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Apex
Apex - the highest point - is the world's most advanced dual-purpose vibration isolation interface. As used in cutting-edge race cars and jet fighters, Apex employs hand-laminated carbon composites for the outer skin and core/base and high-pressure cures them in a dedicated vacuum environment. It then decouples these structural composite elements via a proprietary hi-tech polymer which we co-developed with aerospace applications and materials sciences engineers. With its ball-bearing tip, Apex can be used as a component footer or become the floor-to-column interface of GPA and other equipment isolation supports. Our unique cup/ball geometry utterly avoids the frustrating instability that plagues other bearing-based designs which cause supported components to wobble and move when barely touched. Threaded "knuckle" adjuster/levelers securely surround the ball bearing with a polished stainless steel cup. By replacing a stand's fixed spikes and adding an additional two degrees of horizontal freedom, Apex generates very remarkable performance enhancements without introducing any unsteadiness of the main structure. Our stock 3/8-16 thread, .875 diameter, 2-inch long leveler fits our Monaco Modular, Le Mans, Monza, Laguna, and Monaco Amplifer Isolation Systems and allows 0.625" of height adjustment via keyed thru-holes. Sizes for non-GPA supports are also available. Apex details: Our well-documented race car background allows us to collaborate with advanced special-applications engineers to develop materials and manufacturing processes for very specific employment in our own designs. The super-dense polymer separating the core/base of Apex from its outer skin was developed with one of our former aerospace partners and is merely one of many technological advances Grand Prix Audio enjoys over its competition. This polymer (also used in the upright columns of our Monaco SE) exhibits a far higher energy dissipation ratio than any of the metals or compounds commonly used for component isolation footers. By presenting three dissimilar materials boundaries to the energy pathway between floor/column or shelf/component and using materials without inherent grain or crystal structures, the bi-directional flow of vibration is heavily attenuated to measurably lower resonances and system noisefloor. The common diameter of our ball bearing allows the end user to experiment with a variety of bearing materials readily available in this standard 0.5" size (ceramic silicon nitrate, Tungsten carbide). Music lovers with substantial investments in conventional high-mass metal stands reap significant dividends by "floating" these structures on our Apex devices. While incapable of approaching the performance of our complete thru-engineered isolation solutions, such an upgrade provides a very cost-efficient means to drastically improve the poor self-damping characteristics of metal stands that are really vibration transmitters (think bells) rather than isolators. We invite you to put us to the test where "the rubber meets the road" - between equipment support and floor, and component and shelf. We're confident you'll agree that Apex is an entirely new ball game in the realm of component footer isolation devices. Specifications
Apex Carbon Composite Footers (includes 3 x 1/2" hard-chrome balls): $550.00/set of 3 Polished Stainless Steel Cup, Threaded Adjuster/Levelers: Starting at $150.00/set of 3 Apex
Options For additional discussion on novel uses for Apex see Reviews (Media, Industry and Customer).
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