Thiel Owners

Tom,
Thanks very much for the detail.   I'm not a handy-man type so wouldn't do that myself, but I'm saving that info and maybe some day I can get a local speaker repair shop to do it for me (if not send them to Rob).


BTW, speaking of getting the 2.7s to "disappear":


I just tried a fascinating tweak with the 2.7s.


To backtrack, I spent a month several years ago putting together an isolation platform for my turntable.  I bought tons and tons of footers and various isolation material (hard and soft), testing most of them with vibrometer apps etc.   By far the most effective were the Townshend "seismic isolation pods."   They are a spring-based design that holds up the heavy turntable and layered platform.   Without the springs if you stomp around the equipment rack with a hand on the top shelf, you can feel tons of vibration.  Also a Seismometer app measures plenty of big vibration spikes with ringing.  



But with the spring pods under the platform, stomping around you can't feel anything getting to the platform, and almost nothing registers on the vibration app!   So quite objective verification that at least some register of vibration is not getting through.


That experience made me curious about the spring-based speaker isolation platforms sold by Townshend, which get great reviews (what doesn't?).    But those are pricey so I thought I'd try an experiment with some cheap spring-based footers on amazon. 



I placed them under the Thiels and just finished listening for over an hour.Wow, they work!  The effect was very similar to when you get a subwoofer dialed in really well - not extended bass but a perception of clearing up and tightening of the entire frequency range, starting in the low bass.  Bass instruments were tighter, floating better in their own space, every thing had a bit more clarity top to bottom, and the speakers disappeared better, the soundstage taking on more of that wide CinemaScope width of the 3.7s, instruments to the side less stuck in the speaker!


I certainly wouldn't say they suddenly sounded just like the 3.7s, but it sure was fascinating for a cheap tweak!
The problem is the speakers get a bit tippy on the spring footers so I don't think I'll stick with that particular solution (because I have a lot of foot traffic in that room right past the speakers to get in and out).   I'm sure with a bit of ingenuity one could make some outriggers using the footers for greater stability.   But I have a feeling I may pick up the Townshend speaker bars in the future.

If I were going to try to reinforce an mdf box the first thing I'd look at is porcelain floor tiles.  They're incredibly stiff and tough.  They don't resonate much but what little they do is at a high frequency.  I'd think combining them with mdf would be an ideal combination.

jon - you're on it. When developing the CS5 cabinet I explored custom ceramic tiles for the interior, attached with a researched mastic adhesive - it worked extremely well. There were two big problems. 1: it was too heavy to ship and handle. Dealer home delivery was the deal breaker. 2: the tiles were not always flat and the ratio and durometer of the adhesive layer would change the tuning of the enclosure depending on adhesive thickness variability, thereby changing the final tweak voicing of the system.

For your in-place situation, #1 may not matter. #2 is a small issue (and no, I don't remember adhesives options or winner 30+ years on.) It's worth exploring. Also, you will change the acoustic volume of the enclosure, but it won't matter a lot. I suggest finding the most active surfaces with your fingers or stethoscope and treating those. High likelihood includes the top and halfway up the sides. Please let us know what you do and how it works.

A friend of mine has a patent on the selection of travertine stone to be used as an acoustic  sink for the endpin of cellos. The right tile removes the wolf tones present in almost every cello..You may research travertine stones and cut as Tom suggested. Debbie’s website is Cellostone.com

With the absence of the original Cascade Vbloc. I will experiment with quick set cement and mix in a quart or more of Micro Bearing steel and trough on like thin set. Careful to measure and match the amount laid out so the stereo pair have the same volume. Let thoroughly dry for a few days and then carefully vacuum out what may have fallen. Tom

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I will experiment with the mix on some plywood first and see how the coating hangs on. After drying I may have to spray coat with a low shear acoustic paint I have been working with as a sealer over the Micro Bearing. Tom