Weighing down the cabinets................

[admin_exported]

So I got some Mission M64i's they are cool enough and clean sounding...... someone came around the other day who on the one hand is 80 and has a marked bias towards anything with 'Tannoy' (because he is lucky enough to own some pristene Lancaster Monitor Gold's)....... on the other hand he did used to work in the industry........ so I value his opinion but have a hard time deciding what is the good sense stuff and what is his (obvious) bias..............

Anyway he basically said that the Mission's sounded terrible and that they were affected by 'cabinet resonance' (he attributed that to them having absolutely no dampening in them.... I had to go to the Mission website to show him that there was)...... still he may have a point, where the sound is bassier some of that may be due to a little resonance...... I am thinking that a way to combat that might be to weigh them down a little.... using the spaces at the bottom of the speaker. For some reason I seem to remember that it was recommended to fill them things up with sand..... but I do not want to use sand..... it is really hard to get dry and nice sand.... it is horrible to handle, in the sense that it is not nice to spill it on the carpet, it does tend to get everywhere..... as I am sure that your wife's will attest............. so is there a more friendly alternative?

I was thinking of using ball bearings or marbles..... but then I thought that they may actually rattle and be worse than sand? Is sand the best and only option?

 

[Anonymous]

I did this once. Kiln dried sand is readily available from Wickes for a few quid. I ended up putting it in sealable food bags and duct taping them shut. I filled the cabinet up and low and behold it made no difference at all. It's alot of hassle, not worth it in my opinion.

 

[up the music]

Lead shot is another alternative. Atacama sell 'atabites' for this purpose.

I once filled hollow tubular stands with pennies. Seemed to work a treat until a certain volume/frequency level was reached then by God did they rattle. My advice, don't use pennies, take them down the bank and swap them for real money.

I don't use those stands any more. I've just given one a shake to check. Yep, they're still worth £15 more than I paid for them.

 

[the record spot]

There was a real fad for filling the bases of floorstander speakers with sand or shot or whatever back in the mid-90s. Kiln dried sand put in bags and stuck in the speaker will help rigidity and cut back on resonance apparently. Never tried it myself; I couldn't be bothered with all the faff and I suspect it mightn't make all the difference that I've heard claimed.

 

[Anonymous]

the record spot:There was a real fad for filling the bases of floorstander speakers with sand or shot or whatever back in the mid-90s. Kiln dried sand put in bags and stuck in the speaker will help rigidity and cut back on resonance apparently. Never tried it myself; I couldn't be bothered with all the faff and I suspect it mightn't make all the difference that I've heard claimed.

Hmmmm I am hearing a lot of 'makes no difference...' here.... which, of course, is what is said about all upgrades throughout all hi-fi (speaker cables, stands, interconnects, etc) so I would not mind hearing what a 'What Hi Fi' staffer has to say in regoards to this issue.....

 

[John Duncan]

I'd definitely fill them......

 

[John Duncan]

Sorry, you were asking what with. Kiln dried sand, B&Q, get a funnel.

 

[Andrew Everard]

To JD's comments. Well, either sand or Atabytes.

 

[John Duncan]

Atabytes, £30 - sand, £3.14.

(drums fingers on chin)

 

[Anonymous]

JohnDuncan:Atabytes, £30 - sand, £3.14.

(drums fingers on chin)

Sound improvement, priceless?

 

[professorhat]

I wouldn't like to spill Atabites on the carpet either... I have a wooden floor so they're easily swept up. At least you could safely hoover sand up if you spilt some.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Sand - slightly inclined to absorb moisture when in a humid environment. IME, when living in a small ground floor flat a while back, of course...

 

[the record spot]

Perhaps add a bag to minimise the risk of spilt sand in the speaker...an earlier poster suggested this.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Only problem with a bag is that unless it's a shaped liner designed to fit the loading chamber, the sand won't fill the enclosure properly.

 

[the record spot]

bloatedgut:
the record spot:There was a real fad for filling the bases of floorstander speakers with sand or shot or whatever back in the mid-90s. Kiln dried sand put in bags and stuck in the speaker will help rigidity and cut back on resonance apparently. Never tried it myself; I couldn't be bothered with all the faff and I suspect it mightn't make all the difference that I've heard claimed.

Hmmmm I am hearing a lot of 'makes no difference...' here.... which, of course, is what is said about all upgrades throughout all hi-fi (speaker cables, stands, interconnects, etc)...

And you'll find I didn't actually say that - how would I know, not having tried it...?

And rather than being unintentionally lumped in with the hifi upgrades naysayers brigade, I'm the first one to suggest people try things out for themselves...you do have a B&Q nearby, right?

