Well I finished the sub bases, and after an evening of listening here are my thoughts:
-Well worth doing if you have carpet. Bass is clear, and
tight. The carpet seemed to muffle the sound some.
- My room is a finished room over the garage, and if you are looking to this idea to keep the sound in rooms below you quieter, it will do that also. But, you can still hear it below, but definatly not as loud.
- Thanks for the info. on the spikes from Parts express, I will order those as I believe this tweek is a success.
You can see them in my system photo. |
Similar to Roofmeister, I built my equipment table and amp platform gluing three sheets of 3/4" MDF and trimmed with stained poplar. I'm very satified. Have some pieces remaining and I'll also report back how it works under my REL. The spikes are reasonable from Parts Express. I was going to take the same approach for platforms to support a set of Snell D's that I recently came across. |
That sounds like a great platform. Cones from parts express are not expensive. But you will get a idea at what the platform will sound like. |
I decided to try and experiment with sub bases. I made them out of (2) 3/4" thich MDF glued and screwed together. I then glued on 1/2" oak plywood for a 2" total thickness. I wrapped the out side edges with aspen wood all stained to match the componet stand I built previously. Not willing to spend big bucks on cones at this point I used 3" x 5/16" brass screws that extend 1" below the bottom for spikes. Once the 5 coats of gloss clearcoat set up I will try them out and report on any impressions. |
I have a 3 inch thick maple cutting board. Think I'll give it a try. |
Just sitting on the carpet in my room, so it doesn't scratch. |
PTM, this is interesting as I'm always looking to experiment. Is the sub simply sitting on the floor or did you fashion some type of feet? |
PTM
this is what Vandersteen does out of the gate
as well as High Pass
Cheers JohnnyR |
I do this with my Rel Strata III down firing sub. I flip it over so it is up firing, put a nice thick piece of wood on top of the now upward sitting feet (I use a large 1" thick maple cutting board) and put something heavy on that. I also recommend getting it out of the corner. You will have to turn it up a bit louder but with both of these changes you will now have something that is absolutely faster sounding with better overall pitch definition. |
If you go with the base method, as I have, what I did was make the base a bit larger than the sub with slightly rounded edges at the top. After that, put a round spacer with a hole drilled in the middle between the sub and the base at the corners then get some large brass spikes with an internal thread in them. What you have to do is cut some threaded rod that has the same thread pitch as the spikes internal thread and the subs inserts and use that to tighten everything together. This way the sub and base is all one unit and about 15 pounds heavier. If you use granite, you'll have even more weight (mass) which will keep the sub more stable in the carpet. |
Was that $20 each for the granite? If so, that's a steal. |
Hi all ! I went to a counter top shop and they made me 3 16 x 16 pieces of granite for $60 . They are very heavy . Used one under each speaker and one under my amp . Might try another for the sub . |
I used two 3/4 in birch plywood screwed together and put some 1/4in spikes underneath to couple to the floor.
The sound was more detail and less wooly. also, more gain and smoothness in presentation. I also put cones between the sub and the platform, it increased the speed of delivery. |
The bases made by Zmanastronony are what I was thinking. What are they made of ? What did you notice as far as an improvement ? |
I have an old school setup.
Nikko Alpha 2 amp
Nikko Beta 2 preamp
Nikko Gamma 1 Tuner
ADC Sound Shaper
Cambridge Audio Azur 540 CD player
Nikko Np750 turntable
BIC beam box antanae
I run 2 pair of DCM Time Windows 1A
and 2 DCM 10 inch subs.
My set up is in a 12' x 20' room with not the greatest set up as far as accoustics. I will try the cones, but is there any opinion on using say a granite base or the auralex sub dudes? |
Any type of spoke should improve it. Make sure the spikes are adjusted so there is no rockIng of the woofer- it needs to be very secure. |
RELs come with spikes according to the manual but I bought both of my Stadium subs used and didn't get them. If the Star Sound are too expensive I would experiment with lesser spikes to see if they help. I have forgotten the exact thread size. |
Great timing for this question as just yesterday I put a piece of porcelain tile under my REL sub. Still evaluating but initial reaction is not favorable. I think the tile is too thin. Also, it's just sitting on the carpet.
I think I'll look into Stanwal's idea. |
I added a home made platform under my sub and it made a great improvement. I spiked the platform thru the carpet into the floor.I also added spikes between the sub and the platform. Much faster and more room filling. |
I added 2" Star Sound threaded brass cones to the feet of my RELs for a considerable improvement. Tightened it up and generally improved it. |
Tell us what your other components are
Size of your room.
Which sub you are using?
Cheers JohnnyR |
