General Speaker Advice and Recommendations

Discussion in 'Speakers' started by shotgunshane, Mar 7, 2017.

  1. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Where did you get that info and why do those other options suck? The Sorbothane 4-pack vs. SVS 4-pack is the same price on Amazon.
     
  2. elmoe

    elmoe Friend

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  3. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Unfortunately those are not big enough. According to their speaker guide and corresponding weight, I need at least 2" and the price goes up quite a bit.
     
  4. elmoe

    elmoe Friend

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  5. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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    sorbothane is science.
    sorbothane is a well known material for its absorption capabilities. it has been tested and is being recommended by even the biggest name in the acoustic world.
    https://www.sorbothane.com/Data/Sites/31/pdfs/product-guides/Sorbothane-SPG.pdf

    the svs soundpath material they use is unclear, not specified, its probably just rubber.

    no material is more effective for absorption then sorbothane or polymer (polymer cost 2 3 times more then sorbothane) hence why i recommend sorbothane.

    theres huge thread on gearslutz about the decoupling capabilities of sorbothane
     
  6. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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    I dont have much time, but look at this thread.
    https://www.gearslutz.com/board/stu...065539-does-speaker-stand-quality-matter.html

    basically, Sorbothane: can be very efficient if the right type for the load is used. Best is to add a dummy load (heavy blue stone) under the speaker to add mass to the system that needs decoupling and to be able to use stiffer Sorbothane pads to avoid unwanted cabinet movements at higher SPL. You also must pay attention to loading of the Sorbothane since speakers are usually front heavy. Calculating load spreading is a must, unless the weight of the added dummy load is many times fold the one of the speakers at which point the difference becomes negligible.
     
  7. elmoe

    elmoe Friend

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  8. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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    not sure, and this is very important (sorbothane loading)
    iirc, the loading of the hemisphere must be in the middle. so duro70 15-22 lbs, middle is about 18. 3 x 18 = 54 lbs. would be too much, therefore not enough compression on the hemisphere.
    try to aim for lower duro.

    and i recommend 4 hemisphere per speakers. 3 will give improper balance most likely
     
  9. elmoe

    elmoe Friend

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    Thanks.

    So for 42lbs per speaker, and 4 hemispheres that comes out to 10.5lbs per hemisphere. Looks like I will then need 1.5”x0.75” @ 50 duro (rated at 7 - 14lbs per), x4 per speaker.

    $42 for 2x4 packs from: https://www.isolateit.com/sorbothane-1-hemisphere-0510131-0510130-bump-on.html
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2019
  10. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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  11. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Does sorbothane "leak" at all? Will it leave residue on wood? I might go with some sorbothane feet under my center channel speaker, but don't want to leave marks on the TV stand or speaker.
     
  12. elmoe

    elmoe Friend

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    Yep we're looking at the same table, just curious on how you were planning to implement. Nevermind.
     
  13. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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  14. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Should we decouple the speaker from the stand or just the stand from the floor?
     
  15. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Jeesus, guys, stop making this difficult:

    https://www.mcmaster.com/polyurethane-bumpers

    Go for "load rated polyurethane adhesive backed bumpers" and take speaker weight/4 and use appropriate load rating. Or, use the 2x2x.875 rubber/cork blocks mentioned earlier.

    And for folks with carpet and floorstanding speakers:

    2 x narrow adjustable spikes

    installed in:

    2 x cheapo cutting boards

    And put the sorbothane bumpers between the speakers and the cutting boards. Couple the boards to the floor, decouple the speakers from the boards.

    For standmounted speakers, just get some spikes and poke them through the carpet to couple to the subfloor. then decouple the speakers from the stands with sorbothane bumpers.

    For the truly adventurous cheapskates, try getting 2 "live ball, dead ball" kits from a grade school science room supplier and cut the "dead balls" in half.
     
  16. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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    if you decouple the speakers from the stand, the stand dont need to be decoupled from floor becuse the stand is already basically not vibrating due to proper decoupling between speakers-stand.
     
  17. elmoe

    elmoe Friend

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    Thank you, that's helpful. Not sure about the IKEA cutting boards though :D
     
  18. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Just want to make sure we all understand the physics of coupling/decoupling:

    Coupling: this is where one intends to transfer vibration from one device to another. By coupling to heavy things i.e. concrete slab floors, one can effectively mass load the coupled devices, lowering the resonant frequency of the system. this is one type of energy dissipation. A high frequency, low energy vibration coupled to a low resonant frequency system can be effectively converted to heat energy by coupling it to a high mass sink thereby turning excess high frequency feedback into wiggling of a big heavy concrete slab.

    Decoupling: this is where one intends to turn vibration into heat. By decoupling speakers from a speaker stand through a lossy/absorptive interface, one can turn vibrations into heat through the decoupling material, like sorbothane or norsorex, or cork. This is mostly dependent on the Q of the system, the spring rate and damping ability of the "rubber" interface between the two devices.

    Things can get interesting when we start to investigate the axes on which we couple/decouple systems.

    Edit: TL;DR: spikes couple, rubber-like footers decouple.
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2019
  19. Poleepkwa

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    IKEA cutting board works very well in this application.
     
  20. elmoe

    elmoe Friend

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    I don't doubt it, but convincing the wife to let me put spikes on IKEA boards and put them under the speakers in the living room, that's another story ;)
     

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