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THERE IS A RIGHT CLOUD FOR
EVERY SITUATION!
Gingko Audio Vibration Control
Product Line - featuring Platformula technology.
So you’ve read all about Gingko Audio exciting
vibration control products, from the original
Cloud 10, to the
entry-level Mini-Clouds,
to the top-of-the-line Cloud
11, to the good-looking
Platformula racks and stands. So which Cloud is
right for you? This simple description will help
guide your purchase decision to ensure that the
Cloud you buy is the right one.
So which Cloud is right for you? Consider the
Mini-Clouds for entry-level systems where, with
$120, you will get better than a 20% improvement in
sound quality, according to Srajan Ebaen of 6moons.
If you can afford $300 under your mid-priced CD/SACD
players or turntables, the Cloud 10 may be right for
you. It is the only model that comes in clear
acrylic. If you must have the best, the Cloud 11 at
$379 will help to virtually eliminate vibration
affecting your system. If you are really well-heeled
and not only want the performance but also the
fabulous good looks of the Platformula racks and
stands,
go for them. In the end, use your ear (and your
wallet) to decide what is right for you. Most Gingko
Audio dealers offer money-back guarantee so it is a
no-risk trial for you. Once you have experienced the
Gingko Audio’s Platformula benefit, you will not do
without it.
Each Gingko Audio vibration control product is
designed with certain features to suit every
application and budget. Here is a summary of the
features:
The Mini-Clouds are
sold in sets of three acrylic bases and three blue
rubber balls that can be placed under the
audio/video component bottom:
- The Mini-Clouds can be placed anywhere under
the bottom of the component to balance the load.
In this sense, it even offers more flexibility
than the Cloud 10 (with 15 dimple positions) and
the Cloud 11 (with 10 dimple positions).
- As it does not require a top platform, the
system profile is lower than that of the Cloud
10 or Cloud 11. This is especially beneficial
when vertical space is limited on the shelf.
- As with the Cloud 10 or Cloud 11, the
Mini-Cloud vibration control ball has an optimal
load of 10 lbs and a capacity of 20 lbs. So a
set of Mini-Clouds is perfect for components
weighing 30-40 lbs. For heavier components,
simply add more Mini-Clouds (Mini-Clouds are
only available in sets of three).
- Mini-Cloud bases are of double thickness
with deeper wells and dimples (similar to the
Cloud 11 bottom plate), thus providing a higher
level of safety (the balls won’t roll off of the
dimples unless you deliberately push really
hard).
- The Mini-Clouds remove 95% or the vibration
from 5Hz to 500 Hz and has a resonant frequency
of around 25 Hz.
The Cloud 10 is an
all-around performer that offers excellent vibration
control in a good-looking package:
- It comes in both clear and black finish,
with a regular size 18 x 14 top plate.
- Its bottom plate has fifteen dimples,
allowing flexibility in positioning the balls to
balance the load. Four standard green balls are
provided.
- It also allows for use of other size rubber
balls such as racquetballs so the user can
experiment to find the optimal configuration
that suits their taste. For example, we find
that there are three different types of
racquetballs: regular, tournament grade, and
long-lasting titanium-embedded balls. The
tournament grade balls are best suited for solid
state systems in that they smooth out the
mid-range while the titanium balls are best
suited for tube systems as they tighten up
the bass. In the end, the user decides which is
best for his/her system.
- As supplied, the Cloud 10 removes 98% or the
vibration from 5Hz to 500 Hz and has a resonant
frequency of around 17 Hz.
The Cloud 11 offers
the best performance with some added features:
- Its bottom plate is designed with deeper
wells to provide an added level of safety in
use. The ball stays in the well and rests
squarely on the dimple thus preventing
accidental rolling off of the bottom plate.
- The top plate features a thicker skirt that
makes the platform more rigid to withstand
heavier components and minimize deformation.
- The regular size of the top plate is 18 x 16
to accommodate components with larger
footprints.
- The extra thickness of the bottom plate and
the top plate skirt improve vibration reduction
performance to an average of 99% of the
vibration from 5Hz to 500 Hz, with a resonant
frequency of around 13 Hz.
- The Cloud 11 comes with five balls to carry
an optimal load of around 50 lbs.
Besides the above-mentioned features, the
different products offer different levels of
vibration control performance. In our vibration
tests, the Mini-Clouds remove on average 95% of the
vibration between 5 Hz and 500 Hz. This is compared
to 98% for the Cloud 10, and 99% for the Cloud 11.
The Mini-Clouds has the resonant frequency at 25 Hz,
the Cloud 10 at 17 Hz, and the Cloud 11 at 13 Hz.
The following charts illustrate the Mini-Cloud’s
vibration control effectiveness (Figures 1A and 1B)
and compares vibration control performance between
the Mini-Clouds and the Cloud 10 (Figures 2A and
2B), and between the Mini-Clouds and the Cloud 11
(Figures 3A and 3B). Figures 4A and 4B compare the
Cloud 10 and the Cloud 11.
We conducted these vibration tests using 2 Bruel
& Kjaer 4371 accelerometers affixed to the two items
in the test under the same load of 30 lbs, 2 Bruel &
Kjaer conditioning amplifiers Type 2626, and an IBM
ThinkPad PC with Spectrogram software developed by
Richard Horne.
The vibrations on the 2 transducers are shown on
split screens with each showing real-time vibration
measurements as a function of time (X axis) and
frequency (Y axis). The black line on the top of
each chart shows the amplitude modulation trace
indicating the summary of vibrational intensity
across all frequencies and over time. The lower
colored portions show the vibration present over
time and by intensity of particular frequency. The
horizontal axis represents time, the vertical axis
displays the logarithmic spectrum analysis plot from
20 to 22,000Hz (the bottom is 20Hz, the top is
22KHz). Higher color temperatures indicate stronger
vibrations. The colored representation progresses
from red for worst to yellow, green, light blue,
dark blue, then white for best. The colors and the
corresponding vibration levels from -30db to -60dB
are depicted here on the input screen of the
Spectrogram software program used for the tests. |
