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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
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

.

 
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Btw
Under the steel plates I have a blob of blutac each corner just to help stop it sliding off if bumped and chopping somebody's toe off!.

We all still have 10 toes for now!
n80
2,117 posts
 
I sometimes grumble that my speakers weigh over 130# each with the bases and spikes on them. Such a pain to move around. I guess I should stop complaining. They do not vibrate...not that you can feel or see anyway.
reubent
7,005 posts
 
@uberwaltz - Believe it, or not, there is a website called - sandbagstore.com. They have double seamed cordura bags, in multiple colors, filled with 25, 30 or 35 lbs of steel shot. Reasonable prices and free shipping. This would probably be the easiest solution. Just order 2 of them. No work, no effort.

A 25 lb. bag of lead shot would be smaller, more compact, but more expensive, toxic and would require some effort to seal it and cover it for aesthetics. 
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