Cheap component dampening idea....
audio_alan
Posts: 770
My Dared SL-2000a tube-pre is sitting on an entertainment center unit that has glass shelves. I noticed if I was up there changing a CD and tapped my finger on the glass, the tap would get picked up by the tubes and you could hear it through the speakers. Not good! Then I got to thinking, what happens when the bass really hits? The glass might transfer some of that back to the tube-pre unit as well. Double not good!!!! :eek:
So, then I remembered that I had these little gel pads that I've used on my drum set in the past:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/RTOM-Moongel-Percussion-Dampening-Gels-100233674-i1137356.gc
I put down a single layer of them on the glass and set the Dared on top of them. Tap, tap, tap. No tap echo/ringing, nice! But then I waited a little while, and tried again. The transfer of noise came back, but not as bad. (The weight of the unit and the sharp pointy spikes of the Dared made it sink almost all the way through the gel pads).
To make a long story short, I doubled up the pads (2 high), and bingo, hours later and my Dared is still floating on cloud 9! I could play a drum solo on the glass and the tubes wouldn't pick up a thing. Trust me, I tried "tapping" hard, and nothing. :cheesygrin:
Only 4 come in a package, so you might need to buy a couple (depending on your unit and it's feet), but at $6.50 a package it might be the cheap tweak that your components have been looking for.
(Oh, and don't worry, these gel pads are sticky but don't leave any sort of residue. They are basically the same material that they make those kids toys out of that you throw at the wall and they grab/walk down the wall. Wash, and they are sticky again.)
So, then I remembered that I had these little gel pads that I've used on my drum set in the past:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/RTOM-Moongel-Percussion-Dampening-Gels-100233674-i1137356.gc
I put down a single layer of them on the glass and set the Dared on top of them. Tap, tap, tap. No tap echo/ringing, nice! But then I waited a little while, and tried again. The transfer of noise came back, but not as bad. (The weight of the unit and the sharp pointy spikes of the Dared made it sink almost all the way through the gel pads).
To make a long story short, I doubled up the pads (2 high), and bingo, hours later and my Dared is still floating on cloud 9! I could play a drum solo on the glass and the tubes wouldn't pick up a thing. Trust me, I tried "tapping" hard, and nothing. :cheesygrin:
Only 4 come in a package, so you might need to buy a couple (depending on your unit and it's feet), but at $6.50 a package it might be the cheap tweak that your components have been looking for.
(Oh, and don't worry, these gel pads are sticky but don't leave any sort of residue. They are basically the same material that they make those kids toys out of that you throw at the wall and they grab/walk down the wall. Wash, and they are sticky again.)
Post edited by audio_alan on
Comments
-
One more thing - The one caveat to this tweak might be heat. If your unit gets hot, I suppose there is a potential of melting the gel pads. I'm going to keep a close eye on the temp of my tube-pre unit tonight and make up my mind. If it gets too hot, then I might build a little wood platform that can float on them, decoupling the pads from the heat of the unit, while still decoupling the Dared tube-pre from the glass shelf.
So far it is barely warm after 2 Pink Floyd albums and most of a Steely Dan album. I think it'll be fine. The music sure is sounding fine tonight... -
I have to agree with that. I am a big fan of vibration elimination, and I use SS gear. Everything in my system is on Mapleshade Micropoint brass footers. Each one added made the sound a bit better. It is amazing how well they work.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
I have to agree with that. I am a big fan of vibration elimination, and I use SS gear. Everything in my system is on Mapleshade Micropoint brass footers. Each one added made the sound a bit better. It is amazing how well they work.
Nice setup, I see some MIT Shotgun's in the background there. I use rubber stoppers from chemical beakers my dad gave me. At some point I would like to get some of the these guys for all my components, but thats not gonna be cheap"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
Yeah, nice setup BlueFox. I realize that most guys out there like the brass footers, but I wanted to do something "tonight" to fix the problem. Those moon gels came to mind, and I think they work perfect. You can't really see them, because they have aren't very tall, but that's ok (otherwise I would have posted a picture). The only thing that really mattered was whether it was stable, and that the vibration was GONE. And since I only used 6 of them, that's about a $10 solution.... like I said, cheap!
I like the idea of rubber stoppers too, Ender. I bet they work well also. -
In the past, I used pavement stones as vibration eliminators on top of the speakers. I never really believed vibration could affect electronic gear, but like you, I discovered otherwise.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
In the past, I used pavement stones as vibration eliminators on top of the speakers. I never really believed vibration could affect electronic gear, but like you, I discovered otherwise.
I've heard of people putting stones under their speakers too. Whatever works, I suppose...
BTW, I played my stereo for most of last night. No problems with heat, so I don't think I need to worry about melting the gel pads. I'll have to test it again tonight, to make sure the unit hasn't settled through the gel pads again, but I doubt it since it didn't do it after several hours.
So, the verdict is: It's cheap, looks fine (since you can't see them), and it's extremely effective. Of course, this wouldn't be a good solution if you're trying to let your equipment breath. It's just for vibration elimination... -
I'm a HUGE believer in the audioquest sorbathane big feet. I bought 36 from a place on the internet yrs back that sold them without the AQ packaging for very cheap(until AQ put the big kabosch on them). You could drop a dump truck in my stereo room and never get the CD player to skip. I also see Audio Advisor came out with some that are MUCH more reasonable that the AQ's.
My .02
carry on -
Thanks for posting another alternative, pitdogg2. I bet those audioquest sobathane big feet do work well. They look to be the same concept as the Moon Gel that I just used -- A material that absorbs vibration, not just isolates via limited surface area.
Moon Gel is still cheaper, but would require even more layers (read: more $$$) on heavier equipment, so would become a less attractive solution. Luckily the Dared is a small enough unit that I was able to make it work with only two layers. In a pinch, it worked great!
Other anti-vibration techniques? Cheap or not....
