wuzzzer Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 After doing some research online for products like the Auralex Subdude I thought I'd experiment with my sub. I found some wood that was left over from when we installed hardwood floors in our kitchen. A couple pieces were the same length as the sub cabinet, about 5" wide and about 3/4" tall. My sub came with spiked feet and metal discs with a soft bottom that the spiked feet fit into. I removed the discs, placed the spiked feet directly on the pieces of wood and then put the discs underneath the wood. Raised the sub about 1 1/2" higher than it had been. Looking at Auralex's website, one thing the Subdude is designed to do is reduce vibrations to surrounding objects and the floor. I noticed that right away with what I had done. We have wood floors in our living room and normally with my music cranked up I could feel the floor vibrating if I had my feet on the floor. Now I couldn't feel any vibrations or only faint ones at most. I even turned up the music way louder than I normal and still didn't experience the floor vibrations that I used to. I also was able to turn down the subwoofer output on my receiver. Now the sub blends perfectly with my Fortes. It was a free mod to try and I am impressed with the results. Couple items to note: I have a down-firing sub with dual down-firing ports. The sub is sitting on hardwood flooring. Crossover on the receiver is set to 80Hz. I'm not sure if other variables such as a front-firing sub or carpeted floors would have similar results or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Yeah I put my 3400's on gel mats to reduce vibration. Worked like a charm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 i bought auralex subdude hd's for christmas, it couldnt hurt to have and should benefit. I have been doing some reading on downfiring subs and hear alot of mixed things. I got my hsu downfiring sub and will be opening it christmas day as well and that should help me evaluate downfiring subs. I guess the biggest downfall of downfiring is sub sag but is something that shouldnt happen if its properly designed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 I'm convinced it made a positive difference. Why? My wife said she could tell a difference! [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted December 23, 2011 Moderators Share Posted December 23, 2011 I'm convinced it made a positive difference. Why? My wife said she could tell a difference! That's funny, I read it to my wife and she said to ask you, would that stop the windows, picture frames and china cabinet from rattling and buzzing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenM Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 That's funny, I read it to my wife and she said to ask you, would that stop the windows, picture frames and china cabinet from rattling and buzzing? FWIW, I got an eD isolation platform a little while back for my sub. My situation was a little different: my room is in the basement, so its a tile floor over concrete. I wanted the platform because the base of my PC12 would buzz against the floor at high volume, in spite of the neoprene pads on the bottom, and as such it was prone to move around a little. Suffice it to say, that problem is fixed. However, the sub still has enough kick to cause buzzing at higher volumes, most noticeably on my stairwell itself. Obviously while decoupling the subwoofer from a floor can help to reduce vibrations transmitted through the floor and to the walls, you'll still have the vibrations transmitted by air that can cause induce resonance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 my subs are in the entertainment center anf there is china in the piers. I can let you know when i test how successful it is. I have other pieces of furniture that hold china in the same room soitll be interesting to see how it is affected by airborne waves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted December 23, 2011 Moderators Share Posted December 23, 2011 It's laminate flooring with the padding over cement. The biggest problem is the china cabinet, the glass on the cabinet and most things in it vibrate, at different frequencies different things vibrate. The china cabinet is 34' away, but I think a big problem is it only about 4' from a corner which is probably having some serious bass waves bouncing around in that corner. It's Spud sub, it's pointing into the corner, not into the room. I could try some padding under it or even try and turn it to face the room or pointing up ? I guess I need to experiment, it's just big and heavy AND on the wall on the side of some MWM cabinets, not easy to move. Ok I am just being lazy now, I really need to try something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonJCarney Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Well the problem is the waves are not going away unless u turn off the sub. Only way to solve all rattling is to pad and secure stuff. I went around my room with expanding foam, double sided tape, and silicone. Pretty quiet now but not perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 I had my 15in sub corner loaded and decided to cut the music up shortly after I got it, when I was moving it around for placement. A Waterford vase on a wall shelf vibrated off and broke. I used some Super glu but, to no avil. So now the sub is on a gel matt and more centrally located on the front wall. I have solid oak floors that really transmit vibrations; I also made the legs 3/4 of an inch longer since it is a down firing sub on this soft matt. The wife was not to upset, I think, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted December 23, 2011 Moderators Share Posted December 23, 2011 I don't think it's vibrations from the floor or wall being 34' away with a brick fireplace along that wall. I think it's sound waves being trapped in a corner that has all hard surfaces. You can see in this pic that it's a perfect place to trap sound waves, nothing there to help absorb any of it. If you stand in that corner and look across the table it's the living room with the speakers facing that way. That china cabinet glass makes noise and almost everything in it makes noise at different frequencies. There doing Christmas presents and the white on top the cabinet is for a nativity scene, yet to be put up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted December 23, 2011 Moderators Share Posted December 23, 2011 Well the problem is the waves are not going away unless u turn off the sub. Only way to solve all rattling is to pad and secure stuff. I went around my room with expanding foam, double sided tape, and silicone. Pretty quiet now but not perfect. About 50% of it is gone without the sub on but the MWM still rattles it, and at well under 100 DB. I need to try some of those little felt pads and if I can stop everything inside the cabinet I can try to do something with the glass. Maby a little silicone or something on the glass that can't be seen from the outside ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenM Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 The china cabinet is 34' away, but I think a big problem is it only about 4' from a corner which is probably having some serious bass waves bouncing around in that corner. IIRC, if you've got a corner loaded sub, the point of maximum node excitement would be the corner diagonal to the sub. If that's where your cabinet is placed, it would be no great wonder that it's rattling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsaint Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Idea, buy some GEL keyboard wrist rests to place under the offending sub. Should be cheap and one I have had were very durable. I think i might cut up a old boogie board and slap a few gel pads to it spray it out with some dye or give it a fabric wrap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted December 23, 2011 Moderators Share Posted December 23, 2011 if you've got a corner loaded sub, the point of maximum node excitement would be the corner diagonal to the sub. If that's where your cabinet is placed, it would be no great wonder that it's rattling. It's on the same sidewall but probably the same problem happening. It's pointing up which is still in the corner, I could face directly down that wall or put it on the back wall pointing at the side of the Tv. I need to try something different, it's just still big and hard to move, you can see why in this pic. I'm sorry Wuzzzer, I didn't intend to change you thread, your results mad me think which is not always a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted December 23, 2011 Author Share Posted December 23, 2011 if you've got a corner loaded sub, the point of maximum node excitement would be the corner diagonal to the sub. If that's where your cabinet is placed, it would be no great wonder that it's rattling. It's on the same sidewall but probably the same problem happening. It's pointing up which is still in the corner, I could face directly down that wall or put it on the back wall pointing at the side of the Tv. I need to try something different, it's just still big and hard to move, you can see why in this pic. I'm sorry Wuzzzer, I didn't intend to change you thread, your results mad me think which is not always a good thing. No problem. Discussions like this are always beneficial. Its nice to hear what other people have experienced with things like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenM Posted December 23, 2011 Share Posted December 23, 2011 Hey dtel, I've got a china cabinet in my basement listening room; it only holds glassware (beer, wine, margarita, shots...you know, the essentials). I don't notice much significant vibration out of it, although glasses sitting on an adjacent bar are another story. All I use there is a clear rubberish shelf liner. Can't really offer any big insights for the glass doors vibrating; I'd maybe try some neoprene pads between the shelves and the door. Won't stop the vibration, but presuming the glass vibrating causes the whole door to vibrate against the rest of the cabinet, it might reduce the volume a little. Other than that, as you mentioned, silicone could help as it would give something better than wood to vibrate against. I'm not sure that re-orienting the sub would do a whole lot of good. It's worth a try, but I'd expect something to isolate it from the floor would be a bit more effective (be it a purpose built pad or a DIY job), and maybe some blu-tak behind your wall mounted picture frames. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted December 24, 2011 Moderators Share Posted December 24, 2011 After the holidays I need to start on the inside trying to pad everything, if i can kill the inside noise I can work on the glass on the doors. I can also try something under the sub, can't hurt. Even at medium volume a few low notes are hit and the cabinet plays along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 Watched Star Wars Ep 2 last night. WOW! It was the first movie I watched since my sub 'mod.' Never experienced LFE like this before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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