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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
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.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Things that do work on top of speakers since mass loading is mostly placebo. In no particular order.

Crystals
Totem Beak
DH Super or Jumbo Cone
Tekna Sonic damper
Ceramic tile tables on cones
small Helmholtz resonators
Mpingo disc



n80
2,117 posts
 
Placebo? I have it on the utmost authority, facts and all, that there is no such thing as placebo when it comes to audio.
Post removed 
williewonka OP
3,075 posts
 
Thanks for the info everyone...
- The lead shot would be relatively easy to make and would stop people placing glasses on top of the speakers - but that would be a lot of lead shot
- The granite, although probably looks the best, would have to be quite thick to get to the desired weight because the speakers have a foot print of around 9" x 10.5"
- I like the steel plate idea because it would probably be the most effective due to it's density - and it would be reasonably inexpensive - just got to find a place that can cut it.

I think before proceeding I have to get my friend to fist get the speakers as stable as possible, because this approach would make them top heavy and more apt to easily fall if accidentally knocked

Hmmm - food for thought :-)

Cheers

.

 
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