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Cheapest way to dampen a source? - Page 2

post #16 of 29
4/17/04 at 2:48am
It's great to hear your comments about this little bugger, Hirsch, keep 'em coming.
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post #17 of 29
4/17/04 at 8:52am
I suspect that a MDF platform with an inner tube underneath would make a significant difference. I made one for my Arcam Alpha 5+ when it was still alive and it tightened everything up and gave a more focused/coherent presentation. The Arcam was a fairly light unit and didn't have very good feet as far as isolation goes.
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post #18 of 29
4/17/04 at 12:13pm
Thread Starter 
Sorry, this may sound ignorant, but what do you guys mean when you talk about "MDF"? Also, you mean a bicycle inner tube? Is there anything that would be particularly effective for adding weight?
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post #19 of 29
4/17/04 at 3:32pm
MDF=medium density fiberboard. I built a box that looks just like the Bright Star unit and painted it using "stone" paint. I then inserted a bicycle innertube under it until the box was just supported by the innertube with the CD player on it.
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post #20 of 29
4/18/04 at 2:27pm
The cheapest and most effective are squash balls..... cut a squash ball in half and you have 2 super feet with excellent damping. This is a well known tweak in the British Hi-Fi circles. http://www.audiotweaks.com/tweaks/tweak_227.htm

Pinkie.
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post #21 of 29
4/18/04 at 7:35pm
Thread Starter 
Sweet! Thanks a lot Pinkie, I play squash at least once a week, so there is no shortage of squash balls here. The only thing I don't understand is why the ball halfs are placed round side up. It seems to me it would make more sense the other way, but I'll experiment and see what works best for me. Now, anyone have any suggestions for weight on top? Would a textbook work? Any less unsightly options?
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post #22 of 29
4/19/04 at 1:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tennisets
Now, anyone have any suggestions for weight on top? Would a textbook work? Any less unsightly options?
You'll generally want something heavier and denser than books. Plain old bricks or pavers fit the bill quite nicely.

D.
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post #23 of 29
4/19/04 at 3:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Demolition
You'll generally want something heavier and denser than books. Plain old bricks or pavers fit the bill quite nicely.

D.
You'd better check the top before you place heavy things like bricks, some CDPS have very thin tops that a heavy brick might cause it to bend.
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post #24 of 29
4/20/04 at 10:34am
Throw it in the bathtub?
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post #25 of 29
4/21/04 at 7:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GlowWorm
Throw it in the bathtub?
Yeah, that was my first thought, too, but even some dictionaries describe "dampen" as meaning 'to deaden or lessen'. Some dictionaries even list 'to soundproof' as one of dampen's meanings. So, I suppose that it could be seen as being equivalent to "damp", which generally means 'to decrease the amplitude of an oscillating system'.

I still prefer "damp", however. Making something soundproof is not the same as making something cease vibrating.

D.
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post #26 of 29
4/21/04 at 5:41pm
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....wek&1087762384

not the absolute cheapest but this looks very interesting at a very affordable price 3 v 4x $8
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post #27 of 29
4/21/04 at 8:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by PinkFloyd
The cheapest and most effective are squash balls..... cut a squash ball in half and you have 2 super feet with excellent damping. This is a well known tweak in the British Hi-Fi circles. http://www.audiotweaks.com/tweaks/tweak_227.htm

Pinkie.
Mike,

You wouldn't happen to know which type of squash ball would work best, would you? I had thought about using the "blue dot" style since it's slightly larger and softer than a yellow dot ball. However, it seems that many people are using the yellow dots. Any thoughts?

D.
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post #28 of 29
4/21/04 at 11:04pm
Thread Starter 
I put double yellows under mine, and it seems to work pretty well. The change is subtle, but the feet result in slightly increased clarity and a greater focus of the soundstage (easier to "see" the performance). So, damping does make a difference.
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post #29 of 29
4/22/04 at 6:24am
Thanks for the info, tennisets. I think that I've got some used yellow and blue dots laying around here. I'll give those a try. I also have some racquetballs that I'll chop in half and fill with Blu-Tack as recommended by someone at Audio Tweaks.

D.
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