DIY Subwoofer Risers

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Indyjones

Color me disappointed. I finally got around to building my DIY risers today, using 3/4" MDF and 4" pine, stuffed with 3"-4" of foam. The positive - I'm getting as much bass output with my receiver set to "yes" for a subwoofer, than I was having it set to "plus". The negative - the risers did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING as far as room vibrations. I used Transformers and the "Ironhide sweep" scene as a test - yep, still there in it's all-so-irritating glory. I didn't even dare to try War of the Worlds because the bass is even worse on that film. At least I only flushed $20 down the drain, instead of $100.

I doubt it's the difference maker, but the top isn't covered yet, it's just bare wood. There's no point in covering it if the risers don't work...

You can use a piece of solid rubber under the the riser or add rubber vibration isolation pads or spikes to the bottom of the riser. These are made to isolate the sofa from the floor when you use Bass Shakers or Tactile Transducers.

http://www.av-outlet.com/index.html?...tml&lang=en-us
http://www.soundproofcow.com/sound-i...n-control.html
http://www.drillspot.com/tag/vibration-isolator/
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/316672.html
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/239266.html
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/239265.html
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/239264.html
http://shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=spe...ikes&_osacat=0
http://www.parts-express.com/wizards...hFilter=spikes

If you get desparate, you can go to a sporting goods store and buy a few hockey pucks.

I built four risers for my subwoofers and I bought 16 Buttkicker RI-K28-4 Small Vibration Isolators from AV Outlet for the four subwoofers/risers in my HT room. The cost was $7.99 per package of 4 for a total cost $31.96 + Free shipping.

Go to AV Outlet, on the left hand side, click on Seat Shaker & Amplifiers, and then click on Rubber Vibration Isolators for Chair and Platforms.

This is a picture of the back of the isolators.

I attached the isolators to the legs of the risers with wood screws.

I then carried the heavy subs and put them on top of the round risers.

[Indyjones]

How thick would the solid piece of rubber have to be? I can get a couple of sheets of rubber from work, taken from an old blanket used on a screenprinting vacuum frame. Would the rubber bumpers they sell in stores work?

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Indyjones

How thick would the solid piece of rubber have to be? I can get a couple of sheets of rubber from work, taken from an old blanket used on a screenprinting vacuum frame. Would the rubber bumpers they sell in stores work?

If your aim is to isolate the subwoofer from the floor, make it as thick as you want. You can glue two or three sheets together and cover it with fabric or carpet for appearance.

[nathan_393]

I just want to say that I built my own riser a bit over a month ago. It has made tremendous difference with how my sub sounds and how it integrates itself into the living space that has worked out really well in my apartment. I don't worry about the noise bothering the people below me and my subwoofer is tighter and more controlled than ever before - both of which are good in my books! More oomph, less omppppphhhhh-cough-cough.

Definitely worth doing if you haven't looked into it, and the nice thing is you can take a few design liberties as you go if you so desire (as many people in this thread have).

Thanks Big Daddy for all your informative posts; they've been very helpful

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by nathan_393

I just want to say that I built my own riser a bit over a month ago. It has made tremendous difference with how my sub sounds and how it integrates itself into the living space that has worked out really well in my apartment. I don't worry about the noise bothering the people below me and my subwoofer is tighter and more controlled than ever before - both of which are good in my books! More oomph, less omppppphhhhh-cough-cough.

Definitely worth doing if you haven't looked into it, and the nice thing is you can take a few design liberties as you go if you so desire (as many people in this thread have).

Thanks Big Daddy for all your informative posts; they've been very helpful

I like the TV stand you built nathan How about some pics of the riser ? How high did you make it ?

[nathan_393]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

I like the TV stand you built nathan How about some pics of the riser ? How high did you make it ?

The pics of the riser are pics I plan on doing as soon as I get a time on the good day - the last couple photos of the stand are just not good enough so I want to make sure the next set of pics turn out great. I also don't have my own real camera, so I'll be borrowing the gf's whenever I can for this kind of thing lol. They'll be posted in my profile as soon as I get around to them. Thanks for inquiring and many thanks for the compliment

My riser isn't high - about 4 inches off the ground or so. I just slapped a couple pieces of wood together (high quality plywood) and shoved a few layers of carpet underpadding that I acquired from my parents' home reno on the bottom of it. Then surrounded it with carpet (also from the reno) and made sure it was large enough for any future upgrade possibilities.

