EquaRack Footers: Audio Component and Turntable Isolation & Damping Mounts

Multi-Mount Isolation Footers Transform An Ordinary Rack Into A High-Performance System
The Footers Provide Excellent Results On Any Piece of Furniture; A Credenza, Low-Boy, Etc.

Multi-Mount Footers Are Offered in Three Versions - Each Footer Supports Up To 50lbs.
MF-1:          $100.00 each
MF-1LP:   $100.00 each
MF-1SPK: $115.00 each                                                                                                                                               VP-1 Viscoelastic Pellets: $10.00. Sold Separately in "Ten-Packs" of Ten (10) Pellets each.

Each Pellet will support up to 3lbs. and each "Ten-Pack" can support up to 30lbs., so one simply divides the weight of one's component by 30 to calculate the required number of packs to purchase.

Description:

MF-1: Designed for component and turntable support on any any shelf, platform, furniture or "bare" floors.

MF-1LP: A "low-profile" design used for component and turntable support where minimim height is required.

MF-1SPK: Designed for individual component support on carpeted floors as an alternative to an "amp stand". Its larger base includes three "needle-sharp" .710" long, stainless-steel spikes to penetrate the toughest carpet-backing and padding.

The Multi-Mount vibration Isolation Footer is comprised of an anodized aluminum alloy Base and Top Disc, machined to very close tolerances and beautifully finished.

The Footers are easy to use and they provide extremely stable, non-sliding stereo component and turntable support.

The Footer has an array of round counter-bores in the top surface of its Base, into which the user places from (1) to (16) Viscoelastic Pellets, depending upon the weight to be supported by the Footer. A single Viscoelastic Pellet used in the Footers has a maximum recommended weight capacity of 3lbs., and each Footer can accept up to (16) Pellets, so therefore each Footer has a weight capacity of 48lbs. + a 5% margin = 50lbs. Higher loading is possible, but will result in declining effectiveness and durability of the Viscoelastic Pellets.

The weight distribution of the component or turntable to be supported can be determined by the use of a (household) scale, which must be used to calculate the “load” or weight to be supported by each individual Footer. The Owner’s Manual gives clear, illustrated instructions for weighing and calculating the required number of Viscoelastic Pellets.

The included plastic Alignment Sleeve makes assembly of the Footers quick and simple; place the required number of Pellets into the Base, slide the Sleeve over the Base, insert the Top Disc into the Sleeve and push down onto the Pellets, then remove the Sleeve - done!

Very effective component chassis damping is provided by a heat-resistant Viscoelastic Coupler that is retained in the counter-bore of the Footer’s top disc and placed directly against the component’s chassis as a constrained-layer. This elastomeric interface also eliminates any possibility of “chatter” or “noise” often caused by the contact of two hard materials “excited” by vibration. A second Viscoelastic Coupler retained in the counter-bore of the Footer’s base provides damping of vibratory energy in the structure that supports the Footer and reduces the flow of energy into the Footer from the supporting structure. This Coupler also eliminates “chatter” and prevents surface scratching.

The proprietary material, size and shape of the Viscoelastic Pellets are all vital to their extraordinary effectiveness of our isolation mounts. Each Pellet is a tiny "power-plant" of energy conversion. Moreover, unlike the viscoelastic parts in competing products that should be replaced each year - or sooner, the Pellets will provide undiminished performance for at least 5-years and likely much longer if they are not significantly overloaded.

Features:

Multi-Mount Isolation Footers are unique vibration isolation and damping mounts for turntables and audio/stereo components. Their innovative design is based upon well-established, irrefutable engineering science that is integral to vibration control in all major industries.

Multi-Mount Isolation Footers enable audio/stereo, video components and turntables to perform at their full potential by drastically reducing the level of damaging vibratory energy that can enter or reside within them.

The Footers are not “tweaks” or “tuning” devices. They are not “additive” devices that shift tonal balance or exaggerate certain frequencies. Instead, they are “subtractive” because they minimize degrading vibratory energy.

EquaRack Footers provide engineered turntable and audio component vibration isolation and damping that outperforms isolation platforms and generic "audio footers", "isolation mounts", "isolation spikes", "isolation feet" and "damping mounts".

Multi-Mount Footers provide direct chassis support for virtually any audio/video component or turntable. They can be placed upon any platform, furniture, table-top or the floor.

For isolation of multi-piece turntables, the Footers can be used to support the individual pieces of the turntable or the turntable plinth. Our MF-1LP (Low Profile) and "custom" Footers are available to support exotic turntables and those that may require direct support of their large conical feet. Please contact us to discuss your special needs!

