Don't use marble the sonics are terrible.
But, it's a great paperweight or doorstop.
But, it's a great paperweight or doorstop.
Lonely piece of marble: where should it go?
Greetings. Through some strange providence, I have assembled a decent entry-leveler. Consists of a Music Hall MMF 7.1 tt, Exposure 2010s integrated + power amps (one driving bass, the other treble), and nice, ugly Vandersteen 3a sigs. Good times! So, the sidewalk outside my Vermont home (circa 1865) is made of marble slabs. These get prised up and sometimes break when the sidewalk plows come through in the winter. I'm sure the town fathers hate this sidewalk and would not object to the fact that I STOLE one of the pieces of marble, because I'm sure they want to get rid of the crud anyway. Should I put it under my TT or halve it for the speakers?
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If you like the appearance of Granite and wish to use it you should damp it. EAR Isodamp material is available in large enough sheets to do the job. Michael Percy sells it if you're interested. A simple effective approach would be to use an MDF/Isodamp/Granite sandwich. This won't stop sound waves bouncing off the granite surface but it will effectively stop ringing. |
You will, as Frank pointed out, want to damp the entire surface of the bottom side with a quality dampening material. Only that will make the "ringing" stone slab not be counter-productive for these purposes. You're basically creating a constrained layer base is all, and in that instance the mass will be beneficial. |
Thanks folks. It is indeed marble, not granite (marble is plentiful in VT). I had searched the archives a bit before my first post, and while some warned of this mysterious "ringing", others have praised its sonic qualities for isolating tt's. Incidentally, I am in the process of chiseling the bottom so that it is completely flat (I am not afraid of using my hands since I am a visual artist, and marble is fun to work with). However, if the piece is not machined, would a lack of absolute uniformity in thickness matter? |
There's an interesting description of a TT isolation box made of maple, sand and granite in this virtual system. He admits it's overkill at 275 lbs, but I'm sure it does a great job. Where can one buy granite? |
Mr_stain, make some art out of the marble. Forty years ago, may put marble on racket balls with slits in them. I still have the piece of marble on which we make bread. It was terrible for isolation. I would not recommend maple either; it robs music of its dynamics. I piece of thick granite sitting in sand is about the only way to use rock for isolation. |
I bought it in Texas at a granite mine. Most tombstone dealers can probably get you some. Also it is now very popular for countertops. They might have leftovers that would be very pretty, but too thin for your purposes. Also machine shop suppliers typically have it for fine calibration bases. Their pieces might not be big enough for you. Finally, if you are willing to come to College Station, Texas, I have some that I will give you. I think they are 17 x 18 x 3. |
Rats, I guess I can't use the slab...oh well. Just goes to show that CRIME DOESN'T PAY, now I have to get rid of the marble! (It's too flat to make a sculpture from, and I hate relief carvings.) I suppose I could obtain cheap granite here, as it happens to be even more plentiful than marble in VT...Last question, should vandy's be put on spikes on a hardwood floor (they are tuned for a 35mm ear level and raising the speakers would alter that height) |
Reminds me of when I was a kid, at a well-known tailings pile in Maine, searching for tourmaline. I found an interesting looking rock (to me anyway), and asked an old rock hound nearby what mineral it was. "Leaverite", he said without missing a beat. "Leave'er'rite there." I didn't find any tourmaline that day, but I can now identify most rocks quickly. |
I have Vandersteen 5A's which were professionally installed and set up. They are on a wood floor with the spikes, however, the spikes are on discs that protect the floor. To clarify "rebrate at a high pitch" above means that anything on the marble will sound like the treble control is turned way up..it will sound very hard and bright. |