It's not the prettiest thing, but it's the function that matters. I just wanted to stop the vibrations from hitting the parquet flooring in my apartment - I have a rug as well, but it ain't all that special - and make sure my bass got tightened up. I'm a big fan off tight bass, especially when I can get it on my student budget

It's also worth mentioning, I think, that I also turned down my subwoofer a fair bit after getting the riser. My home theater system is just a Sony HTiB - nothing special, but it does the trick. It's a little different than most in that, instead of showing the actual decibel volume, the receiver displays the volume of each speaker on a ratio of -6 to +6. Before I built the riser, my sub was supposed to be balanced with the other speakers when it was at +3.5. When I built the sub riser, that changed to -3.5, which was quite a difference.

But a few months ago, I watched the featurette on Apocalypse Now about surround sound and was struck by the sound designer's point of view that everybody turns up their sub too much in their HT systems. So I turned mine down from -3.5 to -6. It's a little drastic, but I can still hear it and it keeps the neighbours happy as well. It's also way less overwhelming than it used to be - and after my numerous visits to several different cinemas this summer, I've come to the conclusion that their subs are never that loud either compared to the rest of the speakers.

The point that I should be trying to make though (sorry for going off on a tangent) is that without the riser, I would never have been able to turn down my sub and still fully hear its presence.

I'd love to hear anybody else's opinion on bass balance, particularly CrazyBlue and Big Daddy's. Feel free to PM me so we don't derail the thread.

[Indyjones]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

If your aim is to isolate the subwoofer from the floor, make it as thick as you want. You can glue two or three sheets together and cover it with fabric or carpet for appearance.

I think I'll just go with those buttkicker isolators you used from A/V Outlet. Do you have to spend a certain amount to get free shipping? I can't access th shopping cart on the iPhone. Also, how wide are those legs you attached the isolators to? I don't have enough meat on the base of my risers, so I'm gonna have to add some wood the inside corners of the base. I just hope this does the trick. I did carpet the tops today and that really didn't do anything.

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by nathan_393

The pics of the riser are pics I plan on doing as soon as I get a time on the good day - the last couple photos of the stand are just not good enough so I want to make sure the next set of pics turn out great. I also don't have my own real camera, so I'll be borrowing the gf's whenever I can for this kind of thing lol. They'll be posted in my profile as soon as I get around to them. Thanks for inquiring and many thanks for the compliment

My riser isn't high - about 4 inches off the ground or so. I just slapped a couple pieces of wood together (high quality plywood) and shoved a few layers of carpet underpadding that I acquired from my parents' home reno on the bottom of it. Then surrounded it with carpet (also from the reno) and made sure it was large enough for any future upgrade possibilities.

It's not the prettiest thing, but it's the function that matters. I just wanted to stop the vibrations from hitting the parquet flooring in my apartment - I have a rug as well, but it ain't all that special - and make sure my bass got tightened up. I'm a big fan off tight bass, especially when I can get it on my student budget

It's also worth mentioning, I think, that I also turned down my subwoofer a fair bit after getting the riser. My home theater system is just a Sony HTiB - nothing special, but it does the trick. It's a little different than most in that, instead of showing the actual decibel volume, the receiver displays the volume of each speaker on a ratio of -6 to +6. Before I built the riser, my sub was supposed to be balanced with the other speakers when it was at +3.5. When I built the sub riser, that changed to -3.5, which was quite a difference.

But a few months ago, I watched the featurette on Apocalypse Now about surround sound and was struck by the sound designer's point of view that everybody turns up their sub too much in their HT systems. So I turned mine down from -3.5 to -6. It's a little drastic, but I can still hear it and it keeps the neighbours happy as well. It's also way less overwhelming than it used to be - and after my numerous visits to several different cinemas this summer, I've come to the conclusion that their subs are never that loud either compared to the rest of the speakers.

The point that I should be trying to make though (sorry for going off on a tangent) is that without the riser, I would never have been able to turn down my sub and still fully hear its presence.

I'd love to hear anybody else's opinion on bass balance, particularly CrazyBlue and Big Daddy's. Feel free to PM me so we don't derail the thread.

Glad the riser has made a difference for you nathan.

The bass in my room is vary evenly spread thru out the room. My riser in front for my 15" is 12" tall & my other 2 sub risers are 28" & 30" tall. I believe the taller the better

Big Daddy has 8 subwoofers I think in his room ~ 6 subs & 2 couch shakers His would be the ultimate room with as much tweaking to the system he does I think

[nathan_393]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

Glad the riser has made a difference for you nathan.

