Fun With Foam: SDA Driver Basket Insulation
Comments
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http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=268-030
Two and a half sheets (I ordered four sheets, but didn't need it all) of this stuff was enough for my 1Bs. Reasonably flexible; inexpensive; easy to work with. I did NOT mummify my drivers or PRs. I slapped a ~1" wide strip on each spoke, and a narrower strip or a dot anywhere else I could make it fit.
They swear it's not asphalt-based. OK. I don't have an MSDS for the stuff.
The new tweeters are still "breaking in"; I suppose the new caps in the crossovers are, too. I have no listening test results; or long-term damping-material adhesion results to report...yet.
While a lot has been said about the brand name "Moretite", there are other products that are essentially the same thing--the stuff I bought was "ComfortSeal by Dennis"; with the words "Rope Caulk" prominent on the packaging. Should have gotten the black stuff instead of white. -
Hmmm, I'm gonna have to try this on the Linbrooks one day. Thanks for the thread and continued observations.~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=268-030
Two and a half sheets (I ordered four sheets, but didn't need it all) of this stuff was enough for my 1Bs. Reasonably flexible; inexpensive; easy to work with. I did NOT mummify my drivers or PRs. I slapped a ~1" wide strip on each spoke, and a narrower strip or a dot anywhere else I could make it fit.
They swear it's not asphalt-based. OK. I don't have an MSDS for the stuff.
The new tweeters are still "breaking in"; I suppose the new caps in the crossovers are, too. I have no listening test results; or long-term damping-material adhesion results to report...yet.
While a lot has been said about the brand name "Moretite", there are other products that are essentially the same thing--the stuff I bought was "ComfortSeal by Dennis"; with the words "Rope Caulk" prominent on the packaging. Should have gotten the black stuff instead of white.
I bought a whole box of Dynamat, I think it had four sheets, and only used 4/5ths of a sheet on my 1.2TLs. I covered all the spoke and the round rim before the magnets of the MWs. Same with the PRs.
I didn't use Mortite. I used Parts Express speaker sealer which was really easy to apply and move around and once squashed it did a nice job. I even used it to seal up a two foot split in the side seam of the cabinet. The other thing I liked about it is that each "rope" was relatively thin so I could meter the amount, more or less as needed, for each hole and it is black in color. -
DarqueKnight wrote: »The meter was set to C weighting with slow response.
Bare driver: Average 90 dB-C (rang like a bell).
Foam treated driver: Average 82 dB-C (dull "thunk" sound).
Dynamat Xtreme treated driver: Average 74 dB-C (quieter dull "thunk" sound).
Only you Raife.
I must say 16 dB is significant.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Originally Posted by DarqueKnight
The meter was set to C weighting with slow response.
Bare driver: Average 90 dB-C (rang like a bell).
Foam treated driver: Average 82 dB-C (dull "thunk" sound).
Dynamat Xtreme treated driver: Average 74 dB-C (quieter dull "thunk" sound).Only you Raife.
I must say 16 dB is significant.
LOL!!! I was thinking the same thing on both points. -
Those baskets shouldn't need dampening.Hmmm, I'm gonna have to try this on the Linbrooks one day. Thanks for the thread and continued observations."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche -
Hmmm, I'm gonna have to try this on the Linbrooks one day. Thanks for the thread and continued observations.Those baskets shouldn't need dampening.
Interesting! What material is used on those baskets? I assume by your statement they are not just stamped out metal. -
hearingimpared wrote: »Interesting! What material is used on those baskets? I assume by your statement they are not just stamped out metal.
Correct.
"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche -
Correct.
Wow that is really sleek looking . . . sexy!
Tom are you seeing this? Maybe you should rethink the Dynamat thing or at least give a basket a thunk test. -
I agree, no Dynamat needed.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Well, alrighty then. If I were to do the "thunk" test, what exactly would I be doing? Hitting it with a wood object, metal or fingernail? I take it that I'm just looking for resonance within the braces of the baskets? What would be acceptable? Thud or dead sound within a certain time frame?~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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Well, alrighty then. If I were to do the "thunk" test, what exactly would I be doing? Hitting it with a wood object, metal or fingernail? I take it that I'm just looking for resonance within the braces of the baskets? What would be acceptable? Thud or dead sound within a certain time frame?
