Jump to content

Novice speaker damping questions


Recommended Posts

Hello everyone, I am fairly new to the vintage audio hobby. I have a set of Avid 100 speakers, and was thinking about dampening the inside of them with some egg crate style foam. Both speakers have been re-capped, and still have the original pink insulation inside of them.

Would this possibly improve sound imaging?

Possibly tighten up some of the bass?

If I choose to try sound dampening lining the inside walls with foam, should I remove the pink insulation? Or would it be best for using both items?

Is there any specific parts that I should use the lining on? Such as the rear wall in back of the tweeters & sub woofers? Or should I just line the sides, top and bottom?

Thank you very much in advance for any input! B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello everyone, I am fairly new to the vintage audio hobby. I have a set of Avid 100 speakers, and was thinking about dampening the inside of them with some egg crate style foam. Both speakers have been re-capped, and still have the original pink insulation inside of them.

Would this possibly improve sound imaging?

Possibly tighten up some of the bass?

If I choose to try sound dampening lining the inside walls with foam, should I remove the pink insulation? Or would it be best for using both items?

Is there any specific parts that I should use the lining on? Such as the rear wall in back of the tweeters & sub woofers? Or should I just line the sides, top and bottom?

Thank you very much in advance for any input! B)

Hi there

Whichever insulation idea you do proceed with will alter the speakers bass output, for good or bad.

If you do it, we are not capable of telling you what it will sound like.

My suggestion is to not play with the acoustic fiberglass insulation they installed at the factory.

Unlike foam surrounds which can and do need replacing, fiberglass does not deteriorate.

Altering the insulation with more or less or egg crates will alter the original manufacturers sound quality.

It is best to leave this type experimenting to the experts, thank goodness fiberglass doesn't rot.

Replacing bad caps as a pair is always a goods idea, if appropriate caps are needed and used.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

I agree with Dan that the factory has already done the dampening experiment for you. In general, according to my speakerbook, dampening works real well in smaller sealed cabinets. It tricks the speaker into thinking it has a bigger cabinet. (a ratio of 1.4) I personally like Acusta-Stuf because it is safe and easy to use. A lot of people like to use fiberglass stuffing because it is cheap, but I do not like the irritation or breathing the stuff.

The beauty of Acusta Stuf (or fiberglass) is you can play with the amount of stuffing to tune your bass responce. Acusta-Stuf recomends about 1/2 lb per cu. ft. to start. The best part is if you do not like it, you can remove it. But most people who use it like myself, really enjoy the improvement in bass responce.

My Cizeks (Model 1 & Model 234 Sub, both came from the factory stuffed with fiberglass. I recently picked up a set of Cizek AR-1's (newer version of Model 1) and they had no dampening. The bass responce between the two was very noticible. The Model 1's really thumped while the AR-1's didn't have any punch. I added a little Acust-Stuf to them and presto, they were thumping away. I have also expertimented with Acusta-Stuf on Klipsch Heresy's. They are known for their lack of bass punch because of their small cabinets. Add a little stuffing to those guys and they are punchy.

In some speakers it may offer a great improvement, in others not so much. But it is most certainly worth experimenting with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...