Yes, I have done this myself and like the results. I have a Vandersteen 2Wq. I took the spikes off the bottom and placed it on a Billy Bags amp stand with Vibrapods between them. I think it works great. This only raises it off the floor a few more inches. My plan is to buy an ASC(Acoustic Science Corp., makers of the Tube Trap)sub stand. This compines the benifits of the sort of decoupling I am using now and a bass trap in one. Check it out on their site. |
works best w/ hard footers on front-firing subs. decoupling them from the floor improves articulation, but reduces volume. just turn the gain up & you'll be right back where you were, but tighter. |
You are going to have to try it yourself. There is no such thing as "this is better than that". There are too many variables for a one size fits all mind set. |
I did it with a home made wood box with sand and floating top.
Works great! Total cost $50.00 |
Maxgain, to couple or decouple that is the question. Before you do anything, think about the idea of coupling that sub to the floor. You really cannot, fully decouple anything, but you can, surely, couple and send all those evil resonances to ground zero. Try the Sistrum Sub Support system. I use it for my sub. Quite a unique piece of engineering. Go on Starsound Technologies website and read their literature. I, also, wrote a review about their Mini Monitor speaker support system. It'll explain a little of what I'm talking about, but their website does it more comprehensively. They have a full money back guarentee. You won't have to use (the guarentee) it. Vibropods are an anethma to my ears. Once you couple there's no going back. You won't want to. Just think of this: all the work to decouple or isolate a component. How ever you do it, how to you keep away those airborne resonances? You don't. And then once those airborne resonances make their way into your amp, cd player,etc. the very isolating, or decoupling devices you're using, keep those deleterious, microphonous evil devils in your stuff. Check out their website. You will be reborn. Happy Christmas...warren |
Maxgain, I saw the ASCsub stand and it looks interesting, but I am not sure as to how it traps bass. Have you done any research on this? |
There is no reason to put woofers near the floor, just comprimises[sub to small needs floor boundery reinforcement ,most speaker builders place woofers near the floor because its the only place left also its traditional, people expect the woofers to be near the floor ]ask any dealer .people are scared by things that are diferant ,has to be a wood covered monkey coffin to sell ,boring!!!.try lifting it, if your sub is well designed and fits your room well it should sound much cleaner and better defined ,less standing waves .enjoy . |
Matchstickman, Bass builds up in corners as standing waves. The sub stand is just like a short tube trap in a different shape and designed to sit under the woofer. The Tube Traps reduce some of the mud, boom, and colorations that happen by breaking up standing waves by a combination of absorbtion and diffusion. Read their blurb on the traps and it will explain it more to you.
Warrenh, You don't understand because you have not tried it, you just buy into their pitch and are their most vocal salesman, that's fine. I do what works for me in this area and you do what works for you. |
This is simply a matter of reducing the floor boundary reinforcement of the bass frequencies. Getting it off the floor reduces the reinforcement of these frequencies by 3db and tends to make it less boomy sounding. It also may have the effect of having the speaker more in-line with the ear at the seated position.
Note: Use an open type of stand if you are going to do this. Using a flat front closed stand will not have the effect, as it will help to re-couple the floor boundary to the sub, and thus add back in the boundary reinforcement. |
Maxgain,
Do you think the sub stand could reduce the need for corner bass traps? |
I think so. It all depends on where you have the sub. If the sub is not in the corner I think Tube Traps in the corners would still be a good idea. Are you still looking into going with the Vandersteen subs Matchstickman? I love mine and it works great with a bit of care setting it up. I think the sub stand should give me even better articulation and some added punch. |
Maxgain, one thing is certain in my future; Vandersteen 2Ce. After reviewing my requirements and hearing a pair, I think that is the way I'm going to go. The subwoofer is another story. I want to listen to the 2Ces for a few months before I add a subwoofer. For all I know, I may not need one, but when I decide, my main two choices are the Vandy and the Rel.
I have a cheap Infinity BU-2 that I took apart, upgraded, tweaked and put back together. It has a 12 inch woofer and is rated at 100w and it can knock the walls down as it is. I am almost afraid of what a Vandersteen or a Rel, subwoofers of higher quality, will do to my place. So, one step at a time.
Right now I am just trying to get the best from what I already have.
There is one thing that I am wondering; how loud do most audiophiles get with their systems? I am thinking that two Vandy subs at 300w a piece could get VERY loud.
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Matchstikman, I also have a "cheap Infinity BU-2" sub, but it's in the box in my basement storage since upgrading. I know it's not an answere to your question, but could you help a brother out?
Could you explain exactly how you tweaked it? Maybe it could still serve a purpose in my HT...Thanks, DaveSen |
Davesen, my upgrades were minimal, but I actually think it helped. Here is what I did.
1. I took the subwoofer apart.
1. I removed the plastic, rubber feet and replaced them with some steel spikes that I got from Partsexpress.com, I epoxied the feet onto the sub and insured a solid(almost one-piece connection).
2. I removed the 1 piece of dampening foam or whatever it was from inside of the sub.
3. I installed some speaker insulation stuff that I found on the internet. This stuff is egg-crate style pieces about 5 inches by 8 inches. Anyway, I glued them into the interior of the sub until every inch of the inside was covered.
4. When I put the sub back together, I replaced the rubber seals with new rubber sealing. I got this stuff for cheap on Partsexpress.com.
5. After I put the sub, I placed it on a marble square. The sub is about 12 x 12 inches and I managed to find an old marble chess set that I never use, so I took the marble chess plate(about 13 x 13) and I placed the subwoofer on it.
6. Last, but not least, I place a 20 pound weight on top of the woofer and then I place a plant on top of the weight so that it doesn't look that bad.
That is all. It sounds pretty good considering what it is. The upgrades were relatively inexpensive; however, I am still going to replace the sub, but for now, it is better than it was. |
