Auralex Subdude a MUST HAVE!! - Page 33

I wanted to add my $.02 - I have a subdude, and in my case, it did reduce the vibrations that was previously being transmitted when my sub was directly in contact with my (laminate) floor.

It was easy to observe the change without resulting to subjective listening tests with my setup. My center speaker sits on a shelf that isn't quite level (it's angled slightly downwards). After watching movies with LFE-heavy scenes, I used to noticed that my center speaker had 'slid' down the shelf by a couple of inches.

Now with my sub sitting on top of the platform, this no longer happens.

You could also reduce the volume a bit :-) I have seen posts where they said that their sub hops. If an 80lb sub has to hop, it must be insanely loud.

If you have a friend who works in a software company, ask him/her to keep an eye on the packages that the company throws away. These days PC packaging comes with that elastic kind of foam. Not the white ones that typically come with Audio gear that beaks easily.

You dont have to pay $50 for a piece of foam when you could find it for free! It is not like they invented a new energy absorbing foam and patented it.

I just picked up 2 large pieces of black elastic foam from one of the boxes that the SYSTEMS dept. threw away! I already have many pieces of the whites ones. Now I dont have to take the trouble of spray painting them black.

Here is the foam that I picked from from the PC packaging

I guess I'll just ebay ol' Great Gramma and get some of that packing stuff that businesses just throw away. It looks like it has very good acoustical sound absorption and can easily support a 150lb SVS PB13 Ultra.

In this typically expensive hobby, I dont think spending $50-$100 is unreasonable for a small improvement, whether acoustically or asthetically.
I dont have the time or interest to build something I can maybe save $20-30 on and end up with a product that does not perform like the manufactured one.

My parent's home theater I helped set up has a Def Tech Supercube II (huge WAF issues there) and I found it comical watching that little thing move around. Threw it on a Gramma it tightened the sound and it's no longer bouncing. It was on hard tile before that was rather slick.

I can't imagine my LFM-1 EX bouncing around it's a tank lol.

As I said earlier, I vouch for the Gramma it does it's intended job. Sure you could probably do it for less as a DIY but as the person above me just said, considering all the cash we spend on this what's a few extra bucks to grab something you know will work right.

So if someone lives i an upstairs apartment what can be done to minimize the sound and vibration going downstairs. I only have a bic pl-200 but it will shake my whole townhouse currently. I am moving into an apartment in a month and that will be a problem, but i still want to enjoy my ht. thanks J

The only way really is to use common sense. I use the Outlaw LFM-1 EX in an apartment and I've had it since June. 6 months later I've yet (knock on wood) heard anything about it from neighbors. I certainly have fun with it watching movies and jamming music. Just be smart about when and how much.

Only benefit is I'm on the 1st floor. My only one neighbor to worry about is on the 2nd floor. She's an old hag from what I heard. She yelled at my friend on the 3rd floor once for excessive celebration during a hockey game on TV. He has since moved out so the only source of sound for her to here would be from me. Like I said...just try and be smart about it.

Even if you put a $1000 platform under the sub, the low frequencies will travel and people can hear it. If a car sub several 100 yards yards away can be heard inside the house/apt, there is not much one could do to avoid the low frequencies from spreading inside the building, other than completely sound proofing the room. Like mentioned above, just keep it down :-)

thanks i know i will have to monitor my levels. i always have music or a movie playing so it sucks to have to keep it down. i just hope my downstairs neighbors will be cool. I just wondered if geting a subdude or gramma from my local guitar center would help.

The concept of a subdude isn't to limit sound waves travelling to your neighbours, it's to isolate your sub from the floor. You're trying to reduce structural vibrations, which it works fine for.

ya i know that it only limits the vibrations i was thinking every little bit helps.

I'm in a top floor apartment, and it has helped quite a bit.

I'm getting tired of my outlaw moving around so maybe ill invest in one of these or try a diy

I was thinking about getting 2 of these, which one should i buy? I have two Klipsch RW-12D's, and the port is at the bottom would these work for them. THANKS

Gonna try using some sanding foam first to see if that works

I got great results by bolting a concrete block to the bottom of my HSU 1220 w TC sound driver.

