SVS Subwoofer Isolation feet. Will I lose bass?


Most of what I see about subwoofer isolation has to do with minimizing rattles or bothering the neighbors.  But what about a sealed subwoofer on a concrete slab?  Would these dampeners not "dampen" the bass as well?

My setup...  Dual SVS SB16s on a concrete slab.  I don't have a rattle problem and the room is 20ft tall so I can't afford to "lose" bass because of my shakey rubbery feet.  

I've read and seen many great things about these but I have a hunch it would hurt a sealed sub on a slab more than help.

dtximages

Showing 5 responses by erik_squires

do the positives outweigh the negative of less output?.

@dtximages

Aye, there's the rub, for in that sound of boom what sounds may come must give us pause and make cowards of us all.

- When I die Shakespeare will surely have words for me, I'm pretty sure we'll both end up in the same dry, hot place.
Looks like I dropped a grenade. :)

Let me clarify what I was thinking about driver/cabinet motion.

The combination of small footprint, light weight, and distance from the floor are what make this issue most prominent. If you have smallish stand-mounted monitors I encourage you to try some weight on top and listen. 

Would it happen with a big heavy woofer, inches from the floor? Probably not nearly as much, but I certainly don't want it spring loaded to the floor any more than necessary.

 
Thanks, that's the kind of info I'm looking for. So basically, leave the factory rubber stubbs on sealed woofers on a slab.
 

Yep, unless you can feel vibration through the floor itself.
Isolation feet are not needed here and could be detrimental.

It probably won't hurt you as much as it would smaller speakers.  The idea is that you want the speaker to be rigidly fixed in all three dimensions without rocking.  The woofer's apply a great deal of energy against the cabinet. Even light rocking can reduce the output into the room.

You do want to prevent transmission from the cabinet to the floor, and create a vibration signal that reaches you at a different time than the acoustic one.