Aurios
| Country | United States |
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Aurios is an American brand of vibration-isolation bearings for audio equipment, made by Vistek of Tempe, Arizona, a company whose main business was isolating precision industrial equipment from vibration. The Aurios Media Isolation Bearing places a component on a set of feet, each containing a hardened ball that sits between two shallow, precision-ground dishes. The ball allows the equipment to move very slightly sideways, which decouples it from vibrations travelling through the floor or rack, while still supporting it securely. Versions such as the Aurios Pro and Aurios 1.2 were reviewed in the hi-fi press in the late 1990s and 2000s, and many owners reported a cleaner, more focused sound from CD players, turntables and amplifiers. Vistek's products and technology were later acquired by the industrial company Newport. Aurios bearings now appear mainly on the second-hand market. Bearings of this type became a popular and affordable way to experiment with isolation in a hi-fi system.
Notable Aurios products
- Aurios Media Isolation Bearing
- Aurios Pro
- Aurios 1.2
More about Aurios
The Aurios Bearing is an isolator. Unlike absorptive vibration remedies, such as vibration dampers, the Bearing uniformly reduces the broadband intermodulation distortion generated when a media component is shaken, however minutely. The effect of the Aurios Bearing upon a media component, such as a loudspeaker, DVD player or amplifier, is universal - - stripping away an electronic haze that obscures the media message, the Bearing uncovers a wealth of sensory hues and nuances that powerfully enhance the media experience. Furthermore, the effect of the Bearing is cumulative and progressively more engaging as additional components in the chain are isolated.
The Aurios MIB Outperforms All Vibration Dampers The Aurios MIB is Easy to Set-up and Use Aurios Bearings are packaged three to a set. Optimally, the Bearings must be placed on a flat, hard, level surface. Use a bubble level or the Bearing itself to level component shelves, racks, etc. before installing the Bearings.
(When a Bearing is placed on an uneven surface, the top half of the Bearing will displace along the axis of the tilt, just like the air bubble in a conventional level.) Once the supporting structure is level, the Bearings can be installed. Place the Bearings underneath and near the outside edges of the component bottom, and preferably in a triangular pattern - - - position two Bearings forward and one to the rear, or vice versa. Do not place the Bearings under the component's rubber feet. The MIB requires little maintenance.
It is virtually impervious to chemical attack, though lubricants will attract and bind contaminants, possibly impeding the rolling motion of the Bearing. If a contaminating fluid gets into a Bearing, wash it with suitable soaps/solvents, rinse and dry. Dust or lint can be blown out with compressed air. The largest Aurios Inc's product, the Pro Isolation Bearing, supports 500 pounds per bearing weight capacity, and incorporates an integral contamination shield, typically for use in professional live concert or recording venues.
The supplied 1/4-20 threaded stud attachment for the top of the bearing readily adapts to many industry-standard equipment racks, console legs and electronics chassis. Additional applications can be found for heavyweight consumer products. The Aurios Inc's family of Isolation Bearings, produced in 2000, also feature the unique materials and horizontal isolator found in the VIL and VIB designs. Aurios Inc's MIB has been initially targeted at the consumer audio/video entertainment electronics industry, where it has already proven effective in clarifying both sound and video content for the discerning "mediaphile".
Sources: stereotimes.com, laserfocusworld.com