anyone done any dampening to the cabinets ?

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bernard991

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I am thinking of adding some dampening to the cabinets of my SL3's ..
anyone done this to any ML speaker ?
thanks
 
Hi Bernard,

While I’ve yet to apply damping to the cabinet itself, I have applied a 25 Lbs cloth-wrapped lead weight to the rear shelf of the Sequels I have to improve their stability and damp some minor oscillations.

Next time I’m opening up the units to update their (now 15+ year old) woofers, I’ll be using some of this product Cascade VB-1X Dampening to coat the interior of the cabinet.

That should both add additional rigidity and provide some level of internal dampening.

Additional internal bracing might be a good thing too, but that starts changing the internal volume of the chamber.

An SL3 would also benefit from additional overall structural rigidity by totally anchoring it to the floor so it can’t move in any direction. This can be done with a nylon strap (like a tie-down strap for trucks), clipped to the front of the top shelf (90 degree angle bent metal clip grabbing the front of the shelf between it and the panel) wrapping over the back edge of the top shelf and clipped to a single bolt in the floor that could be hidden under the cabinet. Using the strap-length adjusters, tighten down until it feels firm.

I can share than an SL3 panel that is firmly positioned, gives cleaner readings on the measurements than one that is not anchored. See my SL3XC thread for those, as well as how it’s anchored.

In general, having any speaker well damped of cabinet resonances and mitigating overall movement (due to lack of stability) will sound better than otherwise. But it can be fairly subtle.

This tweak is best done once room acoustics are well in hand, as those have a much greater impact.

Please let us know what you wind up doing, or if you have further questions.
 
Jonathan: any comments on the outriggers sold by OregonDV?


You mean these, right:
ML-Outrigger.JPG


from : http://www.soundocity.com/

They sure look like a good idea for tall, tippy speakers like ML's.

I specifically like the ease of adjusting the tilt with these vs fiddling with the cones under a speaker.

The added width sure helps, and for something like an SL3, the added height (using 2.5" long cones as well) would sure help.

Hum, now you’ve got me looking at these for my rear Sequels ;)
 
Jonathan
thanks for weighing in ...I was thinking of going with a foam type of internal damping like ' no rez ' however it is a big inch thick ....and now I have almost completed my new XO's for the SL3 and the obvious trade off is that the internal volume of the cabinet will be reduced somewhat .
I have heard that the introduction of dampening materials like foam and poly fill
trick the driver into thinking the space is larger ...but I am not sure that it would compensate for this reduced space .?
am leaning towards a peel and stick membrane or the coating you will use
...I have hardwood and I know the WAF would be zero should I decide to put a bolt into the floor for the mechanical bracing !
...I should point out that I am a little over the top on this project ...I was / am considering 'stretching' the cabinet deeper a bit to physically make up for volume loss...we will see
thanks for turning me onto the outriggers I think that they would work nicely on the tippy SL3's
I will post some pics of the work I have been doing when they are done
cheers Bernard
 
You mean these, right:

from : http://www.soundocity.com/

They sure look like a good idea for tall, tippy speakers like ML's.

I specifically like the ease of adjusting the tilt with these vs fiddling with the cones under a speaker.

The added width sure helps, and for something like an SL3, the added height (using 2.5" long cones as well) would sure help.
Yup, that's what I mean, though I am able to get my SL3's quite solidly planted. Of course they would be even more solid with a wider base.

Hum, now you’ve got me looking at these for my rear Sequels;)
Anything to help you (or anyone else) spend money. ;)
 
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