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Subsonic Rumble Solutions

I know many of you have tried to address this issue. Short of buying or building a subsonic filter (that will/may negatively affect your transparency) - what methods reduce subsonics (meaning the pumping of woofers and subs when a record is playing)?

My system:
I have a DIY VPI Aries clone with a 1" thick Corian plinth, a Moerch DP6 tonearm and Dynavector 20X-H cartridge. This sits on a maple shelf. The shelf sits on squash balls. The balls sit on another maple board floating in a 3" deep sand box. All this on a rack spiked to a cement floor. The phono stage is a Hagerman Trumpet (no built in subsonic filter and very wide bandwidth). I use the 1 piece Delrin clamp on the TT. Yes, I clean records thoroughly and there are no obvious warps, especially after being clamped.

So my isolation is very good - no thumps or thwacks on the rack coming through the speakers. But if I turn the sub on I get that extra low end pumping on some records that hurts my ears. Mostly I leave the sub off when playing vinyl, but I would like to use it if possible.

There was some brief discussion of this on Albert Porter's system thread. I'm hoping to get more answers here.

So ... what methods have you tried to reduce subsonics that you have found effective?

Thanks,
Bob
ptmconsulting
ptmconsulting OP
1,000 posts
 
Simpler is usually better, IMO. I'm even bothered by the idea that I would need a step up device if I were to get a LOMC down the road. Somehow I wonder if any improvement over the 20X-H (a very good cartridge in its own right) would be lessened by the step up transformer.

Thanks,
Bob
acoustat6
357 posts
 
Hi guys, I guess you dind't see the smiley face after the "20 pound one square foot..."

Bob#1, if you can live with it ........cool. Dont worry about it! Why correct problems, that are not there?

Though I think for $30 give it a try! It will still reduce the amplification of said freq even though you do not hear them, most assuredly your amps are trying to reproduce them and using up available headroom and giving your amp fits. Whether or not you speakers are able to reproduce these freq..

I tried last night and today with the increase in weight of the tonearm mass, to change the compliance, to lower the resonant freq., and saw/heard no difference. That is not my "problem". At least one that did not "cure" mine.

Bob
acoustat6
357 posts
 
Hi Mapman I re-read your post and saw "isn't" as opposed to "is" as I initally read it. Or something like that. And now that i re-read it........

Bob
markpao
524 posts
 
Hello everyone, I also am experiencing, what I would consider, severe sub sonic woofer pumping. I hear no affect to the music and no noise whatsoever. It seams like many here are willing to just put up with it, which I have no problem with. Is anyone else here concerned about doing damage or premature wear and tear to your woofer and/or sub woofer from all that constant movement?
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,666 posts
 
Markpao,

Best to minimize it as much as possible through better isolation, clamps etc., in that large driver excursions from noise can cause damage more easily than otherwise, and it consumes power to produce noise that might result in amp clipping and tweeter damage sooner, , but it is normal, in lieu of filtering, to always have some of this present with records.

Its something to be aware of, keep an eye on, and manage, but not expect to do away with completely even with high pass filtering.
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