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Novel approach to tackle Speaker Vibrations?

So I was over a friends house listening to some music.and noticed that his Monitor style speakers (+ stands) wobbled due to the fact that they were sitting on Carpet.

I also noticed vibrations in the enclosure of the speaker, but thought that was due to poor enclosure material selection.

I happened to notice a couple of pairs of workout hand weights in an adjoining room and thought placing them on the base of the stand might provide some stability. Alas, there was no real improvement in stability or sound quality

Now, I had previously had some success with increasing speaker mass by placing a granite slab on the subwoofer of my A/V system - it reduced the amount of movement in the enclosure and improved bass details..

So I tried placing the 15 lb weights, one on top of each speaker...
- immediately there was a very noticeable improvement in clarity
- also, almost all of the vibration in the speaker enclosure had disappeared.

I have not experienced anything quite so dramatic as this, but it would appear from this experience that it was a very simple tweak to improve speaker performance.

On thinking about it, the weight provided extra resistance to enclosure movement, which allowed the driver(s) to more accurately reproduce the sound - hence the improvement in clarity.

FYI: I am aware of the many products (Spikes, Cones and Vibration eliminators) out there to address speaker stability and isolation, but this approach proved to be very simple to implement and extremely effective.

So here is my question..:

Has anyone come across a commercial product out there like this
- that weights >=15 lbs
- that is "more attractive" than a large dumbbell

I have thought about a slab of stainless steel, since it would provide the heft required in a smaller footprint and not oxidize. Brass or Bronze might also be a better solution

Thanks in advance for any feedback - Steve

williewonka
reubent
7,005 posts
 
Hey Steve,

In the past, I used a couple of bags of lead shot, covered in a ziplock plastic bag, then covered in a DIY black felt "pillow case". Did a great job of adding mass and reducing vibration and the black felt didn't look too bad.
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jdl57
37 posts
 
This is why spikes were invented in the first place. I think it started in England. Forget all that voodoo about mechanical diodes funneling unwanted energy into the ether. What they do is poke through the carpet so the speakers are sitting on the hard subfloor below. Problem solved. Get the cheapest spikes you can find.
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa
4,867 posts
 
Adding weight to the tops of speakers can be quite effective. I’ve done this for years.

If you check out my listening room, you’ll see heavy granite slabs the exact dimensions of the speaker tops placed on top of the speakers. I also added some heavy lead fishing weights. The fishing weights aren’t attractive, but without the weights, the granite slabs look as though they are part of the speakers. This tweak really helps in the clarity department.

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/5490#&gid=1&pid=2

Frank
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Spikes on their own are not always the full answer especially when dealing with relatively light weight monitors perched on top of 26 to 30 inch tall stands. Of course the quality and rigidity of the stands can make a world of difference too.

I had exact same issue with rear surrounds in my ht rig monitors sitting on 28 inch stands of fairly cheap origin. Even though spiked they were still less than perfect. A slab of milled steel painted black on top of each ( maybe 10lb each) cured all ills and really is not very noticeable at all.
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