The bass in my room is vary evenly spread thru out the room. My riser in front for my 15" is 12" tall & my other 2 sub risers are 28" & 30" tall. I believe the taller the better

Big Daddy has 8 subwoofers I think in his room ~ 6 subs & 2 couch shakers His would be the ultimate room with as much tweaking to the system he does I think

Yeah, I think another sub would be useful, but I don't have a capable receiver unfortunately. One day.

I'd love the ability to tweak like Big Daddy - that'd be something else!

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Indyjones

I think I'll just go with those buttkicker isolators you used from A/V Outlet. Do you have to spend a certain amount to get free shipping? I can't access th shopping cart on the iPhone. Also, how wide are those legs you attached the isolators to? I don't have enough meat on the base of my risers, so I'm gonna have to add some wood the inside corners of the base. I just hope this does the trick. I did carpet the tops today and that really didn't do anything.

http://www.av-outlet.com/en-us/dept_358.html

UPS Ground shipping is included at NO Additional cost on Orders of $25 or more for products that can be purchased on our website unless otherwise stated in the product description. Orders less than $25 will be charged Flat Rate Fee of $7.

[Indyjones]

Originally Posted by Indyjones

Color me disappointed. I finally got around to building my DIY risers today, using 3/4" MDF and 4" pine, stuffed with 3"-4" of foam. The positive - I'm getting as much bass output with my receiver set to "yes" for a subwoofer, than I was having it set to "plus". The negative - the risers did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING as far as room vibrations. I used Transformers and the "Ironhide sweep" scene as a test - yep, still there in it's all-so-irritating glory. I didn't even dare to try War of the Worlds because the bass is even worse on that film. At least I only flushed $20 down the drain, instead of $100.

I doubt it's the difference maker, but the top isn't covered yet, it's just bare wood. There's no point in covering it if the risers don't work...

Woohoo! Problem solved!!! I grabbed a bunch of scrap rubber while I was at work and glued up 8 rubber blocks before I went home, coming out to about 2"w x 1"h. I got home, stuck them under each corner of both risers, threw in Transformers and tried out the opening scene with the chopper,after the intro, as well as the "Ironhide sweep". At first, I didn't think the blocks did anything, but after listening to those scenes a few times, turns out all I was hearing was air and not vibrations. After that was the BIG test - the intersection scene in "War of the Worlds". To my amazement - not. one. vibration.! Not from the cold air return, not from the walls, windows, breaker box - nothing!!!! And the sound was cranked! Hallelujah! I can finally watch movies in peace and quiet!

I did order those buttkicker isolators at lunch and just sent an email to A/V Outlet to cancel my order. Total cost of both risers - $35.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Indyjones

Woohoo! Problem solved!!! I grabbed a bunch of scrap rubber while I was at work and glued up 8 rubber blocks before I went home, coming out to about 2"w x 1"h. I got home, stuck them under each corner of both risers, threw in Transformers and tried out the opening scene with the chopper,after the intro, as well as the "Ironhide sweep". At first, I didn't think the blocks did anything, but after listening to those scenes a few times, turns out all I was hearing was air and not vibrations. After that was the BIG test - the intersection scene in "War of the Worlds". To my amazement - not. one. vibration.! Not from the cold air return, not from the walls, windows, breaker box - nothing!!!! And the sound was cranked! Hallelujah! I can finally watch movies in peace and quiet!

I did order those buttkicker isolators at lunch and just sent an email to A/V Outlet to cancel my order. Total cost of both risers - $35.

Congratulations.

The total cost of $35 is nothing when you amortize it over many years of great subwoofer performance.

[Indyjones]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Congratulations.

The total cost of $35 is nothing when you amortize it over many years of great subwoofer performance.

I did drop the volume of both subs just a hair as well and the sub output on the receiver is now set to "yes". Before the risers, I had it at "plus". And remind me to never become a professional carpet installer guy. My risers actually looked decent until I threw carpet on the tops.

[Indyjones]

Ugh, maybe I spoke too soon.:/ I tested a few other blu's that have given me grief - Saving Private Ryan - check, no vibrations. Then, I pressed my luck - the bathtub dunking scene in Inception. Epic fail! I didn't get too down about it, because there were vibrations in that scene even in the theater. It did sound better than before the risers though. Then I tried Aliens, using scenes with the Sulaco and the freighter that picks up Ripley. Fail on both counts. Pretty sure I'll get the same result with Star Destroyers. I'm almost afraid to put in Transformers and War of the Worlds again...

