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Vibration control, hardwood floor, subwoofer.

Hey folks.

Got a question....

Gonna be putting together a surround setup in my new house, got all the equipment picked out, just waiting to move before i get it.

Doing something kind of tricky here so stay with me, it is kind of wierd, and i'm looking for advise.

The Goal is to have a 47in HDTV flanked by AV racks of identical height that completly hide the gear AND subwoofer (WAF) while allowing it to breath, function with remotes while hidden, and to STILL have the displays visable. I have hardwood floors so spikes are pretty much outta the question

I had to make some comprimises to get the fiancee to agree to the gear i plan to buy, she wants small stuff, out of the way. I want big powerful sound.

Gonna have 5 identical monitors, 1 on top of each av-rack, 1 on the tv, and 2 for surround.

Gonna get a Definitive Technology Supercube I, which has to be hidden (WAF requirements, buyn what you want, i want to hear it but NOT SEE IT)

Either way. since the fiancee doesent want to see lots of audio gear, the AV racks are going to be a little bit strange

the left rack will have drawers on the bottom, with 3 shelfs for AV gear on top. It will be open-air but it will also have speaker grill cloth wrapped around the sides with a door in the front with the same cloth.
IR remotes DO pass through it. The displays for the gear are also visable enough to read through the cloth, so the only time you will see the gear is if you open the door to change the DVD/CD, WHen everything is off, the gear will all be hidden. While the door is closed, in lower light the displays are almost perfectly ledgible through it. I messed a little with this idea last night and it is a pretty cool effect.

The right stand is going to be very similar, however, the bottom of the rack will be totally open except for speaker grill cloth wrapped around it and i plan to place the supercube on the floor beneath that rack. There will be drawers in the middle, The only gear on that rack will be a seldom used VCR and cable box on the top once again with a speaker-cloth door and sides to keep them hidden.

All in all i think the effect is gonna be real cool. The funny thing is my fiancee loves the idea, which is odd, cause she diddnt want large floor stander speakers, and that is EXACTLY what the AV racks will resemble. hahahaha

Anyway, Im trying to learn what i can about vibration control. I have plenty of marble, granite, and slate slabs that i can rest the subwoofer on. I want to prevent the AV rack from rattling and vibrating when the 1.5KW amplifier really opens up.

The sub will NOT be in contact with the rack, but beneath it.
Any reccommendations to prevent the sub's vibrations from vibrating the hell outta that rack? As i said, the only AV gear on that rack will be a Cable-Box and seldom used VCR.
slappy
9 responses Add your response
stehno
1,453 posts
 
I think the best WAF factor would be to toss out the 5.1 channel surround idea and stick with the most simple quality-oriented 2-channel or 2.1 channel music system you can find along with a nice tv.

You'll save yourself plenty of headaches and perhaps money while getting an altogether better sounding system. Not to mention the WAF.

-IMO
slappy OP
903 posts
 
I know alot of people are into 2 channel HT, but i really cannot get into it.

The biggest problem i have is off-axis listening kills the center channel image. Due to room configurations that would be a big problem.

I also gotta say, i perfer a good surround setup for movie watching, some people are just annoyed by the surround effects, but they dont really annoy me, if anything i feel like they help envelop me into the movie.

Might be an age thing though, i grew up with the nintendo, MTV....

I wonder if pro-longed exposure as a youngster to visually and audably interactive videogames wires brains up to be more reeptive to surround effects opposed to viewing them as a distraction.

Plus the fiancee loves to watch movies, and she preffers it in surround sound.

Believe it or not, i think i would have a harder time getting her to accept a 2.0 HT rig
jdombrow
371 posts
 
Some people might disagree with de-coupling, but I use three superballs cut in half. Three halves are on the floor, with a sheet of MDF on top of them. The other three haves are between the MDF and the sub. Very good isolation, and very inexpensive. You could also experiment with different material for the platform, and spiking the sub to the platform (instead of isolation), but keep the superballs on the floor.
distortion
571 posts
 
Tell the wife that you have decided on speakers. Show her a pair of Klipsch K-horns. When the yelling has subsided, place your sub, equipment, and speakers wherever you want.

Seriously though, the proximity of the sub will make it difficult to damp. Especially CD/DVD laser pickups.
glen's avatar
glen
714 posts
 
You can still use spikes. Sound anchor makes a nice floor protector for them. I just ordered 20 as my H/T room is getting pergo next month.
jdombrow
371 posts
 
But even with floor protectors, the sub will be vibrating the floor, and everything on it. That's why I recommended isolating the sub from the floor.

jd
slappy OP
903 posts
 
Jdombrow

Yer talking about those little rubber balls that come in those 25cent machines at the store right? drop em and they bounce 1000 feet in the air?

I was actually considering that, I was thinking of using them beneath a chunk of marble with the subwoofer on top of it with spikes. Maybe i will skip the spikes and use the ball pieces on both sides.

It works pretty good?

The CD player and DVD player will be on the left-hand rack on the opposite side of the TV, about 7 feet away. I was hoping that would help out as well.
satfrat
64 posts
 
What I did for my Velodyne on a suspended hardwood floor was to spike the sub and have it setting on a 2' square slab of slate. I have those $10/4 cork&rubber square blocks under the slate to isolate the it from the floor and obsorb the vibration. The bass is tight and the only thing rocking is me! Regards, Robin
kavakat1
110 posts
 
IS the house built on a slab or does it have a basement or crawl space. With either of the latter two, I suggest you place floor jacks directly below the subs to quell the floor shaking. You can get them at home depot. relatively inexpensive. I just put them up in my 4 ft crawl space. The sub sounds much tighter and stronger now, and it completely stopped the vibes to my equipment rack and turntable. Huge difference for small price. If on concrete, then you will have to stop the vibes within the room versus below the room.
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