Audio Video News

Our friends at Akihabara News are reporting that Harman International's web site is featuring an interesting new item.  The JSB-1 speaker/equipment isolation cone kit will be released in September. Audiophiles are no strangers to various cones, spikes and other devices used to stabilize loudspeaker cabinets. The theory is that the cone absorbs resonating energy and this somehow improves sound quality. One thing that solid metal spikes certainly do not do, is to decouple resonating devices from your floor or whatever. You would need a soft pad or spring to do that.

In any case, cones like these are often placed under speakers or racks. The JBL JSB-1 features a wooden block base module, four types of spikes, and a cork pad. The cork pad would provide some decoupling, with some associated filter cutoff frequency.

A close-up picture on the next page shows....

This certainly is a handsome looking cone. But it's important to remember that a passive device such as this does not have magical properties. A piece of 2 x 4, a ten-penny nail and a layer of rubber would probably provide identical acoustical properties. But, of course, that wouldn't look nearly as cool. -Ken C. Pohlmann