Improving a stone rack


Hi all, I have a large stone rack for my system, in beautiful granite, which works great for stability, but maybe not so good for other aspects of the sound. I wonder if it contributes to some treble ringing and harshness. I want to improve the sound, thinking of felt damping on the wall behind the rack, some form of cloth to cover the reflective surfaces of the shelves, and adhesive rubber type mats on the bottom of the stone shelves. Is this the way to go? Experience based advice is very welcome. My rack weighs a ton. It is not easy to compare to a wood or composite rack. I need advice on how to counter the sound problems of stone or similar polished surface shelf racks. I want to try this, before I consider a new rack or shelf arrangement.

Ag insider logo xs@2xo_holter

Easy, isolation under each gear. I don't have stone racks but do it nevertheless. They are plenty of choices, springs, soborthane, isoacoustics, etc...

I don't think your rack is affecting the sound, but if throwing a rubber blanket over it makes you feel better then go for it - it's not as wacky as the power cord or magic UEF people.

Thanks for suggestions! The winner so far is grandma's tablecloth!

I will digest and absorb your wisdom. But before we go further: Is there a METHOD to the madness? I mean, I have a suspicion that my stone rack is adding some hardness and extra treble to the sound. Some of you say yes, others no. But what can I do, to test if the hypothesis is true? Maybe the rack problem is very marginal, the hard sound is mainly due to - for example - my somewhat hot tweeters?

Here are some ways I have tested. 1) Hand clapping in front of rack, vs other parts of the room. Result? Not conclusive, perhaps marginally more echo. 2) Listening with a stethoscope on the stone shelves, while playing loud music. Result: cannot hear any clear ringing. They ring when I strike them with a hard object, of course, but not sure if it plays a role with music. However the large volume from the speakers makes it hard to hear whatever goes on in the stethoscope. 3) Varying the basis of the shelves by dampers on the steel supports. Some effect maybe but not a lot, and it lowers stability so again, not sure. 4) Using a variety of footers, including Cerapucs, Walker valid points and large ceramic cones. Some effect, yes, but not so great as I first thought. It seems that the more massive the stone shelf, the less is the extra bonus of good footers. I have some massive stones at the bottom of the rack, and have a tendency to think "i don't bother" with footers there. 5)  Try to measure, using REW. So far, not very helpful.

Other suggestions for method are welcome. I know what some of you may answer. Just throw a huge sound-damping cloth over the whole rack! If I don't hear a clear improvement, the "stone rack is bad" hypothesis can be laid to rest in my case. I will consider it.

 

Try placing a Peel and Stick Vinyl Floor Tile on the "bottom side" of one of the granite shelves.

I’d start with a source component shelf.

 

DeKay

I'm not a physicist or engineer however, I do read what those experts have to say about things. One of the major keys to damping vibrations is dissimilar materials. If you GTFS "vibration damping material" and check out the images returned you'll see what I mean.

Your stone rack surface, while rock steady (sorry!), also serves as an almost ideal coupler for vibration. By introducing a dissimilar, flexible, material you should be able to ameliorate the vibration/ringing situation.

Happy listening.