Tap it gently with a screwdriver and see if it rings or thuds. If it thuds no Dynamat needed, if it rings, let me know and I'll send you the Dynamat. -
Would Dynamating the inside of the cabinet be an improvement? I also ordered a bunch of Dynamats and it looks like there will be a few left after the basket tweak.HT/2 CH
McIntosh MX120, MC500, MC206, MEN220
polkaudio SDA SRS 1.2TL, XO, Inductor, Tweeter, Larry's rings, WBT Binding posts, Moretite and Dynamat mod. Built by Mollie Jones 27:th of February 1991, CS350-LS XO mod, LS-f/x, DSW MicroPro 4000
MIT Shotgun S3.3 Bi-wire SC, Shotgun S3.3 SC, Shotgun S3.3 Proline IC, Shotgun S3.3 IC, Shotgun S3.3 Sub cable, AVT 1 Optical IC, EXP 3 Speaker interconnect. -
I would not recommend that.
Did you order Dynamat or Dynamat Extreme?Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
I would not recommend that.
Did you order Dynamat or Dynamat Extreme?
I ordered the Extreme.
My thoughts were that there are nothing behind the PR but plenty of glass fibre or whatever material behind the midrange and tweeters.
HT/2 CH
McIntosh MX120, MC500, MC206, MEN220
polkaudio SDA SRS 1.2TL, XO, Inductor, Tweeter, Larry's rings, WBT Binding posts, Moretite and Dynamat mod. Built by Mollie Jones 27:th of February 1991, CS350-LS XO mod, LS-f/x, DSW MicroPro 4000
MIT Shotgun S3.3 Bi-wire SC, Shotgun S3.3 SC, Shotgun S3.3 Proline IC, Shotgun S3.3 IC, Shotgun S3.3 Sub cable, AVT 1 Optical IC, EXP 3 Speaker interconnect. -
The Extreme, good!
You don't want anything behind the PR as that would interfere with its operation.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
What would be the difference if we did end up going for the Dynamat material? Partsexpress has a nice form of dynamat at a fraction of the cost!
Shawn.PS audio Delta 200/PS Audio 6.0
Polk SDA SRS 2.3
12" DVC sub/Rocketfish RBKIT
Kenwood Basic M2A/DBX 120X-DS
Oppo DV-970HD/Modded Adcom GDA-600 -
There's always a reason for things like that.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
What would be the difference if we did end up going for the Dynamat material? Partsexpress has a nice form of dynamat at a fraction of the cost!
Shawn.
You can get plenty more than enough (a 4 sq-ft sheet) Dynamat Xtreme to do your speakers on Ebay for around $25 shipped. I recently paid $24.50 and it was more than I needed to do my SDA-2Bs and Monitor 10Bs. -
What would be the difference if we did end up going for the Dynamat material? Partsexpress has a nice form of dynamat at a fraction of the cost!
Shawn.
Hi Shawn. I recently upgraded a pair of Monitor 5B speakers. I rebuilt the crossovers, upgraded to RDO tweeters, installed hurricane nuts, used Armaflex for gaskets and used Parts Express Sonic Barrier to dampen the frames on the Midwoofer and Passive Radiator. I read the threads about Sonic Barrier and Dynamat Extreme.....for me it was a cost/benefit issue. I am completely satisfied with the lower cost Sound Barrier.nit was easy to use and definitely did its job. I am sure that Dynamat is somewhat more effective , but for me Sonic Barrier was the best choice. Good luck and have fun! -
I just want to add to SRS 2 owners out there to be careful with the sonic barrier. I read about all of the improvments with the sonic barrier and followed the advice giving about just placing thin strips of the material on the back of the cabinet directly behind the MWs and not in the passive radiator area of the cabinet. I had a similiar effect with just the thin strips added to what others here on the board had when they added too much of the sonic barrier. It sucked the bass slam and dynamics right out of the speaker. I didn't really notice any increase in resolution either. I tried it for a couple of days, but took it out after that. I even tried just using one three inch wide by 12 inch long stip in each cabinet and even that didn't sound as good as stock to me. The only thing I can figure is that since the SRS 2s have the MWs mounted much higher up in the cabinet than the 1Cs, there is a lot of bracing in the upper portion of the cabinets of the SRS2s that is not present in the 1Cs. Therefore the SRS 2 cabinet is probably not as resonant as the 1C cabinets. It's been a couple of years since I owned some 1Cs, so I cant confirm this for sure, but I believe this is the case. Any others out there with SRS 2s have any experience with this?
