Walmart, 97 cents, for Vibration Control


Simply place on components, or wrap around cables and plugs.  As with footers, location counts.  The more resolving systems will benefit.  The "Fuzzy Sticks" resemble pipe cleaners, but they are lighter, thinner and less rigid.  This means they can be folded, bent in spirals, and cut with a scissors. 

Prepare to be astonished.  What music lover doesn't have micro-vibrations they would prefer to eliminate?

 

sgordon1

Another good make-shift ant-vibration solution is Velcro - that’s what's between gear racks and turntable plinths. Get the heavy-duty Velcro, (supports more weight without crushing) and the other great benefit is the plinth can’t be pushed or slid off the rack by accident/kids/pets/etc. My DIY-conversion IKEA racks can actually be lifted and carried around by the butcher-block plinths (if the rack is empty). 

I would not recommend 3M "Dual-Lock" - that will have little/no anti-vibration effect. Dual-Lock has it's purpose, I use that on the motorcycles for mounting cameras, camera remotes, XM antennas, etc., but if you're looking for vibe-control don't mistakenly buy "Dual-Lock" for that. You also don't want "Low-profile" for anti-vibe because you want the highest profile available.

This reminds me of another anti-vibe solution that’s on the IKEA racks... equipped with soft rubber casters to help isolate from the floor, and enabling easily spin and move (to make cable connections) - very convenient with a 73 Lb. amp on the bottom shelf.

Thanks, there are some interesting and affordable ideas here, regarding vibration control.

Several years ago I came across a product that was made for underlayment for marine flooring, that I found works very well for a dampening and isolation buffer. It is a sheet of 3/16" dense felt, bonded to a 3/16" layer of rubber.

What worked well for me was to cut out various sized squares (2"x2", 3'"x3", etc.) from the sheet of underlayment and put them in the corners between my 2" thick Back Walnut butcher blocks and the rack shelve and then couple the component to the butcher block with brass cones, with a thin felt washer between the component and base of the cones. The purpose and archived result is coupling the component to the mass of the block and isolating the block and component from the resonance of the rack.

With a little ingenuity and a bit of work, it shouldn't cost a fortune to achieve affective resonance and vibration control......Jim

So glad to see other music lovers using OTC solutions vs high priced snake oil Audiophile gizmo's.

My equipment rack, for instance, sits atop washing machine "Vibe Killers" They have a skull and cross bone logo (I want the tee shirt) how can you not love that

Turntable is on a butcher block cutting board, etc, etc.....

Guess the pipe cleaners are next.....

Here we see the NAD C-series pucks in action

Makes the Classic series look more like the Masters series.

I don’t know about pipe-cleaners, but this is what I use...

Light anti-vibration

 

Medium anti-vibration

 

Heavy anti-vibration

 

NAD C-series top and bottom-side anti-vibration (to look like NAD Master-series pucks).

 

A collection of 3D models, also showing one with neodymium magnet embedded.

I 3D-print these and (as can be seen) combine with other vibration-reducing materials (golf practice balls, squash balls, rubber slip-resist pads, magnets, etc.) to suit each application.

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If I shake my speaker wire, will it make a bad sound come out of my speakers like a not so micro vibration?

Foam pipe insulation.

Available in 3/8", 5/8" or 7/8" to accommodate most speaker cables and 6 foot lengths so you can choose whatever length works best.

At $4.50 each it works out to under $0.20 each for 3" cable risers.

Thanks but my hi-fi system has every possible accessory and/or tweak that I will ever need 🙂

I wrapped one around my right pinky flinger and my typing is now twice as fast.  Be sure to wrap counter clockwise...otherwise will slow you down.

Intriquing.  But, as a responsible audiophile, I have to be concerned with the resale value of my investments.  After a quick review and a failed attempt to find examples  of used "fuzzy black strips" on A'Gon, Ebay, etc. it appears that there is a risk of losing up to 80% of this product's value once the seal has been broken.  The thought of the potential embarrassment when I have to explain to my tweaky friends that I foolishly tossed real money at this product and lost a major chunk of my investment would make for highly anxiety, and sleepless nights.  The cost of a single Margarita to settle my nerves would exceed the cost of the fuzzy black strips.

As much as I like to admit that any excuse to go to WalMart is a good one, I just can't justify the long-term value of this investment.  Think I'm going pass.

But, wait, my wife just reminded me we can repurpose these in our motorhome.

 

Nevermind.

I'm sure this will work for some, but I prefer to cut my old golf grips into chunks/strips and use them as vibration control/isolation material. Effectively free because if I didn't use them this way would be throwing them out.

Why not, if it works. I’m quite happy with the thick glass cable elevators/lifters I got at IKEA for 47 cents each/$25 total. My Gold Note Mediterraneo turntable sits on a 2" thick wooden butchers block at $45, which sits on NobSound isolation springs at $40 for a set of 4. Plus my Monitor Audio Platinum PL300ii sit on 2" thick slate slabs at $30 each, which sits on good ole Canadian rubber or more commonly known as hockey pucks at 86 cents each/$16 total. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.....

:) yah, simple solutions could be just genius… At some point I successfully used washing machine anti vibration pads with my 78lb monoblocks.

Wow. I can’t believe I have been neglecting this! I should be cryo-ing my hockey pucks!

Lol! I bet if you actually make the penguin (in the picture gallery) and place it on your amp, you’ll arrive at the optimal benefit to resolve those spurious micro vibes 👍🏼 

Sounds like a great idea. But I already resolved all my vibration issues by painting my listening room the correct color.

@audioguy85 ...does that helium dosing of the room make everything 'chipmonkian' to behold?  Nothing faster than 'normal', just has that 'squirrelly vibe'.....;)

The only way these work properly is to get different colors. I got the black, white, red, green, blue, orange and yellow. Always use them in a “rainbow” pattern. Then you isolate the entire frequency range of micro vibrations. Black doesn’t work well for all frequencies. 

Love it! Thanks for the belly laugh🤣. I actually really needed that.

Happy New Year! 😊🎵

But are they audiophile grade fuzzy stick black pipe cleaner thingies? Just curious....😂😁 this is right up there with the rubber bands as cable elevator tweaks...and just as cheap! How can one loose? I’ve heard of using Marshmallows on top of amplifiers can help absorb spurious micro vibrations until they melt....tried it once, what a mess. Also, too much carbon dioxide in your listening room can cause the air to become dense and affect sound waves. I solve this by holding my breath while listening and somtimes I  alleviate this issue altogether by habitually pumping copious amounts of helium into the room.

They'll work as well as cable elevators, tuning dots, those Shakti wooden things, tube buffers, etc.

As for cheap vibration control my go-to are Howie’s hockey pucks sold on eBay. Don’t get the cheap junky practice pucks. Splurge and get the 100% rubber game pucks! Otherwise, I use the John Darko approved audiophile doorstops sold on Amazon. 

I am not surprised, but then I worked on noise control projects for 40 years. I use a fabric antivibration covering on interconnect cables Kleinbeck Engineering produces, I suspect it works better than pipe cleaners. It has been common place in some industries for decades.

´´The "Fuzzy Sticks" resemble pipe cleaners’´

Tey may be used as ´´ Ears cleaners ´´  first .

Simply place on components, or wrap around cables and plugs.

I understand about the cables but what do these do when placed on top of equipment? This is something I am unfamiliar with

A bit costly for me...  😁But i dont have these in my basement...I will order them for the sake of the fun experience...

😁😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😁