While it may look small and unassuming, the little black box called the “V8″ is a genuine breakthrough in analog vinyl playback performance. In one tiny package, of less than 4mm thickness and less than 4 grams mass, is a state-of-the-art miniaturized broad-spectrum vibration absorption system, operating from under 100Hz to over 20kHz. It is compatible with virtually any standard 1/2” mount cartridge/tonearm combination, easy to install, zero-maintenance, highly durable, and above all, by removing parasitic vibrations from the analog front-end system, it achieves a significant increase in musicality, clarity, purity, ease, and listenability in any vinyl playback system.

The V8 is based on the principle of “Forced Vibration Immersed Cantilever Bending Beams”, a little known but highly effective and tunable vibration absorption system which is normally used in ultra-critical industrial and aerospace anti-vibration applications.

Inside the V8 there are 8 precision-machined long cylindrical chambers of precisely calibrated length. Suspended inside each of these cylinders is a flat cantilever beam of pure Titanium, again of precisely calibrated length, held rigidly at one end yet free to move and vibrate along the remainder of its length. And filling the entire internal system is a proprietary grade of premium Silicon damping oil, hermetically and permanently sealed upon final assembly. Any vibration experienced by the V8 is quickly and effectively turned into forced vibration of the Titanium beams, and the vibration of the Titanium beams is, in turn, quickly and effectively absorbed as viscous friction (heat) in the Silicon damping oil.

Because a stereo phono cartridge operates in two orthogonal planes for the two channels, and the two channels on a vinyl record are recorded and played back at 90 degrees to one another, so too does the V8 operate in precisely these two orthogonal planes. Four of the Titanium beams operate in one plane, and the other four Titanium beams operate in the other plane, precisely 90 degrees to one another. (Thus the name V8.) The planes of operation are oriented such that the parasitic vibrations created by playback can be essentially 100% neutralized in the exact plane in which they were originally created by the stylus. (And in the case of Mono recordings, the geometry is such that all eight Titanium beams, combined and working together, achieve the same extraordinary level of vibration cancellation as in Stereo). And because the V8 is mounted directly above the cartridge, its effectiveness in absorbing parasitic stylus vibrations is maximized.

The lengths of the individual Titanium beams are precisely calculated and controlled to achieve essentially perfect spectral overlap between the mechanical absorption spectra of the individual beams. Furthermore, the effect of the Silicon damping oil is to dramatically broaden the absorption spectrum of each individual Titanium beam (and also dramatically improve the damping properties of the system), achieving essentially uniform vibration cancellation throughout the vast majority of the audible frequency spectrum.

During analog vinyl playback, the stylus traces the groove, moving almost imperceptibly in two simultaneous orthogonal planes to retrieve the left/right channel information. This microscopic audio spectrum mechanical vibration (often measured in nanometers), when translated into an electrical signal by the cantilever coils, becomes music. But because the cartridge is a mechanical system, and because every force creates an equal and opposite force in any mechanical system, this same vibration experienced by the stylus is also transmitted directly upwards into the playback system’s structure, i.e., the cartridge body and tonearm. This vibration must then be absorbed, and hopefully absorbed very quickly, because any mechanical vibrations that return to the cantilever mount from the cartridge/tonearm system are directly translated by the cantilever back into unwanted electrical signal, i.e., distortion, hash, and grunge, not music. This phenomenon is directly related to listener fatigue and irritation. For many decades, we have known that all tonearms have numerous serious vibration modes, and no tonearm ever made has adequately addressed this issue. Certainly the advent of advanced materials (such as carbon fiber matrices or more complex multi-element composites) has improved things, but that’s not the same as solving the problem.

Here’s the problem: High-Fidelity playback requires high rigidity (because the fidelity of the mechanical system depends on it), while mechanical damping (vibration absorption) requires flexure (to absorb the vibration as heat). These are inviolable principles of physics, not opinion or marketing slogans. And you absolutely cannot have both rigidity and flexure at the same time in the same structure– they are exact opposites, by definition! So it is absolutely impossible to make a tonearm which is  both highly rigid (absolutely necessary for high fidelity) and also highly mechanically damped (also absolutely necessary for high fidelity). Over the years, there have been various attempts at adding external dampers to the tonearm, in the form of paddles immersed in silicon-filled troughs either at the front or back end of the tonearm, but the fatal flaw in these dampers is that they inhibit the free motion of the tonearm itself in following the grooves, which is also absolutely necessary for high fidelity. (Not to mention the fact that they quickly become a dusty, sticky, gooey mess, and put your precious vinyl at high risk for contamination….) Others have tried inserting a flexible or rubbery layer between the cartridge and tonearm, but these destroy the rigidity of the playback system (which, to repeat, is absolutely necessary for high fidelity).

Therefore, the AudioMachina V8 vibration absorption system is the only device in the world which simultaneously:
(1) Preserves the full analog system rigidity and freedom of motion, for absolute maximum fidelity, allowing fully 100% of the system’s fidelity potential to be realized, AND:
(2) Achieves broad-spectrum vibration absorption throughout the entire parasitic vibration spectrum of the cartridge/tonearm system, resulting in not only improved fidelity across the musical spectrum, but also a significant reduction in distortions, grunge, and listening fatigue.

This combination of virtues simply cannot be achieved with any other known technology. Thus, the V8 does not interfere in the slightest with the highest-performance analog playback systems on earth, while simultaneously achieving true broad-spectrum absorption of the parasitic vibrations created by all stylus/cartridge/tonearm systems. The AudioMachina V8 is such a “no-brainer” that it should now be considered an essential part of any high-fidelity vinyl playback system, regardless of cost.