The Footers drain and damp harmful self-generated and air-borne (acoustic) vibratory energy by coupling directly to the component’s or turntable's chassis. And, they simultaneously provide weight-optimized isolation of the component or turntable from the supporting structure. Thus, the Footers provide vibration damping AND isolation for ultimate audio and video component and turntable performance.

Footers in groups of three (3) are fine for support of most audio/video components - especially those which are not very heavy and those that are heavy but have thicker “plate” chassis. Two (2) Footers are placed beneath the heavy end of the component and the third (single) Footer generally centered under the opposite end. The very best performance may be so obtained. However, it should be noted that using only one (1) Footer or any similar single “mount” under a very heavy component that has a flimsy, light-gauge chassis, may cause the chassis to bend upwards. Using four (4) Footers (or more) eliminates this issue of inadequate support, adds structural rigidity and offers the benefit of additional damping of chassis-borne vibration provided by the “extra” Coupler(s), albeit at a higher cost. Finally, because of weight limitations, at least four (4) Footers must be used for support of any (rare) component that weighs in excess of 150lbs.

For turntable isolation, the number of required Footers depends upon the design of the turntable.

Design & Technology:

Multi-Mount Footers, like no other competing devices, provide user-adjustable, optimized isolation in sixteen (16) increments of 3lbs. each for ultimate audio/stereo component performance. The Footers are thereby, precisely weight-matched to the component, making them the world's only truly “universal” vibration isolation mounts.

Viscoelastics are weight sensitive. They perform poorly if they are under-loaded, or overloaded. A viscoelastic part provides optimum isolation, only within a narrow weight margin. Most competing devices and systems do not address these crucial limitations at all. Some offer a choice of a few "standard" viscoelastic parts or platforms to cover an excessively wide range of component weights - which is a poor compromise. But even these "better" systems often ignore the critical issues of component weight distribution and individual isolator loading.

Many audio/video components are significantly heavier either in the front or the rear, or on one side, and thereby will exert significantly different loads on the supporting isolators. A “weight-balanced” component supported by (3) isolators puts double the load on the single isolator as compared with each of the other two isolators! Any product that ignores this vital consideration is simply inadequate and inferior.

The Viscoelastic Pellets provide superb damping of vibratory energy by hysteresis and superb isolation by both deformation and hysteresis. Unlike most elastomeric “isolators” which behave like an un- damped spring, the Pellets exhibit excellent “shock-rebound” (vertical isolation) properties similar to a high-performance viscous (fluid) shock absorber, in combination with a spring. In addition, unlike “hard” footers and those with thin, laminated or constrained viscoelastics, the Viscoelastic Pellets can deform laterally, and thereby act as elastomeric bearings - providing significant lateral isolation in addition to vertical isolation, for the benefit of the component.

The Top Disc of the Footers can deflect from the horizontal plane due to the elastomeric nature of the Viscoelastic Pellets, and can thereby “self-align” with the chassis of an audio/video component which is uneven or not plane, thus ensuring proper contact.

“Isolation Platforms”, regardless of cost and sophistication, which support audi/video components by their stock feet, simply ignore the important issue of component chassis damping. Such products may provide isolation ONLY, but this alone is rarely sufficient to provide ultimate component performance. Stock rubber feet provide very poor chassis damping and actually "trap" degrading component-borne vibration.

Audio / Video Component and Turntable Isolation & Damping Explained:

At minimum, prospective buyers of audio/video vibration control products for should know the basic definitions of, and the distinctions between ISOLATION and DAMPING to enable them to make informed purchases.

ISOLATION refers to the process of preventing (minimizing) externally generated vibratory energy from reaching a structure or component. Although this includes acoustic or air-borne vibration that is difficult to manage in exposed audio/video equipment, we are primarily concerned with the transfer of mechanical vibration. And, it is essential to understand that there is no significant mechanical isolation provided unless there is relative movement between the component and its supporting structure, to prevent sympathetic movement with the supporting structure. Therefore, only a device or material that can compress like a spring or deform like an air-bag or a viscoelastic part, or “roll” like a bearing, can be an isolator. Exceptions to these “passive” examples include “active” systems that have electromechanical capabilities. Obviously, hard “spikes” and (bare) "platforms" or "shelves" are not vibration isolators.

DAMPING is the dissipation of energy in a vibrating structure or component. It refers to the process of removing (minimizing) internally generated vibration that is inherent in a component AND any external vibration that, for lack of adequate isolation, may enter the component, by converting the mechanical vibratory energy of solids into heat energy - a process called hysteresis. Vibration damping is generally accomplished by the bonding of viscoelastic materials to the (vibrating) internal surfaces, mechanisms and parts of a component and by external coupling to viscoelastic materials or damping devices.

The Multi-Mount Footer is Patent-Pending

Multi-Mount Isolation Footers: Ultimate Turntable & Audio Component Isolation Mounts