WILSON AUDIO ACOUSTIC DIODE

During the creation of the recently-released Alexx V loudspeakers Wilson Audio created a unique spiked foot to prevent energy from the Alexx V’s cabinet from travelling through the feet to the floor, and vibration from the floor travelling up into the cabinet.

The new foot, which they named the Wilson Audio Acoustic Diode, or AD Spike, is made from Wilson Audio’s ‘V-Material’ which it describes as a “constrained layer damping composite unsurpassed in vibration absorption and resonance control.”

“Energy from the enclosure migrates into the V-Material where it is faced with the effective damping properties of this efficient material,” said Nigel Ng, of Advance Audio, which distributes Wilson Audio in Australia. “The mass of the loudspeaker concentrated onto the very small ends of the spike tips results in significant levels of localised high pressure that prevent detrimental vibrations from travelling upward into the footer. Those vibrations that do travel up the spike are absorbed by the mass of the Acoustic Diode and then have to travel through the V-Material to have a chance of influencing the enclosure.”

Wilson Audio says that a key part of the design is that the spike and the threaded post are kept separate to prevent a direct path for vibrations to travel, or interplay, and are therefore dissipated and absorbed in either the V-Material or the footer housing. “This distinctive design, combined with advanced vibration-mitigating materials, provides the best of both worlds; a solid base from which the drivers can launch as well as preventing the transmission of energy from the floor to the loudspeakers,” says Ng.

Originally available only with the Alexx V, the Wilson Audio Acoustic Diodes are now available for separate purchase, and are recommended as a retro-fit for all Wilson Audio loudspeakers. Available now, they sell for $4,995 (RRP) for a set of eight, sufficient to support a pair of loudspeakers.