B&W MM-1 desk decoupling

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Aug 10, 2019
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Hi there,

I've been experimenting with the positioning of my Bowers & Wilkins MM-1s and I've also tried decoupling them from the desk slightly, in order to reduce the vibrations I've been getting in the desk.

I have a pair of nice stainless steel coasters that have fairly squidgy rubber feet on them. I know that reducing the contact surface area between the speaker and the surface it's on will reduce the transfer of energy between the two, so I thought I'd try placing them under the MM-1. They're a perfect size and they actually look quite nice (see picture below)!

Anyway, they seem to have done the trick and reduced the desk vibration considerably. It's not a huge difference, but because the MM-1s have quite thick rubber bases to them, their normal contact area with the desk is quite large.

Not entirely convinced by the sensitivity of my own fingers, I got the app 'GeoPhone' for the iPhone (59p), which uses the accelerometer to measure minute vibrations. It's amazing how sensitive the phone can be! You can adjust the sensitivity in the app, meaning it's sensitive enough to detect tiny vibrations. Sure enough, there's a slight reduction in desk resonance compared to when I take the coasters away. There's also a slight reduction in the speaker vibration themselves (I placed the phone on top of the speaker with and without the coaster), which is another plus. The aim is to make as much of the energy come out of the drivers and not the desk/speaker cabinets, of course.

So is there an audible difference? It's hard to say, but I get the impression that there's a little less muddiness in the lower frequencies. I'm not gonna say 'no' to a free improvement by using a couple of coasters, so it's worthwhile to me just to make my desk vibrate a little less.

And in case you're wondering, I've bothered with this because I have a Meridian speaker set-up at home that I inherited from my dad and while I'm away during term time (I'm a uni student), I like to get the best sound possible given my small living space - the MM-1s are perfect for me. I listen to music for hours every day, so the slightest improvement means a lot to me!

Anyway, I thought I'd share this experience because it shows that miniaturised hi-fi speakers, such as the MM-1s, do benefit from the same treatment that their bigger cousins get, even at this tiny scale.

Photo17-06-2011112904AM-1.jpg
 

manicm

Well-known member
Dunno, whatever works, but one thing I only discovered later with my MM-1s is that on the slave speaker you need to really push the cable down so the speaker sits firmly - this made the biggest difference. The master speaker is heavy enough and doesn't have said cable issue.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
This is the only thread I could find to address this topic so I'm glad I found it. Anyway, I've been listening to my pair of MM-1's with a few concerns with decoupling as well.

The first day I played them I noticed an abnormal level of desk resonances compared to my full-size studio monitors on foam decoupling pads. Not that it was too suprising, but wow, those tiny 3.5" drivers sure can shake things up. Wish I could get a glimpse without the grills on to see how they did it.

Anyway, just wondering if any of you have tried placing them on thick foam decoupling pads? I might make a small project with some extra plush memory foam and fabric and report back with some data..though I don't have a smartphone to capture G forces yet.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Has anyone had any experience with the MM-1's? It appears the small cabinets have a built-in rubber material that goes around the perimeter. I'm guessing this is acting as a vibration decoupler, but it could also serve a dual-purpose to hide the wire connections underneath. I think contacting B&W might help.
 

manicm

Well-known member
guitarf1 said:
Has anyone had any experience with the MM-1's? It appears the small cabinets have a built-in rubber material that goes around the perimeter. I'm guessing this is acting as a vibration decoupler, but it could also serve a dual-purpose to hide the wire connections underneath. I think contacting B&W might help.

The MM-1s as they are require a flat surface for their best, if your desk is not flat then you need to compensate. I would not use any foam etc, but use the equivalent of blu-tack to keep it firmly stuck to the surface. And I repeat on the slave speaker push the damn cable right in, bend it slightly even, otherwise it won't be flat on the surface.

In other words, the MM-1s should not be loose on the surface, or the bass will be weak.
 

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