I don't have an SPL meter (yet). Did you guys find that your SubDudes lowered your listening-position response?

Unexpected result: the SubDude has me dialing my sub down a little--audible bass is now louder, and tactile only where (I presume) it ought to be. I'm surprised that more sub manufacturers (besides eD) don't make these and sell them. I was a skeptic but no longer.

Just curious.... is the sub on a hard fllor such as wood/tile or did it sit on carpet?

http://www.asc-home-theater.com/subtrap.htm

Won't completely stop the sound from traveling to surrounding rooms/floors below - but it allegedly works more towards what you're looking for.

Edit: I've only come across this reading on AVS; I haven't personally used this.

It sat on carpeting. A small sofa is the only other soft object in the room, which has a large-ish (6x8) opening to all the other rooms, all carpeted.

Incidentally, the room has very little in the way of shakes and shimmies. Even before I bought the SubDude, I never found myself trying to find rattles, at least not in the theater room. The improvement is entirely about sound quality.

OMG! What a difference a piece of MDF and foam makes! Now I hear frequencies that I never heard before, the sub sounds so much louder that I had to turn the level down, when I go to the basement I just cant say that I am playing the sub above. This is one of the best sub upgrades I have ever made!

Hahaha. I get it--you don't believe the product works and you want to save hapless newbies from getting bilked. But why sarcasm? You lose all your hero points by indulging in sarcasm, you know.

I didn't really want to spend 50 bucks so I used sanding foam. They got crushed a bit but the vibrations are gone and the sub sounds tighter. Now I wonder if this would work on a front facing sub..

Sure my post was sarcastic but it also shows how easy it is to make it. They are not using any "space age" foam that is unique. Packaging foam like mine would also have the energy absorbing capability. All you need is a platform like a piece of MDF. I could trim the foam to have straight edges and also spray the MDF black to make it look better.

If you are not very resourceful then go ahead and spend the 50 bucks. But if you are handy and can find that kind of elastic packaging foam that is free, you dont have to spend 50 bucks. a 2'x4' 3/4th inch MDF is about 7-8 bucks. Home Depot will cut it for free. You can make 2 or 3 platforms out of that sheet. A can of black spray paint is some 3 bucks. That is all you have to spend!

The sanding foam is crushing (your picture) because it does not have a rigid flat surface on top. The foot of the sub puts a lot of local force (weight). if you put a piece of wood on top of the foam, it will spread the weight so the foam will compress more uniformly.

Also the the sanding foam is surrounded by the sand paper which will make it less efficient in absorbing energy/vibrations because the sand paper will not let the foam compress more compared to a foam that is NOT stuck on all sides with sand paper. So you might want to use a foam that is more like the elastic packaging foam (black or white). Not the white styrofoam that will easily crumple.

I found some packing foam I'm gonna use later

Oh! I only thought I understood--I thought you objected to the idea because measurements don't seem to agree with user reviews. Your real objection is that it costs too much for what it is. Well, I'd bet that pretty much every owner agrees with you, including myself On the other hand, I'm neither handy nor patient, and I had a surprise $50 Amazon gift card, so I ate the loss and was pleasantly surprised. But you know, keep fighting the good fight and whatnot I'll bet somebody here will build a nice DIY that he'll enjoy about 10x more than the official product, because he took the wise man's route.

(Sorry for all the sexist language, ladies, but I don't think there are any of you here to read this.)

If you enjoy making things and it can be done during your regular travels, then you also save on the cost of gas and travel time when doing DIY. For some, the challenge and creativity to put it together is enjoyable, even if you wind up paying near the full price of the name brand product.

I just ordered a HSU STF-2 and decided to order a subdude to go with it. I have laminate floors and like the idea of isolating the sub and hopefully reducing vibrations in the walls and floors. Looking forward to trying it out.