Auralex Subdude a MUST HAVE!! - Page 9

Would a subdude enhance my velodyne DLS-3500R? Its in my room in an upstairs bedroom.

Sorry, I never saw these replies at all.
I don't have a pic for you, but it's very easy to do.
1/2 " MDF from HD.
Small entry way carpet(had plenty here).
Foam blocks under from shipping of my sub.
Hardest part was getting the beast up and on there.
It made a big difference to my ears.
It could look better but I have mine at the end of a couch near the wall, so only a corner is showing.
My sub is so big that I would have had to buy the great gramma.
I saved a lot of cash.

Paisteman, thanks for the reply.
I am still interested in building my own, but I don't know what kind of foam to use to support it. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Go to a arts and crafts store, or a HD and ask for a firm block type of foam, nothing squishy.

I had to decouple my sub from my floor, works very well.

Like Suzook, I have real wood floors and it covers a concrete slab as well. I live on the top floor in a concrete condo (with 8" thick poured concrete floors and 8" thick cinderblock walls w/drywall) comprising of artist's lofts, my neighbours; to my L&R beside me, and below me.
My "room" is 50'x18'x18', when I play my powered M&K 12"(200w) turned up full, it subtley rattles my kitchen and any hanging glasses. I will soon have my Epik Conquest (1000w) here, and I was also wondering from what I've read, will I benefit from some Auralex Subdudes/Grammas?

right now i am using the packing foam from my velodyne 3500r under mine. I may buy one. I am in a 2nd floor condo...and i dont' have it loud, but it rumbles and shakes the floor a bit. Rather just shake the room. My floors are berber (or however you spell it) with hardwood under.

Where is the cheapest to get one?

I had 2 other avs members over at my condo recently, I was testing my Epik Conquest, listening to music as well as movies. As I said before I live in an artist loft in an open room basically that's 50x18x18, wood floors covering a concrete slab. WOTW and Flight of the Phoenix were played and the 10 minute passage where the bass was most intense in WOTW and FOTP (my receiver LFE was calibrated at 10 out of 12) and the volume was so loud that it was hard to have a conversation, in fact we had the volume on the receiver set at 55 out of a max. of 82. The FOTP passage was alot more intense than WOTW!!! We could literally feel the floor shaking...I was wondering if my neighbours could "hear" my sub, well, a minute after I had announced that, there was a loud knock on my door. Six of my neighbours were bewildered, comments like, "our pipes on our ceiling were rattling as well as our glasses in our kitchen".
My floor is basically wood which covers a concrete slab, (8 inch thick poured concrete floors) but some people on here state that concrete is inert. I really think that's a fallacy because if it were true, then my neighbours wouldn't be complaining. I utilized 4-20" long/ 2" thick, foam packing strips which came w/the Conquest, placed under the sub.
So...does anyone else have a similar experience? But has Auralex Subdudes/Grammas...I know I've said it before, but would I benefit from having a couple of Subdudes/Grammas??? Any suggestions on this most welcome!!!

A gramma might be a little more effective than your packing foam but you are still going to have issues if you try to run the sub at that volume.

Why on earth did you buy an Epik Conquest if you live in a condo?

I just built a custom sized Subdude platform for my HSU VTF-1.

Even though it is made out of off the shelf material, it is effective. But I have a VTF-1 which is about half the sub of your Conquest.

I think an actual Subdude/Gramma platform would help, but it certainly won't be enough if you want to listen at those levels. I'm guessing you were just showing off a bit. That sure is a hell of a lot of sub for a condo.

I tested my little ghetto-dude platform with "Master and Commander" and it does isolate the sub from the floor. I simply couldn't feel the bass in my feet with the cannon fire as much as I could without it. I really don't think it would stand much of a chance with War of the Worlds though. Again, it helps, but there's more going on than just what's vibrating through the floor.


If I were you I would definitely get a couple Subdudes to put under that behemoth. Maybe even look into finding some vibration mats to put under the the subdudes. The vibration mat's I'm talking about are used under industrial machinery and may be hard to find.

Your quote from 2-15-06/08:36 am, my username is 3/PS, please check out my little story dated 3-9-08/ 11:33 am in the Epik Subwoofer Thread. With your expertise, since you write for a famous magazine, could you and/or any of your peers possibly give me any insight on the Auralex Subdudes/Grammas re:hardwood combined with poured concrete floors?

Thanks, Pat

(1) I acknowledge that concrete slabs can vibrate but at low frequencies with low displacements transferring energy anyway.
(2) I have not used the SubDudes with anything other than a wood floor over spaced wood beams. In my other system, with the concrete floor, I have not seen a need.

I feel as if I can greatly benefit from this equipment.

I have a HSU STF-2, Down firing, and I just moved in an older wood floor apartment. It resonates horribly in this apartment. I have to pick up my feet and put them on the table because the vibrations really bother me sometimes.

Not to mention it sounds very muddy.

I used to have it in a concrete basement, and it sounded 100% better

I will need to get the Grammar, as the STF -2 is 19"x14".

My question is, am I better of buying or making this device? Do they use special materials?

Also, is it ugly? I wish they spared the graphics on it.

Thanks, and I'll let you know my impressions.

I ordered a Hsu VTF-2 Mk3 which should be arriving today. I noticed it has the exact footprint of the Gramma, which is nice. It will be placed in the corner of a carpeted second story room with wood supports.

Should a Gramma improve it's SQ? The carpet is semi-thick, so the spikes will penetrate pretty far, meaning the woofer will be pretty close to it. Would simply having more ground clearance from the Hsu being on a solid platform help as well?