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Sonic Barrier and Dynamat Extreme work differently. Therefore, one should not be substituted for the other.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Just to be clear I did put Dynamat Exteme on my MW and PR baskets with good success. I applied the Sonic Barrier to the inside of the cabinets on the back wall directly behind the MWs. I did not have good results with the Sonic Barrier in this application with the SRS 2s.
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Dawgfish, no worries. My comment was directed towards StuartB or anyone else thinking about what he did.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Is that true for all Polks? My 10Bs have the stock white sound absorbing material all the way from top to bottom on the back wall of the speaker. Should I remove it from the MW down to the bottom behind the PR? Thanks.The Extreme, good!
You don't want anything behind the PR as that would interfere with its operation.- SDA 2BTL · Sonicaps · Mills resistors · RDO-198s · New gaskets · H-nuts · Erse inductors · BH5 · Dynamat
- Crossover upgrades by westmassguy
- Marantz 1504 AVR (front speaker pre-outs to Adcom 555)
- Adcom GFA-555 amp · Upgrades & speaker protection added by OldmanSRS
- Pioneer DV-610AV DVD/CD player
- SDA CRS+ · Hidden away in the closet
- SDA 2BTL · Sonicaps · Mills resistors · RDO-198s · New gaskets · H-nuts · Erse inductors · BH5 · Dynamat
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Dawgfish, no worries. My comment was directed towards StuartB or anyone else thinking about what he did.
Thanks Jesse! It's all good. -
So not sure I understand. I used Sonic Barrier only to dampen the frames of the WM and PR when I had everything apart. I did not apply to the cabinet at all. It clearly reduced any ring I got when tapping on the frame. Are you saying that this was an incorrect application of this product? I thought I had read that this had been done with success by members of this group. I would guess that Dynamat may be more effective but I also thought that both products had similar purpose.Dawgfish, no worries. My comment was directed towards StuartB or anyone else thinking about what he did. -
Is that true for all Polks? My 10Bs have the stock white sound absorbing material all the way from top to bottom on the back wall of the speaker. Should I remove it from the MW down to the bottom behind the PR? Thanks.
It tends to fall down over time. Simply shove it back up behind the MW's. You can put a staple or two in it to hold it in place.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
So not sure I understand. I used Sonic Barrier only to dampen the frames of the WM and PR when I had everything apart. I did not apply to the cabinet at all. It clearly reduced any ring I got when tapping on the frame. Are you saying that this was an incorrect application of this product?
That's what I'm saying.I thought I had read that this had been done with success by members of this group. I would guess that Dynamat may be more effective but I also thought that both products had similar purpose.
Sonic Barrier is designed to dampen sound waves inside an enclosure. Dynamat Extreme is designed to dampen sound waves/vibration from getting into an enclosure. In this case, where we're trying to dampen the ringing of the stamped steel baskets, Dynamat Extreme is the appropriate product for the job at hand.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.It tends to fall down over time. Simply shove it back up behind the MW's. You can put a staple or two in it to hold it in place.- SDA 2BTL · Sonicaps · Mills resistors · RDO-198s · New gaskets · H-nuts · Erse inductors · BH5 · Dynamat
- Crossover upgrades by westmassguy
- Marantz 1504 AVR (front speaker pre-outs to Adcom 555)
- Adcom GFA-555 amp · Upgrades & speaker protection added by OldmanSRS
- Pioneer DV-610AV DVD/CD player
- SDA CRS+ · Hidden away in the closet
- SDA 2BTL · Sonicaps · Mills resistors · RDO-198s · New gaskets · H-nuts · Erse inductors · BH5 · Dynamat
