Alternative to Blu Tack as dampening material for speaker vibrations? (1 Viewer)

[KeithH]

Every so often, I hear vibration sounds emanating from my Totem Arro speakers during bass passages. I have determined that the vibrations are coming from the binding post panels on the back of each speaker. These panels are composed of plastic that is "riveted" to the wood. Thus, the panels are fastened by rivets, not screws, so I can't tighten them with a screwdriver. I tried to eliminate the vibration noise by lining the edges of the binding post panels with Blu Tack, but I only have one pack, which did not yield enough material to cover all the edges of one panel. At this point, I have considered buying a few more packs of Blu Tack at Home Depot or Lowe's to complete the job. Is this the best course of action or is there a better material out there that I should try? Will anything work? Thanks in advance.

 

[Phil A]

Keith, you can get very similar stuff at Walmart in the school/office supply area. It is yellow in color vs. blue and is typically used to secure posters to the wall. The other advice is to measure the frequency response in your own room to see if it is a problem than can be corrected with bass treatments.

 

[KeithH]

Phil, I am aware of the yellow material you mentioned. When I said Lowe's or Home Depot, I was thinking that I could buy Blu Tack or an equivalent cheap. Audio Advisor sells a pack of Blu Tack for $9.95, which is ridiculous.

As for the bass treatments, what did you have in mind? At this point, I don't have a meter, but I suppose I could get one. Let me say that while I can hear the vibrations from my listening position, they are highly localized. If I sit right behind a speaker, I can hear the vibrations clearly coming from the binding post panel. In fact, during a bass passage, if I press my hand against part of the binding post panel, I can suppress the noise. So, I am just looking for something that will effectively dampen the vibrations. I can slop on a lot of Blu Tack or equivalent material, if necessary. I figure that if I cover every inch of the binding post panel, except for the binding posts, of course, with thick layers of Blu Tack, I should be able to get this under control.

 

[Phil A]

Yes $9.95 is a lot, and when I had an old bedroom system set-up, I bought the yellow stuff after being a sucker once. The Tekna vibration things are even more. The other stuff you can do won't come off as easily would be some time of caulk material, perhaps the best way would be to try to put it on the inside (e.g. removing a driver). If you can open it up and make a make-shift type mold (out of material such as a small piece of plexiglass where you would pour the stuff between the mold and the back of the binding post panel, let it set and then remove the plexi-glass), you could use fiberglass resin on the inside. I had doors and glass side panels with wood rot at my old place in Southern, NJ and after making the mold and filling it, it harderns. Also, are the speakers under warranty? Perhaps they should fix them? If there is excessive bass energy in your room (the most overlooked component) at a particular frequency it certainly could accentuate the problem, however it sound like that should not be the sole cause of the problem described..

 

[KeithH]

Phil, thanks for the comments. I am not looking to take the speaker apart, so I only consider external treatments viable. For now, I will try loading up the binding post panels with the Blu Tack-type material.

The speakers are under warranty, and I have thought about talking to my dealer about the problem if the Blu Tack stuff doesn't work. I'll try the Blu Tack stuff first.