Srajan, I just listened to a review of the Stack Audio AUVA isolators which were described as containing sand. I think you reviewed them in the past. Is it true that their insides are just filled with sand? That could be quite easily replicated DIY, couldn't it? I'm curious whether you can shed any more light. That review didn't really go very deep into how they work. Thank you, Ryan
Seeing that you know the brand and model names, you needn't wonder whether we reviewed them. Just look at our archives, then read up on what we had to say. That's the whole purpose of having archives. And no, AUVA don't contain sand. Their MO of particle damping can simply be visualized by how a golf course's sand bunker stops a ball without bounce that comes in at 130mph. Mechanical energies convert to heat by causing friction between moving particles. You could of course also go to the Stack Audio website where there is zero mention of sand. Whether they use lead shot, steel shot or some other mix of particles they don't state but it clearly ain't sand. And yes, particle damping could be duplicated DIY if you knew what the most effective mix was and how much of it to use. If you didn't know, you'd have to experiment like Stack Audio did. My assumption is that you wouldn't want to pack the mix very tightly so that it is free to move around a bit. After all, that micro motion is the mechanism which exhausts incoming resonances. That is further borne out by the fact that you can shake the AUVA and feel/hear that. The other half of the MO of some types of AUVA is the viscoelastic element made of custom silicon. Without knowing its special composition then being able to source it, that wouldn't easily copy. Srajan
