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Decoupling monitors from a dresser?


What's up, ever-helpful Sages of Sound? I was hoping I could get some advice.

Back-story: I recently moved into a new place, and am shuffling around components. I used to have a 5.1 setup in a room at my fraternity, with the main transport being my computer. Now I'm in an apartment, with the theater in the living room plus a DVD player, and my computer in my bedroom. I've decided to take the rear channels (a pair of Paradigm Titans) and make them into a two-channel setup in the bedroom by hooking them to the computer via an old-but-new NAD receiver. The only practical place to put the speakers in the room is on top of a dresser. While this will be full of clothes to muffle any effects, I'm still worried there will be some resonances induced in the dresser by the Titans.

Real Question: If resonances are noticeable, what's the best way to decouple the titans from the dresser, without lifting them too high off the surface? Cheaper is better, since being a grad student in NYC isn't conducive to writing large checks.

Thanks!
afranke
herman
2,259 posts
 
In my experience monitors work best when sitting on very heavy, very rigid stands which keeps them from moving about in response to the woofer moving. Anything that would decouple the monitors from the dresser would also essentially allow them to float above the dresser, which is the exact opposite of sitting on very heavy, very rigid stands.

Nothing is a definite in this hobby but you are probably better off having them coupled to the dresser. If it resonates perhaps you could glue strips of wood to the inside surfaces.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
You can buy movers pads (plastic tray with a quarter inch rubber pad). Basically any soft rubber material will help....provided that the monitors are heavy and well braced. Light weight cabinets tend to waffle easily and will color the sound even more when in contact with a surface that can vibrate.

If your monitors are light weight then I suggest putting something heavy (like a piece of granite counter top) underneath to dampen resonance. Place rubber pads below the granite and above the granite and you will effectively decouple the waffling cabinet from the dresser.

One extra point....bear in mind that any surfaces close to the front baffle of the speaker will cause serious edge diffraction - so positioning on the back of a dresser is bad news...
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
How loud do you plan on playing these things if "vibrations" are a concern?! There is another way to go, mounting them on the wall. Of course, you will need to repair the wall prior to leaving or potentially incur loss of renter's deposit. The wall might not be a bad option, for if the dresser is not too wide, you will have a very small soundstage. You could always knock out one of the faces of a drawer and lay them in sideways! (Just kidding, but I'm sure someone's done similar before) When I was single and had no money, I used a microwave cart I got at a rummage sale for my first audio rack. That's back when mircrowaves were slightly smaller than walk-in freezers.

Much cheaper and easier to obtain than marble would be faux marble, i.e. Tiles. Go to some home renovation place, ie. Home Depot and scope out their ceramic floor tiles. Maybe they have an open box, a few odds and ends, etc. and you can pick up a couple of tiles for $2. Put felt underneath them and you're in business.
reubent
7,003 posts
 
I would suggest that you position the speakers at the front edge of the dresser as suggested by Shadorne and then I would place a small ball of Blu-Tak or Elmer's Tak 'N Stick (much cheaper and more readily available than Blu-Tak)under each corner of the speaker, then push down on the speaker to smash the ball. I don't know if the purpose of the Blu-Tak is decoupling or coupling, but it will prevent the speakers from moving/falling and it has been recommended in audiophile circles for many years.

Enjoy,

TIC
snofun3
601 posts
 
You can cut up pieces of mousepad which work reasonably well, and are a pretty cheap fix.
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