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DIY Townsend derivative bouncy bouncy speaker stands.

Chris

Chris

pfm Member
Please bear with my and my meanderings. ok I have some wd25T speakers, roughly 1m high x 29cms width x 27cms deep ( see Avatar). Quite hefty and I have always had them on spikes. I fancy having them a bit higher so thought of building plinths. Entrance my old Heybrook hbs1 stands which some may remember were flat pack jobs, heavy box tube open plan things base with outrigger feet 30 odd cms verticals and top plate all well bolted together with Allen head m8 screws. Very, very solid things. So I decided to just use the spiked outrigger base under my speakers to see what happens and I rather like the effect of an extra 2 inches height. So am now thinking of what to use as short column verticals. I think of solid steel bobbins first but then I think of Townsend speaker platforms and think why not try some quality springs in the four corners Retained by longish bolts, washers etc. My question is how to calculate the forces involved to specify 4 springs from a supplier suitable for this. Is it just the weight of the speaker divided by 4 ? I am no engineer and have no idea about how bouncy the springs should be. Can anyone help ?
 
Way back around 1985 I had some Yorkshire Hi Fi 1.3 speakers (yeah no ones heard of them...) and they espoused the same floppy speakers idea which they accomplished by the simple expedient of supplying some foam pieces of just the right compliance for the speakers weight and with "double sided sticky tape" on them which you stuck between speaker and stand....
 
Thanks Jez, I’m guessing the Yorkshire’s were considerably lighter than mine which I reckon are nearasdammit 30 kilos each. I can’t see foam holding up but might be wrong.
 
Chris said:
Thanks Jez, I’m guessing the Yorkshire’s were considerably lighter than mine which I reckon are nearasdammit 30 kilos each. I can’t see foam holding up but might be wrong.
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I guess you would just need the right foam and more of it... foam supports heavy humans on mattresses...
 
Perhaps someone with hands on experience of the Townsends can say exactly how bouncy they need to be. After all, there are floorstanders and behemoths. Do Townsend offer varying weight specifications ? I wonder.
 
I appreciate that this is a bit rough and ready, but identical springs will only operate in a similar way if they are the same distance from the centre of gravity of the speaker, and that will not be in the centre of the cabinet.
How much difference it would make to have, say, 4 springs, one at each corner would be simple enough to work out IF you knew where the c of g of the speaker was. Probably not much, but worth bearing in mind.
 
Vinny said:
I appreciate that this is a bit rough and ready, but identical springs will only operate in a similar way if they are the same distance from the centre of gravity of the speaker, and that will not be in the centre of the cabinet.
How much difference it would make to have, say, 4 springs, one at each corner would be simple enough to work out IF you knew where the c of g of the speaker was. Probably not much, but worth bearing in mind.
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You simply mount them on a base plate, and move the speaker around on that until it balances. That's what I do with my double inner tube versions. But I don't think the exact resonant frequency is critical, just in the right range to provide isolation above that. Stella stands cover a range of weights.
 
Snufkin said:
You could blutack them in position and place the speaker on the stand.
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I don’t think this form of masochism is advocated on PFM. Blu-tak doesn’t stick well to skin anyway. If you must do this cyanoacrylate would do the job well but to say it will all end in tears would be an understatement. Tears of laughter in the case of the paramedics........
Returning to pads under speakers, our friends in Sweden have done the work and make little pucks for audio kit.
Google Sonic Design.
Cheers Andy.
 
Andy, thanks for reminding me of the Sonic Design pads. I have a set but was never over impressed using them between speakers and floor. Now I can use them as designed for use between speakers and stands/plinth. Who knows ???? back to Jez´s suggestion at the beginning.
 
have just checked, mine aren´t Sonic Design. they are Valhalla Technology but would seem to be very similar, Danish instead of Swedish. Anyone know them ? Made of Pocan ?
 
How much should a Townsend-type speaker support “wobble” ?
The reason I ask is that I have got hold of some silent blocs from an industrial fastenings firm, presumably made as feet for lathes and things in a workshop They certainly look the part being largish inverted quality rubber cone shapes on an M6 stub and just screw into my Heybrook crosspiece base. Just placing my finger on the top of my speakers and pushing gently, the speakers rock back and forth about a centimetre or so and side to side they are slightly more resistant and across the diagonals hardly move, presumably because of the corner outriggers on the base. My intuition tells me they are doing something but might they be bettered by also using my Valhalla foam pads between base and speakers thereby increasing their “wobbleability” ?
 
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