What is the best CD player damping material?

CD drives are a big part of our lives. We use them in our computers, stereos, game systems, and stand-alone players for music, games, file storage, software installation, and more. These drives are fragile and require protection from bumps and drops. CD drives also vibrate from spinning which can cause unwanted noise and shakiness. This not only interferes with the sound quality, but also can cause tracking errors on the drive. The vibration and bumps need to be addressed.

What is damping?

Damping is the energy dissipation properties of a material or system under cyclical stress. It is the conversion of mechanical energy into thermal energy. The amount of energy dissipated is a measure of the material’s damping level. In other words, damping absorbs the extra vibrations and noises and protects the drive from bumps. The energy it absorbs is released as heat.

What is vibration damping material?

Vibration damping material is used to reduce or eliminate noise in electronic applications caused by resonance and vibration. Damping materials work by changing the natural vibration frequency of the vibrating surface and thereby lowering radiated noise and increasing the transmission loss of the material. Many applications and products are subject to vibration from internal, as well as external sources. By choosing a damping material with very high damping coefficient, it is easy to increase our sound quality and reduce the number of tracking errors on the CD’s.

How do I damp my CD drive?

Damping CD drives with sprays, glues, felt, and tar sheets are not recommended. Most of these don’t work very well and may cause additional problems with the CD drive. Some of these ideas are very negatively sensitive to heat. While there are several ways of damping, most audio experts agree that the best way to address vibration (and noise) problems is viscoelastic damping. It is even better if the same material can be a shock absorber and protect the drive from bumps and spills.

What is the best CD player damping material?

Sorbothane® is the best damping material to use for your CD. It is a viscoelastic vibration damping material with a very high damping coefficient that combines shock absorption, good memory, vibration isolation and vibration damping characteristics into one solution.

In addition, Sorbothane is a very effective acoustic damper and absorber. While many materials exhibit one of these characteristics, Sorbothane combines all of them in a stable material with a long fatigue life and very wide temperature range. You won’t need to worry about the heat affecting it. It can be placed on the inside or outside cabinets of CD players. Using the Sorbothane will improve the sound of your system by both isolating and damping unwanted vibrations and releasing the energy as a very small amount of heat. It has been instrumental in the audio industry as isolation feet for system components such as CD/DVD players and speaker isolators. Sorbothane comes in a variety of standard sizes and can easily be cut to size. Contact us to learn more.