[Redfield99]

Hey Everyone!

I have done some google searching and can't seem to find much about my issue so I'm hoping someone here can help. Also, I hope I am posting this in the correct thread.

The problem in short, is that the back of my Samsung LED TV (mounted to the wall) rattles when my subwoofer hits low frequencies. I have determined it is in fact the metal TV backing and not the mount or related connections.
The positioning of my sub in the room is up front on the same wall as the TV. It is a down firing sub that is ported to the back (TV wall). Unfortunately I ran all cables in wall when building my home so I cannot move my sub without running wires across the room (which defeats the purpose of the wall plates etc).
Regarding the room and walls... The sub is sitting on laminate flooring and all walls are standard dry wall.

Has anyone experienced this or had any luck stopping this from happening? I know this is short but I don't think it is specific to my setup or equipment, more just a generic question.
Thanks for any help at all!

TV: Samsung UN65H6203AFXZA
Subwoofer: Klipsch Sub-12HG

 

[cesar123]

I'd suggest:

1 - Before buying something like an isolation pad, grab some wine corks, slice them up and put under the sub. Thick foam works too. Doesn't need to be fancy - just elevate the sub off the floor and see if you notice a difference. You can also find some rubber feet for really cheap.

2 - You can move the sub anywhere in the room without re-running wires. Buy a wireless transmitter and call it a day. Do the subwoofer crawl (or pick another position away from the TV, if the sub crawl isn't an option), and place it there. Booyah

 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Rattling is caused by long wavelength low frequency sound waves that the sub produces. The cure is to use whatever means necessary to prevent what's vibrating from having the ability to vibrate. You may find in your case that duct tape on the TV does the trick. Moving or isolating the sub probably won't have any effect, as that doesn't do anything to stop the production of those sound waves that are responsible for the rattling.

 

[Redfield99]

Rattling is caused by long wavelength low frequency sound waves that the sub produces. The cure is to use whatever means necessary to prevent what's vibrating from having the ability to vibrate. You may find in your case that duct tape on the TV does the trick. Moving or isolating the sub probably won't have any effect, as that doesn't do anything to stop the production of those sound waves that are responsible for the rattling.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!
I suppose it is possible that isolating the sub will keep the wall from vibrating but I'm not sure that will do the trick. We are talking about the frequencies that I can feel on the couch 10 feet away. BUT, I'm willing to try anything .. so I'll see if I can grab a couple of wine corks from the wife's "art" piece and give it a shot.

Bill - regarding the duct tape. In what method would you recommend? I believe this is literally the back panel of the TV vibrating. Could I just run tape from the plastic on one end to the plastic on the other? (across the metal)

Thanks again guys,
--Shaune

 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!
I suppose it is possible that isolating the sub will keep the wall from vibrating

Only if you've discovered a magical method that defies the laws of acoustics.

but I'm not sure that will do the trick. We are talking about the frequencies that I can feel on the couch 10 feet away.

Exactly. If you can feel them on your couch then everything else in the room can feel them too.

Bill - regarding the duct tape. In what method would you recommend? I believe this is literally the back panel of the TV vibrating. Could I just run tape from the plastic on one end to the plastic on the other? (across the metal)

Chances are the vibrations are caused by a narrow frequency bandwidth. Use a tone generator (you can download them) to sweep through the sub bandwidth until you find the frequency that causes the most vibration. Then you can put your hand on the back of the TV to find the vibrating surface and see if applying tape helps. Another option would be to try applying damping material to the vibrating surface, something like this, which you can layer if necessary:
http://www.parts-express.com/sonic-barrier-lightweight-vinyl-sound-damping-sheet-10-x-13--268-030