to make their removal easier. Since the softer materials are quite a bit more tacky than the harder ones, my blue (medium) and black (heavy) ViscoRings are quite a bit easier to remove.
Running your own machine park tells us that Carbide Bases are fully made in-house?
Correct, we own our shop and CNC machines where we do all production. In-house machining is not necessary but has the added benefit of complete control and allows for immediate testing of each design iteration we make. Ultimately I think this ability to rapidly iterate yields the highest quality end product. In the software field we call this agile development.
How many footers should I use under each component?
Under relatively lighter equipment three Carbide Bases might sound better than four. Then their operation will be near the maximum support rating for the pre-installed VisoRings, thus their resonance frequency lowest. It's perfectly fine to exceed the maximum recommended weight for a given ViscoRing but after a point its vertical isolation is reduced. Then it's best to step up to the stiffer counterpart. I use just three Carbide Bases under my Chord Dave DAC for example.
How many people work with you at the moment?
Although now there's only me plus one employee, establishing Carbide Audio would not have been possible without the frequent part-time help of three family members, two of which are talented engineers. I've been fortunate to be able to surround myself with people much smarter than I am!
How did you end up with Carbide Audio as company name?
It's a reference to the specific tools known as carbide end mills which we use during machining. They're made out of cemented carbide material which is very hard so ideal for cutting metals. The logo represents the end of a spinning three-fluted carbide end mill used to machine the aluminum uppers of each Carbide Base. End mills used for steels have more but shallower flutes.
The largest piece that houses your ViscoRing looks cast then milled on the inside, at least that's what its somewhat grainy texture suggests?
Although we don't cast these parts, it would be a logical assumption given their shape. Instead we take 3.5m long 230kg round bars of solid aluminum billet and chop them into 50mm discs. The machining process produces some tool cutting marks but most simply blast or chemically etch to produce a matte finish. To get closer to a mirror like finish we incorporate some extra steps, one of which is a chemical brightening that exposes some of the underlying natural aluminum grain to look cast under some lighting. The black finish version is a bit more muted in this regard as is to be expected with a darker color.
