Just how much do speakers suppose to vibrate?


I have a pair of Totem Staff speakers and when I play music with some bass content I can feel the top of the speakers vibrating to some degree. I like the sound of the speakers and I just wonder if the speakers suppose to vibrate this way. I do not play music very loud (around 85 dB peaks) and yes I tried stuffing the lower chamber with sand, but I did not like the result. Also I tried putting some iron weights over the top of the speakers and the vibrations lessen about half (this according with a vibrometer app for android). According to the vibrometer the vibrations go as high as  IV in the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale. Is this level of vibrations normal for this speakers? Also I should mention that the speakers are spiked directly to the floor which is compose of tiles over concrete.
tiofelon
Try to put 10-15 pounds iron weight in the lower chamber instead of sand. Also, putting speakers on spiked wooden platform should be beneficial. Not all vibration is bad, you want to 'tune' not deaden. This I am not sure of, but it's possible that puting one half inch Walker Audio resonance control disc on each speaker would do good, one inch disc would probably be too much but hard to know without trying.
I remember the funny scene from the movie "Private Parts" when Howard asked ladies to sit down on their subwoofer when he was humming very low into his studio microphone LOL.
You have these right?

"TOTEM BEAK

research and development

The “Beak” was developed to control parasitic vibrations that occur on top of a speaker cabinet. These resonances actually interfere with speaker performance, specifically the waveform symmetry emitted by tweeters.

Implementing a Beak on any speaker can actually control and provide a better interaction between speaker, tweeter and housing.

Careful thought and research were poured into the development of the Beak. Its precisely defined contour was carefully designed; if any of its properties were altered, it would impact the flux created within and render the unit ineffective.

the shape

The “Beak” is milled in a prescribed form, which controls resonance and directs emanation. These distortions occur within a strict range.

The Beak can actually channel common distortion and move it through its cavity to the discharge point on top, hence its shape and name.

As the beak on a bird or whale channels sound, this Beak channels the negative effects of dynamic speaker housings.

totemacoustic.com 10

mass and detail

The mass of the Beak is crucial to proper holography and image integration. In addition to the proper size and curve ratio, tests were done to determine the texture on the surface of the Beak. The spacing of the micro ribs increases from the bottom part to the peak. In fact, the line structure (micro ribs) controls the velocity at which the Beak dissipates distortion, actually helping the tweeter extend its range. This surface texture actually helps alter frequency and phase, allowing you to lock in a proper height and cor- rect three-dimensional image.

placement

The placement of the Totem Acoustic “Beak” on a smaller speaker is usually towards the outer front corner of a speaker pair. If one looks at the top of the “Arro” (our smallest surface area speaker), the placements of the Beaks are right up front toward the outside. Other small speakers benefit from approximately the same arrangements. On larger speakers or on units with top mounted tweeters, a proper location must be derived. Experimentation is the key to determining the proper location.

specs

The high frequency difference when using the “Beak” is measurable and quite apparent. The tweeter generally has better linearity in the 8 kHz to 20 kHz range. Therefore, better staging and imaging is evident. At the crucial crossover point, frequency dips both on and off axis can be alleviated by as much as 1.5 dB. Outcome: better harmony between woofer and tweeter, resulting in enhanced speed, impact and transients."

Also, mass loading with lead shot instead of sand is another recommended option according to the manual. The higher density might help. Cheers,

Spencer


Thanks Spenser for bringing up Beak topic.

Beak indeed is a cool Totem tweak that works magic over their small foot-print speakers including Totem Forest. I also found that it does hefty on adjusting the image symmetry and can be played around. Not necessary position of beaks should be symmetrical per each speaker. 

Well, I have couple of these I don't need. They don't really work on my Aerial 10t giants simply because the surface there isn't flat. Beak works best when upright. I know that it's not appropriate, but would entertain personal messages if anyone interested.


    check out starsound and talk to robert.I use all his stuff ,let it vibrate just the right way ..imho