 

[the record spot]

Andrew Everard:Only problem with a bag is that unless it's a shaped liner designed to fit the loading chamber, the sand won't fill the enclosure properly.

Didn't some speaker manufacturers provide something like this for their floorstanders? I know Mission didn't (at least there weren't any in the 733i's I bought ages ago), but could swear I read of some who did - not sure where or who though!

 

[John Duncan]

the record spot:you do have a B&Q nearby, right?

...and £3.14. Don't forget the £3.14.

 

[d_a_n1979]

All i can say is that i've owned Atacama SE20/SE24/Nexus 5&6 and Mission Stancette speaker standa have have tried them ALL without atabites and then with atabites and believe me; the atabites made a world of difference!

The speakers with B&W 602 S2 and B&W 602 S3 standmount speakers (if you know them youll know their size and also the amount of bass they can pump out...)

When the stands were weighted down the bass was more detailed and punchier; the midrange was also smoother and more energetic.

 

[Anonymous]

the record spot:bloatedgut:
the record spot:There was a real fad for filling the bases of floorstander speakers with sand or shot or whatever back in the mid-90s. Kiln dried sand put in bags and stuck in the speaker will help rigidity and cut back on resonance apparently. Never tried it myself; I couldn't be bothered with all the faff and I suspect it mightn't make all the difference that I've heard claimed.

Hmmmm I am hearing a lot of 'makes no difference...' here.... which, of course, is what is said about all upgrades throughout all hi-fi (speaker cables, stands, interconnects, etc)...

And you'll find I didn't actually say that - how would I know, not having tried it...?

And rather than being unintentionally lumped in with the hifi upgrades naysayers brigade, I'm the first one to suggest people try things out for themselves...you do have a B&Q nearby, right?

Yes it does look like I am lumping you in with the nay-sayers... but that is bad expression on my part. There was a gentleman above you who said that he had done it and it made no difference and then you said that you 'suspect' that it made no difference. I was merely pointing out that at that point it becomes like when people say that cables make no difference and etc..... so I would have to do that thing of hearing the for and the against.... I was not accusing you of saying something that you did not, I was not comparing you to people who do not believe that quality interconnects make no difference.... etc. Apologies if you felt that you were lumped in 'with them' or that I was putting words into your mouth.

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew Everard:Only problem with a bag is that unless it's a shaped liner designed to fit the loading chamber, the sand won't fill the enclosure properly.

This is something that has occured to me..... and it goes back to what I was saying about mess..... to my mind the sand (because of damp and other factors - like taking out the sand again when, say, moving) needs to be bagged in the speaker.......

So you insert a suitable freezer bag..... and it will not be the correct shape. You start filling it with sand until you either fill the bag or you get to the top.... once you have filled the 'gap' to the top you need to somehow tie/tape of the excess in such a manner that it is good and that that excess of plastic then fits into the top of the gap..... etc.... and so on.

It all seems rather fiddly and messy..... if, as Recordspot points out, Mission has designed such a bag it would half my objections.....

Bottom line is that I ought to give it a go and I shall, no doubt, report back here that my living room is now a beach and that I hear no difference very, very soon.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Or indeed that manufacturers who suggest sand-loading might be worthwhile could line the loading chambers with some kind of plastic or butyl material at the construction stage, when it would be much easier to do.

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew Everard:Or indeed that manufacturers who suggest sand-loading might be worthwhile could line the loading chambers with some kind of plastic or butyl material at the construction stage, when it would be much easier to do.

Now I am not going to take 50% credit for this brain storming session (as I am sure that this thought has occurred to you before) but I feel as though good work has been done here today.......... is there any chance of you using your position and considerable reputation to perhaps (Bond villian language time) 'point' our less learned manufacturer's in the correct direction?

It would not help me, but when you see it written down there is a certain common sense to it?

 

[Andrew Everard]

bloatedgut:is there any chance of you using your position and considerable reputation to perhaps (Bond villian language time) 'point' our less learned manufacturer's in the correct direction?

I'm sure the smarter ones are reading these forums at this very moment - there are, after all, over 200 guests online as we speak...

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew Everard:
bloatedgut:is there any chance of you using your position and considerable reputation to perhaps (Bond villian language time) 'point' our less learned manufacturer's in the correct direction?

I'm sure the smarter ones are reading these forums at this very moment - there are, after all, over 200 guests online as we speak...

Cool.... well in that case........

ANDREW HAS A GOOD IDEA (it happens) AND ALL YOU SPEAKER DUDES NEED TO LISTEN......

(and seeing as I helped him could have a discount?)

Further to my last satement (the one in brackets - which I seem to be using far to often nowadays, along with dots)......... can I just say that I think that you all you manufacturing dudes at ............. [insert company name] are doing a particularly good job and I love the work that you do, carry on!).