Coupling vs. Decoupling for Bass Response

Sorry for not responding earlier, but I seriously suggest paying a visit to the audio asylum boards. There you will find a recipe for DIY platforms in numerous shapes, forms and sizes, but the predominant ingredient is PEF, aka closed cell polyethylene foam. It is quite a hard foam, the only way I can describe it is somewhere between a mattress and rubber :) however it does wonders. The rest of the platform depends on budget, availability, aesthetics etc. Probably the best design is a sandwhich which consists of the following:
- 1/8" aluminium (mainly for looks)
- 1" MDF
- 2-4" PE Foam
- 1" MDF
- 1/8" aluminium

You can play around with the rest of the sandwhich but the main thing to keep there is the foam. Then on top of the sandwhich place your speakers on their spikes.

Cheers,
X

Hey X- You forgot the mayo and mustard! Where do you buy PE foam? That sounds like the same stuff Newbee was recommending that they use on hard floors - otherwise known as anti-fatigue mats...is that what you mean?

Albert, I seem to recall seeing some pictures of your studio renovations to accomodate your sound system....believe me, you have nothing to be jealous about!! I tried the tennis ball suggestion but he kept chasing his feet around and making even more noise!

Thanks all - Great suggestions!! I'll let you know what I come up with. As I said, the structural renovations would be most difficult and expensive so I think I'll start with the speakers and see where that leads me.

Marco

Hi There,

I am not sure where you would get it in the US/EU, but from what I read on Audio Asylum you should be able to easily order it on the net. Here things are slightly harder to come by, so I had to go to an industrial manufacturer of numerous types of rubbers and foams and get the PE Foam from them. Wasn't that difficult really - yellow pages, 2 minute phone call and that's it. I even got it for free :) cause they normally come in a huge board of around 5mx10m but I only needed two small pieces so they gave me offcuts they were gonna throw away anyway.

X- seems like you are using the stiffer variety of PE foam. I would have guessed the more squishy one is the one to go for as it would seem to offer more decoupling effect. Here's an online U.S. retailer with a description of the different types of PE foam available.

Marco

While you're decoupling them from the floor, why not couple them to the ceiling?? I do mean suspend them -- if you have beams that can take the weight.

Stop laughing, I'm serious. Cheers.