@gaukus
Have you considered dismantling the Audioengine speaker and damping/isolating the different components/drivers?
You are attempting to minimize the cable vibration, which is actually the manifestation of the vibrating speaker. Its the speaker you should be addressing and then maybe the cables wouldn't vibrate? The computer speakers you are working with will have natural limitations regarding cabinet integrity, etc.
Am I the only one sensing a bit of dejavu....somewhat of a Kenjit 2.0 vibe?
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@gaukus
I'm suggesting that you dismantle and maybe add a MINIMAL continuos bead blu tak or map putty....it will work like a gasket or weatherstripping. I would not, as you correctly point out, stuff anything inside. You want to dampen vibration which will help the speaker do its thing. A little goes a long way. Additionally the putty will expand when you tighten the screws...
Im not sure how many people here have heard the audioengine speakers but I have a pair that I used for many years in a workstation setup. They punch waaaay above their weightclass. Good luck and best wishes. |
Blu tack or more likely the gray map putty should be available at a goodoffice supply. Amazon has multiple blu tack options available. |
@gaukus
I would try the putty in steps. Again, think of it as installing a gasket or absorptive buffer. You describe the plate amp portion of the speaker as the part that is transferring the energy so start there. form/roll the putty into a very small diameter continuous piece and then place the putty between the cabinet and the plate amp and reinstall. The act of screwing down the screws should squeeze the putty into position. Then, see if that reduces the vibrations.
My recollection is only one speaker has the plate amp and the other simply receives the signal through speaker wire correct? Does the second speaker vibrate like the one with the plate amp? If so, then you are transferring energy in other areas as well. While you have it open, see if you can possibly tighten the drivers, some of those screws may have come loose over time.
The law of diminishing returns really kicks in when you are dealing with a $2-300 speaker. Additionally, it sounds like you are listening at very high volumes. There is a point where you are likely listening outside their intended volume range.
Best wishes. |
@gaukus
Others may chime in because I am far from an expert. You can prevent/minimize vibration or drain vibration. Given your feedback on the second speaker behavior, you may need to do both.
You will achieve dampening/preventing with the putty and tightening all screws you can get to.
Do you have the speakers sitting on any type of stand or support? You may also consider when you get the putty to roll 4 balls of the putty and place underneath the speaker and the surface (be mindful of the surface since the putty could possibly make a spot on your surface it is happens to be a nice surface). Maybe a cutting board as a base might improve things some?
You can probably tell that I am trying to be careful with recommendations given I don't really know the vibration characteristics and whether they originate from your cabinets, your drivers being loose or backwaves from the drivers. I am also trying to recommend things that are on the cheap and arent a total loss if they dont achieve your goals ie: a cutting board, etc. Another potential solution would be to swing by a best buy or car stereo shop and see if they have a small sheet of dynamat. You could cut it up to place in several locations within the speaker cabinet to absorb some of the internal reflections/vibrations. Beware, this could kill the liveness of the speaker as I havent tried it with this speaker as well as I dont know if thats the source of the vibration. |
@gaukus
@millercarbon is right, those kinds of bands would be far from ideal.
Once again, its your experiment and your money but if you can't tweak your Audioengine speakers to vibrate less for very, very little money, you will be throwing good money after bad. After checking to see if they can be tightened properly in the right ways and appropriately damped in the right ways to avoid killing the liveness of the presentation then you will likely need to recognize that you are potentially exceeding the speaker's capabilities regarding vibration control at given volume levels.
Getting a speaker to scale is tough...and its tougher still when its a small box, built to a price point and houses all the amplification as well, which was also built to a pricepoint. The Audioengine speakers are really nice for the money...but spending hundreds of dollars on tweaks might initiate the law of diminishing returns quickly and could lead to the law of absolutely no returns kicking in. |
@gaukus That’s great. Did it solve the problem or mitigate the problem? I still suspect that if you address and solve the source of the vibration then you might be able to avoid the majority of the tweaky encroachments into your living space. |
@gaukus
When you sandwiched the cables, did the sound change for the better? Different? Worse? |
Your time and resources might be better focused on determing the source of the vibrations and solving those. Good luck. |
Even if you completely solved the vibrating cables, that's not the only problems caused by the vibrations. I haven't looked at the Audioengines in years, are there specialized screws, et al to which you don't have the appropriate tool to unscrew/rescrew? |
@gaukus you have treated the symptom but no solved the problem. Thats cool but it still doesnt mean you solved the vibration issue. Is the plate amp a class d or a/b? The reason I ask is if its a class d and getting hot enough to melt putty….you must play louder than most. |
Congrats then @gaukus youve achieved your desired result. |
