Speaker Decoupling Tweak

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Early B.
Early B. Posts: 7,900
edited February 2007 in DIY, Mods & Tweaks
Bought two butcher blocks from Marshall's ($14.99 ea.) to set undernearth my floorstanding speakers. The butcher blocks are 14" x 14" x 1.75" and have feet on them. Works great! They raise the speakers 2.5" off the carpeted floor.

My speakers were resting directly on the floor, no spikes (per manufacturer's instructions). My goal was to minimize the vibrations the bass was sending to the floor and to tighten up the bass a bit. I planned to purchase a pair of Auralex Subdudes ($49.95 ea.) for this purpose, but decided to use these butcher blocks instead.

The bass sounds like it's not on the floor anymore, if that makes any sense at all. Bass notes are a a little tighter. The butcher blocks also reduced the rattling of the flue in my fireplace during deep bass passages.

Got some more listening to do, but so far I'm pleased with the results.
HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

"God grooves with tubes."
Post edited by Early B. on
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited February 2007
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    Here's a pic...
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • zombie boy 2000
    zombie boy 2000 Posts: 6,641
    edited February 2007
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    Interesting... I use spikes even though my speakers are on a hardwood floor. My results pretty much fall in line with yours. Bass is tighter and I find that imaging improves (though this may be due to the fact that the tweeters are closer to ear level). If anything, it certainly reduced cabinet resonances.
    I never had it like this where I grew up. But I send my kids here because the fact is you go to one of the best schools in the country: Rushmore. Now, for some of you it doesn't matter. You were born rich and you're going to stay rich. But here's my advice to the rest of you: Take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, they can buy anything but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it. Thank you.Herman Blume - Rushmore
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited February 2007
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    I tried spikes on the bottom of the boards, but for some reason they didn't make the boards more sturdy. And I certainly wasn't going to add spikes directly to the speakers. They'd be too heavy to re-position with spikes on them. Besides, I like the extra height on the speakers that the boards offer.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • jm1
    jm1 Posts: 618
    edited February 2007
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    Glad to hear this helped. Have you thought of trying concrete sidewalk blocks under the speakers? They come in assorted styles and colors and have more mass than butcher blocks.

    I have placed some gray tinted blocks under my subs as they do not have spikes.
    All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed and third, it is accepted as self evident.
    Arthur Schopenhauer
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  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited February 2007
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    jm1 wrote:
    Glad to hear this helped. Have you thought of trying concrete sidewalk blocks under the speakers? They come in assorted styles and colors and have more mass than butcher blocks.

    I've used concrete slabs for subs with good results. I used wood in this instance for the aesthetic value. The slabs, even when painted black, have a DIY appearance.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
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  • SLOCOOKN
    SLOCOOKN Posts: 704
    edited February 2007
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    If nothing else we know what you are cookin' tonight! :)

    I sooooo want a pair of vmps towers like you have!

    Do you here that?......sounds like envy to me! :)
    :eek: From the bottom it looks like a steep incline, From the top another down hill slope of mine.:mad: But I know the equilibrium's there!:cool: .."Faith No More" :D
    Sony cx985v (for now)
    BBE 482i
    B&K AVP 1030
    Adcom GFA 555 mk 2
    AudioQuest Crystal 2 spk wire
    Nordost RCA
    SDA 3.1 tl RD0 tweets
    Belkin pf60
    Carver TFM 55x
    Signal Analog 2 RCA
    AudioQuestType 4
    VMPS Original Tall Boy (Mega Woofers soon)
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  • mulveling
    mulveling Posts: 505
    edited February 2007
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    Wow, just now saw this thread - didn't know you were the one to start this trend. I've had great success with the Auralex Gramma, which is exactly the same as the "Subdude" with a different label. I wish I'd done this tweak as soon as I got my big Legacy Sig IIIs. I need to spend more time in this forum! :D
    Tannoy Dimension TD10, SOTA Star Sapphire, Heathkit W4A's, McIntosh MC2100, Eddie-Current Zana Deux, Singlepower SDS, Sennheiser HD650, Audio-Technica L3000, Sony Qualia 010
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  • McLoki
    McLoki Posts: 5,231
    edited February 2007
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    I got a piece of granite from a countertop place and it worked great. Just ask for the cutouts from a double sink and they will practically give it to you. (you can have them poish the edge for you, but that will cost)

    Looks nice, is heavy as hell, and works great for my SVS.

    Michael
    Mains.............Polk LSi15 (Cherry)
    Center............Polk LSiC (Crossover upgraded)
    Surrounds.......Polk LSi7 (Gloss Black - wood sides removed and crossovers upgraded)
    Subwoofers.....SVS 25-31 CS+ and PC+ (both 20hz tune)
    Pre\Pro...........NAD T163 (Modded with LM4562 opamps)
    Amplifier.........Cinepro 3k6 (6-channel, 500wpc@4ohms)
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  • mlhm5
    mlhm5 Posts: 217
    edited February 2007
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    I glue and stack these under all my components. Cheap, great isolation (vulcanized rubber) and almost invisible.

    hockeypuckchampionbp0.jpg

    $1 each

    $1 each again
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