Isolating / Dampening Subwoofer - Cheapest Solutions ?

Destructabomb

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Hi there,

Basically I purchased a Logitech Z623 System (I know not the usual high end gear) for my computer. The issue im having is that even with an adjustable bass level I fell I have to compromise to having no bass whatsoever to not upset the neighbors. I was wondering what are the cheapest ways of dampening the vibrations so that I can still have a good degree of bass without upsetting anyone. Ive been reading through the forums about feet / spikes (which is difficult as there are no pre drilled holes as you would expect) , granite boards and even thick underlay placed directly under the sub. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of the best and cheapest way of achieving the desired outcome.

If its of any use the room that its placed in is a very small box room with hardwood flooring.

Thanks in advance
 
There are two way sound escapes a room. One is by air, simply projecting itself through walls and floors. The other is by conduction, sound actually travels better through wood or even water than through air. So, if the Sub is causing the walls or floors to vibrate that sound is transmitted extremely well.

Though it might be a bit much for you budget, it still illustrated the principle. The Auralex GRAMMA or SUBDUDE are two devices that can prevent the driving of sound down into the floor -

[ame=http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&tbm=shop&q=auralex+gramma&oq=auralex+gramma&gs_l=products-cc.3..0.1820.6057.0.6769.14.8.0.6.6.0.123.684.7j1.8.0...0.0...1ac.1.VIp7mJ23Z_k]auralex gramma - Google Search[/ame]


[ame=http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&tbm=shop&q=auralex+subdude&oq=auralex+subdude&gs_l=products-cc.3..0l3.1980.8482.0.8674.25.11.5.9.11.0.107.836.10j1.11.0...0.0...1ac.1.8kINRCx92u8]auralex subdude - Google Search[/ame]


These are wood (plywood, MD) platforms that sit a top of some high density foam. High density foam meaning it holds it shape very well, as opposed to being soft and squishy like upholstery foam.

I think in some cases they simply use section of the Acoustical Foam that they also make -

Auralex Acoustics - SonoFlat Panels

Even though the color samples show Pyramid Foam, these are flat panel foam.

Set a piece of plywood or MDF on one of these flat foam panels, and you sub on top of that.

You need high density foam to keep the platform from flexing or vibrating, which would result in loss of movement to the speaker itself.

Now, you could make something like this yourself. But a 2 foot by 2 foot or 18 inch by 2 foot panel ready-cut at the building supply store, and put perhaps 3 layers of craft foam under it. Craft Foam can be purchases at any Fabric or Hobby/Craft store.

If you could find some carpet or hardwood floor underlay, several layers of that might work. Though it depends on the thickness of the Underlay.

I was in a building supply store and saw sheets of rubber that were intended for roofing, but would work just a well glued in a couple of layers under a Sub Platform.

But it gets down to what is available to you. If you are desperate, some simple 1" thick upholstery foam placed under a wooden platform would help.

Again, the degree of results is related to the degree of ingenuity of the builder.

This is a form of Isolation. You are isolating the bass from the floor.

But at least you understand the concept.

One additional concept would be Absorption. If you can absorb bass while it is in the room, you can reduce the amount that escapes -

http://www.avforums.com/forums/hi-f...72-primer-acoustics-absorption-diffusion.html

Bass Traps are just thick soft pads that absorb bass. Typically the deeper they are, the deeper the signal they absorb.

At the link above, you will find several videos for making sound absorbing panels. Again, the deeper they are, the deeper the bass they will absorb. Though if you are absorbing bass in roughly the 100hz range you are probably getting the bulk of it.

This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, depending on how much money you have to spend.

You can get Rockwool insulation. You can get ridged fiberglass. Ridged fiberglass is not that ridged, it just hold its shape better than the soft fluffy fiberglass house insulation, though you can also use the fluffy fiberglass house insulation. You can also use thick upholstery foam. Though upholstery foam tends to be expensive.

However, you can go to just about any general merchandising store (Tescos, whatever) and get a convoluted (egg carton cut) foam mattress pad. You simply can't get more foam for your money than a simple foam mattress pad. One large pad cut down to create several equal sized layers, then stuffed in a cloth envelope would get the job done. You can use single layer or double layers of foam mattress pads to absorb echos in a room or to stop midrange reflections.

If you want to build a simply wood frame for the sound absorbing material, as you can see from the videos in the link above, that is relatively easy and cheap to do.

Again ... ingenuity will take you a long way.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Last edited:
Believe it or not I use Climaflex Pipe Insulation from B&Q , THIS STUFF

I sliced it down the middle so you have a semi-circular profile, then cut some pieces to length and stuck it to the underside of my sub and my granite plinthe on my last sub.

This stuff is very dense and easily took my weight when I stood on it. It was a revelation for me a made a massive difference in "floorboard wobble".

Dave
 
Last edited:
There are two way sound escapes a room. One is by air, simply projecting itself through walls and floors. The other is by conduction, sound actually travels better through wood or even water than through air. So, if the Sub is causing the walls or floors to vibrate that sound is transmitted extremely well.