[Indyjones]

Originally Posted by Indyjones

Ugh, maybe I spoke too soon.:/ I tested a few other blu's that have given me grief - Saving Private Ryan - check, no vibrations. Then, I pressed my luck - the bathtub dunking scene in Inception. Epic fail! I didn't get too down about it, because there were vibrations in that scene even in the theater. It did sound better than before the risers though. Then I tried Aliens, using scenes with the Sulaco and the freighter that picks up Ripley. Fail on both counts. Pretty sure I'll get the same result with Star Destroyers. I'm almost afraid to put in Transformers and War of the Worlds again...

We're getting there. I added almost another 1/4 of rubber to each corner of the risers, as well as a sheet of rubber in between each riser and sub, tightened up all of the light fixtures and retried those scenes from Aliens. The only things vibrating now are my posters. :/ Will little rubber bumpers on each corner of the frame fix that? And still no vibrations from War of the Worlds.

[test123455]

Originally Posted by Indyjones

We're getting there. I added almost another 1/4 of rubber to each corner of the risers, as well as a sheet of rubber in between each riser and sub, tightened up all of the light fixtures and retried those scenes from Aliens. The only things vibrating now are my posters. :/ Will little rubber bumpers on each corner of the frame fix that? And still no vibrations from War of the Worlds.

Ok, im kinda confused, exactly what is your riser comprised of? Maybe I/someone else can toss out some ideas if we got a clearer picture of what was going on (or maybe even a real picture! ).

[Indyjones]

I can't get a pic up, my iphone isn't cooperating, or I'm just retarded.:/ The top is 3/4" mdf, the base is 1" x 4" pine on all 4 sides, bottom is not enclosed. The inside of the base is completely filled with 3" of foam, and the top is carpeted. I have a sheet of rubber (16"x16") about the same height of a mousepad, on top of the riser, underneath the sub. There's about 1.25", give or take, of dense rubber (consisting of 12 individual pieces, same thickness as a mousepad, glued together - really, really solid) , underneath each corner of the risers. The subs are located in the middle of each side wall, 9-10" away from the wall, crossovers all the way up, with the crossover on the receiver set to 80hz and the volume on each side is turned up only about a 1/3 of the way.

After adding all of the rubber, yesterday and today, all of the room vibrations have almost been eliminated, from what discs I've demo'd. Last night I was getting ceiling vibrations from Aliens. After adding another 1/4" of rubber to the corners of the risers and the sheet under the sub today and playing Aliens again, the room noise just seems to be coming from the movie poster frames now - nothing from the ceiling, walls, or anything else. Right now there are no bumpers of any kind on the back of the poster frames. They're butt up against the wall.

[nathan_393]

Originally Posted by Indyjones

I can't get a pic up, my iphone isn't cooperating, or I'm just retarded.:/ The top is 3/4" mdf, the base is 1" x 4" pine on all 4 sides, bottom is not enclosed. The inside of the base is completely filled with 3" of foam, and the top is carpeted. I have a sheet of rubber (16"x16") about the same height of a mousepad, on top of the riser, underneath the sub. There's about 1.25", give or take, of dense rubber (consisting of 12 individual pieces, same thickness as a mousepad, glued together - really, really solid) , underneath each corner of the risers. The subs are located in the middle of each side wall, 9-10" away from the wall, crossovers all the way up, with the crossover on the receiver set to 80hz and the volume on each side is turned up only about a 1/3 of the way.

After adding all of the rubber, yesterday and today, all of the room vibrations have almost been eliminated, from what discs I've demo'd. Last night I was getting ceiling vibrations from Aliens. After adding another 1/4" of rubber to the corners of the risers and the sheet under the sub today and playing Aliens again, the room noise just seems to be coming from the movie poster frames now - nothing from the ceiling, walls, or anything else. Right now there are no bumpers of any kind on the back of the poster frames. They're butt up against the wall.

Is there a carpet beneath your riser and is your subwoofer/riser sitting against a wall or in a corner? It's always wise (imo) to keep the sub away from corners and at least a few inches from the wall (mine is probably 9" away from a wall), and I find putting the riser on carpet further helps matters.

If you've already tried both these things, my apologies and I'm out of ideas.

[Indyjones]

Here's a pic of one of the risers. It's not pretty, but for the most part, it does the job. The base will be painted black at some point. My subs are 9.5" away from the wall.

[nathan_393]

Originally Posted by Indyjones

Here's a pic of one of the risers. It's not pretty, but for the most part, it does the job. The base will be painted black at some point. My subs are 9.5" away from the wall.

Be sure to wrap the entire thing in carpet, especially the base. That should help a lot.