Aluminum case with 5th foot

[tron]

I was just looking at my Yamaha receiver and realized they changed the design to have a 5th foot in the center of the chassis. Here is the description on their site- "The A.R.T. (Anti-Resonance Technology) Wedge fifth foot is in the center of the unit. It dampens vibrations from the power transformer, power transistors and heat sinks, as well as vibrations that might be caused by the sound from the speakers. The A.R.T. Wedge fifth foot helps ensure that vibrations do not affect the sound quality."

Has anyone tried adding an extra 5th foot or bumpon in the center of their keyboard case? It does seem a bit overkill given the weight of a typical keyboard, however, it may help with dampening and rigidity (I assume this is why some mid/higher end aluminum cases have internal ribs).

[dubious]

That could make for a well planted board, and might slightly reduce flexing.

I wish the Exent kept the original design for the feet, having one large foot in the back that covers the length of the board. But I imagine sourcing a large rubber strip to stick to it would have been difficult. But it does have a 5th nubbin in the middle of the back foot.

[Hyde]

I think for sound dampening people just drop a towel under the keyboard then it eliminate any need for any foot at all lol.

Leopold also put thick felt cloth inside keyboard to absorb echo.

I'd imagine 5th leg help but other method probably work better. 

[hwood34]

The foot is directly in the center? I suppose you could try something like that, though a receiver is a much larger piece of equipment with more room to flex in the center and I don't think a fifth foot in the middle of a keyboard would make much of a difference. Some boards have a bunch of feet spread out in the middle of the back (like the RS78 which has 8 rubber bumpons (not really feet), 4 in the front, 4 in the back), but no board I've seen has a foot directly in the center. You'd need to make the foot a different height from those in the back to make sure it didn't wobble, unless you specifically designed the angles of the case with that in mind. Not really worth it imo, although this is directed at people who take time to apply switch stickers, so anything's possible

[kawasaki161]

A cloth mousepad does wonders for sound dampening and will work a lot better than a exta contact point, as it will transfer less vibrations to the table which would amplify those.

The TX87/TX84 and the TXPad acutally came with correctly sized mats for that purpose. According to Kin25 these were made by a mousepad manufacturer. They were a bit softer and thicker than my other mousepads which offered a tiny bit more sound dampening.

[Leslieann]

While it could depend a bit on the case, an aluminum keyboard shouldn't flex enough for it to make a difference, I know both of mine certainly are.

Not only are keyboard cases much smaller and have a second steel plate inside, this receiver is using riveted, stamped steel in a much larger chassis with a plastic fascia and not subject to the loads a keyboard has placed in it. If your feet are insufficient at dampening on an aluminum keyboard case, it's a problem with the feet, not the number of them. You need more to compensate for bad feet or flex, the latter of which you shouldn't have.


That said, this is the biggest bunch of B.S. marketing I've seen in a while.
It's a solid state system, vibration shouldn't have any effect on it at all, but of course this is geared at audiophiles... Many of whom bought Monster cables for digital connections. Seriously, don't buy into this B.S., if you do, I have a set of cables I'd like to sell you.

The idea that this improves sound is even more funny when you consider they turn right around and promote it's ability to handle streaming audio, which has some of the worst audio quality you can get. The home audio industry is a VERY tough market, they have to blow out of proportion ANY and all things.  Why? Because a good audio system from 15+ years ago works just as well today as it did when new. Did audio technology really advance enough to justify buying a new receiver, hell no. If you doubt it, go back and look at the promo page for that unit and look at how much of the page is actually about sound quality, they tell you all about the features, but not a thing about how much better it sounds compared to last years model or even the competition.

Never compare anything to the audio industry unless you want to make the other thing look bad.

[Puddsy]

A good Alu case won't warp enough for it to matter. Stop buying ****ty parts. My LZ will be rock solid for the next hundred years.

[Phenix]

While it could depend a bit on the case, an aluminum keyboard shouldn't flex enough for it to make a difference, I know both of mine certainly are.

Not only are keyboard cases much smaller and have a second steel plate inside, this receiver is using riveted, stamped steel in a much larger chassis with a plastic fascia and not subject to the loads a keyboard has placed in it. If your feet are insufficient at dampening on an aluminum keyboard case, it's a problem with the feet, not the number of them. You need more to compensate for bad feet or flex, the latter of which you shouldn't have.


That said, this is the biggest bunch of B.S. marketing I've seen in a while.
It's a solid state system, vibration shouldn't have any effect on it at all, but of course this is geared at audiophiles... Many of whom bought Monster cables for digital connections. Seriously, don't buy into this B.S., if you do, I have a set of cables I'd like to sell you.

The idea that this improves sound is even more funny when you consider they turn right around and promote it's ability to handle streaming audio, which has some of the worst audio quality you can get. The home audio industry is a VERY tough market, they have to blow out of proportion ANY and all things.  Why? Because a good audio system from 15+ years ago works just as well today as it did when new. Did audio technology really advance enough to justify buying a new receiver, hell no. If you doubt it, go back and look at the promo page for that unit and look at how much of the page is actually about sound quality, they tell you all about the features, but not a thing about how much better it sounds compared to last years model or even the competition.

Never compare anything to the audio industry unless you want to make the other thing look bad.

I totally agree with you - audio from the past is often on-par with new-released boxes.

But obviously certain features are only on new receivers -  like bluetooth/WIFI/Spotify/what the hell else - tough one can integrate those features somehow on old ones as well.

What do you think of headphones?
is it an good idea to get an old pair? (beside the AKG K1000, I have nothing on my list which I would like to try some time).

Went with AKG K712 myself, as  they are comfy to wear with glasses on (and priced ok, got them in an sale). paired with Objective O2.
-Sennheiser 650s are also on my list.

I think for sound dampening people just drop a towel under the keyboard then it eliminate any need for any foot at all lol.

Leopold also put thick felt cloth inside keyboard to absorb echo.

I'd imagine 5th leg help but other method probably work better. 

[tron]

Thanks for the feedback. Indeed, I do have one of the cheaper alumium Taobao/Massdrop cases. The nicer black and silver Tex cases are currently sold out at the moment so it was the next best thing. I tried putting a layer of rubber/foam (drawer insert) inside my case and it works amazing. The whole keyboard feels and sounds better with the Zealo rebound/echo dampened.

[cribbit]

I don't put any case on my board. It's just a plate with switches, handwired, with a cloth underneath. Silent, solid, stable.

[Leslieann]

What do you think of headphones?

I'm not an audiophile.  )
That said, speakers are one place things have improved and even if they hadn't, speakers are mechanical and do wear out.

[Phenix]

I looked a bit into audiophilify some years back, and my wallet thanks me for switching to keyboards

[keytohopiness]

Our keyboards now need spikes for maximum hi-if.

[Leslieann]

I looked a bit into audiophilify some years back, and my wallet thanks me for switching to keyboards

Pawn shops are your friend for audio equipment.