Though it might be a bit much for you budget, it still illustrated the principle. The Auralex GRAMMA or SUBDUDE are two devices that can prevent the driving of sound down into the floor -

auralex gramma - Google Search


auralex subdude - Google Search


These are wood (plywood, MD) platforms that sit a top of some high density foam. High density foam meaning it holds it shape very well, as opposed to being soft and squishy like upholstery foam.

I think in some cases they simply use section of the Acoustical Foam that they also make -

Auralex Acoustics - SonoFlat Panels

Even though the color samples show Pyramid Foam, these are flat panel foam.

Set a piece of plywood or MDF on one of these flat foam panels, and you sub on top of that.

You need high density foam to keep the platform from flexing or vibrating, which would result in loss of movement to the speaker itself.

Now, you could make something like this yourself. But a 2 foot by 2 foot or 18 inch by 2 foot panel ready-cut at the building supply store, and put perhaps 3 layers of craft foam under it. Craft Foam can be purchases at any Fabric or Hobby/Craft store.

If you could find some carpet or hardwood floor underlay, several layers of that might work. Though it depends on the thickness of the Underlay.

I was in a building supply store and saw sheets of rubber that were intended for roofing, but would work just a well glued in a couple of layers under a Sub Platform.

But it gets down to what is available to you. If you are desperate, some simple 1" thick upholstery foam placed under a wooden platform would help.

Again, the degree of results is related to the degree of ingenuity of the builder.

This is a form of Isolation. You are isolating the bass from the floor.

But at least you understand the concept.

One additional concept would be Absorption. If you can absorb bass while it is in the room, you can reduce the amount that escapes -

http://www.avforums.com/forums/hi-f...72-primer-acoustics-absorption-diffusion.html

Bass Traps are just thick soft pads that absorb bass. Typically the deeper they are, the deeper the signal they absorb.

At the link above, you will find several videos for making sound absorbing panels. Again, the deeper they are, the deeper the bass they will absorb. Though if you are absorbing bass in roughly the 100hz range you are probably getting the bulk of it.

This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, depending on how much money you have to spend.

You can get Rockwool insulation. You can get ridged fiberglass. Ridged fiberglass is not that ridged, it just hold its shape better than the soft fluffy fiberglass house insulation, though you can also use the fluffy fiberglass house insulation. You can also use thick upholstery foam. Though upholstery foam tends to be expensive.

However, you can go to just about any general merchandising store (Tescos, whatever) and get a convoluted (egg carton cut) foam mattress pad. You simply can't get more foam for your money than a simple foam mattress pad. One large pad cut down to create several equal sized layers, then stuffed in a cloth envelope would get the job done. You can use single layer or double layers of foam mattress pads to absorb echos in a room or to stop midrange reflections.

If you want to build a simply wood frame for the sound absorbing material, as you can see from the videos in the link above, that is relatively easy and cheap to do.

Again ... ingenuity will take you a long way.

Steve/bluewizard

Thanks for this some great information In there thanks a lot ! Will certainly be looking at the subdude in the future if my first plan (below) fails
 
Believe it or not I use Climaflex Pipe Insulation from B&Q , THIS STUFF

I sliced it down the middle so you have a semi-circular profile, then cut some pieces to length and stuck it to the underside of my sub and my granite plinthe on my last sub.

This stuff is very dense and easily took my weight when I stood on it. It was a revelation for me a made a massive difference in "floorboard wobble".

Dave

Again thanks for this. Would you presume that some high quality underlay would have the same effect upon the granite ? Cut into the correct square size and maybe layered up twice. If that doesn't seem to work (I have some lying around) I'll try that tubing as some is only around £1 per M from both b&q and screwfix. What type of granite would you recommend ie cutting boards have been mentioned but some say they are not thick enough. Plus would you place the granite direct to the wooden floor or place some additional rubber feet to the underside.

Thanks again in advance some great help coming from this forum
 
That pipe insulation is pretty cheap and high density. I had never thought of it before. Further, it is already split down one side, so you have a guide when cutting it in half. It needs to have the split so you can put it over installed pipe.

At least go to the hardware or building supply store and check it out. Ideally this is the density you are looking for.

As to the granite cutting board, any kitchen supply or general merchandise store will have these. I think they are about £10.

Buy Living Granite Worktop Saver at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Chopping boards.

Buy Premier Metro Dark Granite Worktop Saver at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Chopping boards.

Size: L40, W30, D1.3 cm (~16 inch x 12 inch)

Also, some floor tile stores might have 18" x 18" (457mm x 457mm) granite or marble floor tiles. I would avoid ceramic tile, it breaks too easily.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Right picked up some of the pipe insulation today from screwfix and split it. Placed that under the sub (rounded sections on top I presume) and I have a quote of £15 for a 30mm piece of granite so hopefully the two combined will offer a great improvement (can already notice a difference with the insulation). Would you recommend placing domed feet on the underside of the granite to further isolate that from the floor ?
 

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