Sand filling floorstanding speakers

[Pistol Pete1]

Anyone done this - if so what can you recommend to use to place the sand in?

Obviously you do not pour it into compartment directly, so does anyone recommend a way of achieving this improvement?

Thanks.........

 

[matengawhat]

plastic liner - my stands actually came with tube bags for filling - also have a look at atacama atabites - just tip them straight in!

Although i weighed mine out into 1kg sandwich bags so could take out and add more till happy with the sound

 

[Anonymous]

matengawhat:
plastic liner - my stands actually came with tube bags for filling - also have a look at atacama atabites - just tip them straight in!

Although i weighed mine out into 1kg sandwich bags so could take out and add more till happy with the sound

It looks like the OP is asking to fill the speaker cabinets, not stands. However the advice from matengawhat still holds good although I can't see why you would want to do it.....

 

[matengawhat]

sorry missed that - in that case def bag them and tape them well

 

[Anonymous]

Interesting...I see they have a built in compartment for putting sand in....maybe thats lined with plastic or something.....that would make things easier.......

Do many other manufacturers have this facility?????

 

[matengawhat]

i think some of the Accoustic Energy stuff does also

 

[Anonymous]

They do, including mine but I would be very careful about this, I filled the compartment at the back entirely and it killed the bass. Therefore I would follow the advice of the resident tip giver on the forum Mr Everard and perhaps half fill the speakers (assuming they are fillable) and if you don't like the results, then take out the sand or atabites, or whatever you choose to use. It is much harder to get the sand out when you have completely filled them and it's difficult to take the bungs off again, once you have placed them, so leave them off until you are happy.

 

[SteveR750]

Why would you want to fill the cabinets with sand??? Most speakers are ported, so the internal volume of air is important in the operation of the drivers and the port. Its akin to stuffing the drivers into a smaller cabinet, in which case why not just buy some stand mount speakers and save some money?!

 

[Anonymous]

After my stupid error, I agree Steve

 

[Andrew Everard]

SteveR750:Why would you want to fill the cabinets with sand??? Most speakers are ported, so the internal volume of air is important in the operation of the drivers and the port. Its akin to stuffing the drivers into a smaller cabinet, in which case why not just buy some stand mount speakers and save some money?!

Ummm, you're not actually filling the cabinet volume 'seen' by the drivers with sand, but rather a chamber at the bass of the enclosure designed for just this purpose.

Why? Adds weight low down for better stability, and adds greater mass for improved damping and inertia.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Worth while doing then, Andrew?

 

[Pistol Pete1]

I realise this thread is old, but I still haven't tried this idea out yet......

Will it be a beneficial exercise to improve the sound on the Q Acoustics 1030i?

Anyone done it on the 1030i's?

Is it a case of trial and error in terms of how much to use?

If so, is it best to start with more than half filled, or less than half?

Sand or atabites?

What effect should I find in terms of SQ?

Thanks........

 

[gpi]

I heard it gives you a more grainy sound.

:run away emoticon:

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Physically heard, or heard down the grapevine? lol

If it gives no improvement in SQ, why do some companies add the compartment at the bottom of the speaker to do it?

Must have some value to the quality of the speaker......

 

[Frank Harvey]

It'll be beneficial to any speaker, and you might find it more beneficial to budget speakers ore than high end - high end speakers tend to be weighty already, whereas more budget speakers tend to be quite leightweight in comparison, especially larger budget speakers.

It will vary from speaker to speaker as to how much is beneficial, so matengawhat's idea of using 1kg bags is a good one. Not enough and there won't be a big enough difference, too much and they could come across as being too bass heavy. It'll be similar to filling stands - find the perfect amount and you'll get the best from the speaker.

Everything should tighten up, especially the bass as the cabinet is much more stable. Bass will become a little stronger too, due to the drive units being able to work a little more efficiently. You may find other areas benefit too, it's a case of trial and error.

And do make sure you use the bags - unlike the guy who brought his floorstanding Mission's back to the place I worked about 10 years ago because the bass units were making a scraping noise - I opened them up to find sand absolutely everywhere.......

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Thanks David,

I did have 1010i on the 1000st stands a while back (before buying the 1030i's), and filled them up 3/4 with 3 bags of 750 grammes in each. It sounded best with 3 bags, and I still have them on the dining room table....

Sounds like I'll be putting them in over the weekend and seeing what's best.

By the way, I assume 17KG per floorstander is seen as light weight then?

 

[Frank Harvey]

That's not bad - budget floorstanders will all vary in weight, but many floorstanders tend to have most of their weight higher up, so filling them will bring that centre of gravity down.

 

[rantalot]

Gilbert Briggs (Mr Wharfedale) must be turning in his grave or splitting his sides at what people think a sand filled speaker cabinet should be built like. The cabinets have dual walls and the void between the walls is filled with sand, this is to stop sound being radiated (colouration) from the cabinet walls. I have built a pair of speakers with sand filled walls using Wharfedale drivers. They look a bit rustic but sound great.

 

[Czarny9120]

well I have sand in my speakers and I think that they do sound better and someone mentioned the sand adds weight to yours speakers so they are more stable. for mains I have used some sandwich bags and then taped them up to avoid any sand leaks.

any way I think it does work for me.