It is pretty simple to make one yourself if you're handy and resourceful. I wouldn't say the the materials used are special, but they are expensive and hard to find in a small quantity.

The hardest part to find is the legs. I did all kinds of searching online for a decent material and came up empty. It's pretty much a high density, closed cellulose foam. They call it "platfoam". It's probably the most important part as is absorbs the sound so it doesn't transfer to the floor. It will also support the weight of the sub. You can find an actual sound deadening material online, but it's just not cost effective.

Everything else is available and reasonable to buy. Most people substitute the legs with some kind of packing foam or styrofoam. I used styrofoam that can be found in a craft store. What I really wanted to use was a ridged foam insulation. It's only about $8.00 for a 8' sheet, but then I really wouldn't know what to do with the other 7' 6" of it.

The base is made out of 1/2" MDF board. MDF can be found at just about any lumber yard/ home improvement store. MDF has sound absorbing qualities and I believe is what most subs are made out of.

The base is covered with a felt like covering that is used on a lot of guitar amps and can be found pretty cheap at parts express. It's really only for aesthetics. The only other thing is the underneath in lined with "studio foam". It can be picked up pretty cheap at sweetwater.com too. I wanted my home-made subdude base to match my sub a little better so I painted the MDF and used a doormat with a rubber backing than cut it to fit the top. I also substituted the studio foam with 1-1/2" foam weather striping.

I had the MDF board on hand, so the total cost for me was probably about $10-15 bucks. The best part is it is the same size/color as my sub so it's a better match and it actually works! Pffft, who would'a known!

I have no doubt an Auralex product would work better than what I made, but for me it is a little over-sized and I didn't have too much more room to spare. If you want something a little more custom looking I say make one yourself. If you play your sub at high levels and need a bit more performance I would get the real deal.

If you want I can take a snap shot of mine and post it. I just have to charge up the battery in my camera. Doing a search for "Auralex" will get you look at the subdude and gramma pads.


Yeah, I think it really does help the SQ. Simply because it's not resonating the floor as much. It will tighten up the bass a bit and not sound as boomy. At least that's what I noticed. I don't think the type of carpet has much to do with it. or at least that is the common consensus here.

I think the biggest benefits is it will help SQ, and it will help isolate the sub from the floor. If you have neighbors they may appreciate more than you.

Matt1196,

Thanks for the info, I did want it matching, but I may trade this is for an increase in performance.

If you could post some pics, that would be great.

I'm going to go ahead and Order it, I'll let you all know my thoughts! (with pics)

The gramma is a little too small for my sub and the great gramma is a little too big for my liking. Do you guys think I could wrap a 24x24 piece of mdf with carpet and lay it on top of the subdude or gramma, or would this reduce the effects?

Just ordered 4 subdudes and some difusers.

I'll let you know how it all works out!

If you are going through the trouble of wrapping MDF with carpet, just get some auralex foam to put under it and you will have your own version of a gramma.

Here ya go. let me know what you think.



The bottom and side view aren't so pretty, but I will clean that up latter.
It actually started off as a prototype, so I know I can do a little better.





You also have to keep in mind my sub is small compared to most at 14" W X 17" D and only about 50lbs.. I don't think styrofoam legs will hold up to most big subs.

Well I'm considering getting a Gramma for my new MFW-15. With the gramma being 15" x 23" that shouldn't be a problem with the MFW being 18.25" wide? That'll only leave 1.625" overhang on the sides so I'm thinking it's no problem as far as stability goes?

I'm gonna do the same thing when I finally get the MFW-15. Its so heavy I'm sure it will balance just fine. I've already purchased the Gramma in anticipation.

Subdude works fine with the MFW-15. I was debating trying to build one but just decided to order one from Sweetwater.

Well I just went ahead and ordered my gramma from Sweetwater. Looking forward to trying it out with my MFW.

Wow, not only did they get it "shipped" on a Saturday but they actually called me to let me know! Now that's customer service. Glad I decided to try out Sweetwater after seeing you guys mention it.

You'll love your Gramma! It makes a huge difference!!

See you down in Arizona Bay!!!

Yeah - they will call you again once you have received it as well to make sure you got it, and have it working correctly, and see if you have any additional questions/concerns.

If the sub has a front driver and a front port with these products make a difference?

Yes it should.

What it does is decouple your sub from the floor to reduce the vibrations. It will help with transferring the sound from one room to the next a little bit, but mostly it will tighten up the sound of the bass simply because the floor isn't vibrating as much.

Basically, if you can feel the the bass with your feet through the floor one of these should help your situation. It really doesn't matter which way the driver or port is facing. It's more about stopping the vibrations from the sub's cabinet. Although, it's safe to say owners of a down firing sub may be more likely candidates.

If I dont have neighbors to worry about, do I need one? I LIKE the way the floor shakes with my PB12-2+.
It sits on a laminate wood floor over a wood floor over a basement. I do admit its better for HT than music, it also has the original 12.1 drivers.
Wouldnt taking away the "tactile" aspect of the sub-bass be taking away part of the whole sub experience?

Please help me understand.

I thank you.

Personally, I would still use a Gramma/SubDude. Your bass will sound much cleaner. Before I got mine, my floors, baseboard heat and pictures on the walls would all rattle at certain low notes. In fact, while playing a track from one of the Bass Meckanik CDs, my right front speaker (CSW MC600HD), the one closest to the sub, would start oscellating back and forth about 3/4"! After installing a Great Gramma under my SVS PB12-Ultra/2, all the motion of the floors, walls, pictures, speakers and baseboard heat stopped, making the bass sound MUCH cleaner. If you still want to really feel the bass in your HT setup, just add a ButtKicker to your favorite viewing chair.