Subwoofer placement

Dopamine · 22nd March 2006, 02:32 PM

I just got the Yamaha HS10W sub yo go with the HS50M speakers.

In the interest of not driving my neighbors mad, I have a couple of questions:

1. If I sit the sub on a thick piece of wood would it minimize the bleed to the downstairs neighbors? If so what would be the ideal thickness, etc.

2. Since I am very tight on space, I have the sub sandwiched between my main desk unit and the wall in front of the mix position. It is literally smashed tightly between the 2 surfaces. Would it help (for both containment and sonic issues) if I had a gap between the wall and sub and desk and sub. Since space is at a premium, the gap could only be 1/2" or so. Would this help at all?

Any additional tips are greatly appreciated. I want to be able to enjoy using the sub, but I feel that my neighbors (who have been very tolerant with my Mackie monitors) will start to complain.

bob katz · 22nd March 2006, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dopamine

I just got the Yamaha HS10W sub yo go with the HS50M speakers.

In the interest of not driving my neighbors mad, I have a couple of questions:

1. If I sit the sub on a thick piece of wood would it minimize the bleed to the downstairs neighbors? If so what would be the ideal thickness, etc.

In one word, "no". You need serious vibration isolation. Some "super w" vibration isolators may help, but it depends on the resonance and compliance of the floor as well. I suggest you get the weight of the loudspeaker and some information on the consruction of the floor and call an acoustician for a short consultation on what sort of isolators would be best to put under your sub. The ultimate solution is a fully floating floor, of course, but you may get 5 to 10 dB at critical frequencies from the super Ws.

BK

tINY · 22nd March 2006, 05:04 PM

You could hang it from the ceiling - with limp springs if needed. Adding a 1/2" steel plate to two sides of it could help too.

Or, you could get a bunch of sorbothane feet and stack them until you get enough decoupling.

The biggest problem may be the floor itself. It may pass low frequencies even if the cabinet isn't mechanically coupled to it.

Look for a downstairs apartment with high ceilings.....

-tINY

nathanvacha · 22nd March 2006, 06:03 PM

Not to discount previous posts, because they're right. But..... you could try a heavy, flat stone... like a sandstone garden paver or something... and then use any type of decoupling padding, like the sorbothane on top of that, sandwiched between the sub and the stone.

As for the desk/wall/space issue, i'm not sure i know and pictures of that would help too, because i can't really visualize that.

Killahurts · 22nd March 2006, 07:27 PM

Try one of these - they're not very expensive, and they do work:

http://www.auralex.com/sound_isolati...ion_gramma.asp

Dopamine · 23rd March 2006, 05:05 AM

Thanks for all the great info. I wonder if anyone else has had good results with the Auralex Gramma. That would be the easiest/cheapest if, in fact, it works.

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22nd March 2006, 02:32 PM	#1
Dopamine Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miami Beach Posts: 1,352	Subwoofer placement I just got the Yamaha HS10W sub yo go with the HS50M speakers. In the interest of not driving my neighbors mad, I have a couple of questions: 1. If I sit the sub on a thick piece of wood would it minimize the bleed to the downstairs neighbors? If so what would be the ideal thickness, etc. 2. Since I am very tight on space, I have the sub sandwiched between my main desk unit and the wall in front of the mix position. It is literally smashed tightly between the 2 surfaces. Would it help (for both containment and sonic issues) if I had a gap between the wall and sub and desk and sub. Since space is at a premium, the gap could only be 1/2" or so. Would this help at all? Any additional tips are greatly appreciated. I want to be able to enjoy using the sub, but I feel that my neighbors (who have been very tolerant with my Mackie monitors) will start to complain.

22nd March 2006, 07:27 PM	#5
Killahurts Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: USA Posts: 1,250	Try one of these - they're not very expensive, and they do work: http://www.auralex.com/sound_isolati...ion_gramma.asp __________________ Light is the fastest thing in Texas - My 4-year-old daughter.

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22nd March 2006, 05:04 PM	#3
tINY Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Orygun Posts: 5,699	You could hang it from the ceiling - with limp springs if needed. Adding a 1/2" steel plate to two sides of it could help too. Or, you could get a bunch of sorbothane feet and stack them until you get enough decoupling. The biggest problem may be the floor itself. It may pass low frequencies even if the cabinet isn't mechanically coupled to it. Look for a downstairs apartment with high ceilings..... -tINY

22nd March 2006, 06:03 PM	#4
nathanvacha Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Orlando Posts: 1,180	Not to discount previous posts, because they're right. But..... you could try a heavy, flat stone... like a sandstone garden paver or something... and then use any type of decoupling padding, like the sorbothane on top of that, sandwiched between the sub and the stone. As for the desk/wall/space issue, i'm not sure i know and pictures of that would help too, because i can't really visualize that.

23rd March 2006, 05:05 AM	#6
Dopamine Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miami Beach Posts: 1,352	Thanks for all the great info. I wonder if anyone else has had good results with the Auralex Gramma. That would be the easiest/cheapest if, in fact, it works.