Effects of concrete as base for subs, speakers and potentially equipment
Hello,
I am looking for any advice and experience from those that have used concrete as stands, racks, isolation. I have a friend who makes functional art pieces from concrete, coloured and designed to your liking and I was thinking of having some pieces made up for my equipment. I currently have everything on wood, but would like something more pleasing on the eye. My room is well dampened with wood floors. I am after any experience that you might have experimenting with concrete.
subwoofer on concrete slab. Currently have a T9x with a downward throwing passive radiator on a suspended wooden floor. It needs removing from the floor and I was looking at concrete slabs.
speakers on concrete slabs. Zu union 6 supreme again on suspension floor. They have isolation feet but they could do with lifting higher. I am considering using concrete for this.
finally the equipment. Amp, dac, streamer. Currently on a cheap wooden cupboard with chopping boards underneath. Any experience of electronics on concrete.
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@mpoll1 Wrote:
The first block, on which I glued cork and felt to the bottom, sits on the oak hard wood floor. On top of that block sits 15 pounds of lead, then the second block sits on top of the lead. I then put Equipment Vibration Protectors in between the speaker and the top block to decouple the speaker from the blocks and floor. I used construction roll lead flashing 8’’ wide and weighs 60 pounds. The speakers rest on top of the Equipment Vibration Protectors with no fastener and are very stable (the speakers weigh 250 pounds). The blocks and lead were purchased at Lowe’s, see below: The Equipment Vibration Protectors were purchased from AV RoomService, LTD. See below: Mike
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Thanks Mike. @ditusa |
I limited my earlier response to your question about using custom concrete slabs and did not address the floor. The wider the slabs, the greater the improvement by spreading the load over a larger area, but @o_holter is correct that gains can be made by reinforcing a suspended wood floor from below. The easiest way to improve that situation would be to stiffen the floor by attaching a simple, adjustable jack-post column beneath the floor joist nearest to the two speaker locations and possibly also near your equipment rack, as @o_holter did near his turntable. However, not everybody has the ability to feasibly add support columns in their lower level, depending on the usage of the room below where your system is located. Some folks have reported an improvement by adding cross bracing between the floor joists in the vicinity of the speaker positions, with or without the support columns. If you do add cross bracing, be careful not to affect the integrity of the floor joists by cutting or drilling into them (consult a builder if you need advice). In general, structural members are stiffer near the ends where they are supported so the closer your speakers and electronics are positioned to a bearing wall, the less of an issue you should have. |
- 20 posts total