2. tech-talk
  3. 136741-112562

Vibration isolation an issue in a concrete basement

Do I need vibration isolation if the room is seriously stable?  If so what would I try? My listening environment is a nicely finished basement that is 22 X 26 X 8. Concrete floors and 3 of the walls are concrete. There is a mix if gypsum ceiling and suspension ceiling with heavy acoustic tiles. Insulated 2x4 wall construction with gypsum board and thick carpet on the floor. Speakers are spiked thru the carpet. My stereo cab is a very heavy wooden media unit. You can jump up and down on the floor and pound on the walls and no vibration seems to be generated. At least none that that anyone can hear so far.  In my last house the floors were weak and caused problems. Isolation was key. It feels weird not to have any now.  Should I be looking elsewhere for areas to tweak In this house? I have not explored much in the way of  room acoustic treatment yet but I have stuff on order. I'm in love with the sound but always looking for improvements. You all know that addiction I'm sure. Advice is appreciated. 
vinylfan62

Showing 5 responses by geoffkait

geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
audiopoint wrote,

”Disclaimer: I am not here to debate anyone, especially those who are concreted in the old seismic ways of understanding sound reproduction as that topic has been beaten to death many times over on this forum.”

>>>>Send in the 🍑🤡 Hey, whatever became of your “seismologist,” Bobby? My guess is she ran as fast as her little legs would carry her. 🏃‍♀️Seismic vibration has been discussed here many times. And still you didn’t learn anything,
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Without promoting myself too much 😛 my company specializes in vibration isolation solutions at down to Earth prices. For turntables, CD players, subwoofers, etc. Just determine number of springs required according to total mass. 40-50 lb takes 4 Springs. Will yield about 2 Hz performance ideally. Same basic idea for any audiophile type iso stand.

http://machinadynamica.com/machina25.htm

geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
It’s not that difficult to get down to 3 Hz for the platform. And 3 Hz is very effective. Almost nobody gets down to 1 Hz.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Somebody needs a homework assignment on the dodgy subject of seismic vibration and vibration isolation. 
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
The problem is this. Everything is relative. Basements are more stable, generally speaking, than upper floors, which get progressively less stable going up, for very low frequencies of vibration. And cement floors are generally more stable than suspended floors or whatever. However, seismic vibration comes in waves, so when they do they physically move the entire building including cement slabs and everything else. Up, down, sideways. That’s why it’s necessary to decouple everything completely from the building structure. 
More to discover