I've made a thing!!

[dannybgoode]

Impressive little build.  And those Nobsound springs give me an idea for my turntable...  Will investigate and report accordingly if They will go where I think they will.

 

[Jules_S]

Impressive little build.  And those Nobsound springs give me an idea for my turntable...  Will investigate and report accordingly if They will go where I think they will.

Thanks for the compliments. And I shall be very interested to hear your findings on using the Nobs under a TT. I have been wondering about adding some isolation under my own TT - it's on a wall bracket but due to the proximity to the RH speaker, the shelf does pick up airborne vibration and, it seems, transmit it to the deck's plinth / top plate. That said not much, if any, seems to get through the suspension to the subchassis, nevertheless I would hope to reduce it a bit, accepting that there will still be some direct airborne vibration.

Do keep us posted, for the money I think the Nobsound dampers are very good, and the ability to tune them according to the weight they're bearing by removing the springs as appropriate seems like a neat touch, although given the speaker's weight they do need all 7 in place!

 

[rabski]

Impressive little build.  And those Nobsound springs give me an idea for my turntable...  Will investigate and report accordingly if They will go where I think they will.

Note my earlier comment about these, however. They do make some mechanical noise, as the springs rub against their locating holes when they move. I tried them under my turntable and they were no good. You could actually hear the rubbing amplified through the system. Some thin PTFE sleeving or similar might work, but I couldn't be bothered...

 

[dannybgoode]

Note my earlier comment about these, however. They do make some mechanical noise, as the springs rub against their locating holes when they move. I tried them under my turntable and they were no good. You could actually hear the rubbing amplified through the system. Some thin PTFE sleeving or similar might work, but I couldn't be bothered...

Interesting - thank you for reiterating as I had missed that.  For the price there are probably better things I can try first in that case as I agree faffing around with sleeving etc given the initial cost.  Will see...

 

[Zen Monkey]

Nice plinths!

 

[ryder]

Has anyone tried the Nobsound springs below amplifiers?

 

[newlash09]

Has anyone tried the Nobsound springs below amplifiers?

I've used them under my tube amps with great results. I needed a total spring weight of 28 kgs ( 1.65 kgs per spring = total 18 springs ). So I adjusted the entire distribution of springs, such that I had more springs at the back ( to support the transformer ), and less springs at the front.  I did have to experiment with the spring distribution a few times, till I got the amp perfectly horizontal. Once done, there was a definite improvement in clarity and imaging to my ears. I was previously using the 'oehlbach XL Air springs" under the amps, which had improved over the stock footers. And the noob sound springs when properly placed and balanced to get the optimum compression of 3mm between the upper and lower springs, improved it even further

 

[ryder]

I've used them under my tube amps with great results. I needed a total spring weight of 28 kgs ( 1.65 kgs per spring = total 18 springs ). So I adjusted the entire distribution of springs, such that I had more springs at the back ( to support the transformer ), and less springs at the front.  I did have to experiment with the spring distribution a few times, till I got the amp perfectly horizontal. Once done, there was a definite improvement in clarity and imaging to my ears. I was previously using the 'oehlbach XL Air springs" under the amps, which had improved over the stock footers. And the noob sound springs when properly placed and balanced to get the optimum compression of 3mm between the upper and lower springs, improved it even further

Thanks for the post.  I might acquire the Nobsound springs to try under my solid state amps and preamp. It's useful to note that the optimum compression of the spring is 3mm measured between the top and bottom aluminium alloy pieces.

I was made to understand that the Townshend Seismic Pods are the best product for isolating individual components but they come at a price.  Next up is the Isoacoustics Orea and Nobsound springs.  People who have tried both found the performance to be comparable (ie. one isn't noticeably superior than the other). The Townshend is said to be on another level in comparison to both Isoacoustics and Nobsound.

 

[ryder]

If the Nobsound fail to perform under the amps, they can always go under the speakers like what Jules had accomplished here. Nevertheless, I'm not sure if I can emulate the impressive DIY skills shown here. 😆

 

[MVJ]

They look great Jules👍  Can I just ask are the tiles bonded to the sound damping material so each section is solid?
 

 

[Tony_J]

Note my earlier comment about these, however. They do make some mechanical noise, as the springs rub against their locating holes when they move. I tried them under my turntable and they were no good. You could actually hear the rubbing amplified through the system. Some thin PTFE sleeving or similar might work, but I couldn't be bothered...

Sounds like the design would be much improved by boring out the holes that the springs sit in so they don't rub...wouldn't be hard to do. You wouldn't bore them out to the full depth, of course, so the ends of the springs would stay located in the centre of the bores.

 

[mr.me]

I also made speaker suspension units using the Nobsound spring units. As I have now sold all my kit the units are available should anyone be interested PM me

 

[rabski]

Sounds like the design would be much improved by boring out the holes that the springs sit in so they don't rub...wouldn't be hard to do. You wouldn't bore them out to the full depth, of course, so the ends of the springs would stay located in the centre of the bores.

May get them out of the drawer and have a tinker.

Possibly a lump of silicon grease in each hole would shut up the rubbing as well, but it would end up messy.

 

[newlash09]

 

[lostwin]

I use these spring units under my valve amp, adjusting the number of springs to balance the uneven weight distribution as Newlash describes. They are clever things but mechanically noisey, so I can see why Richard would struggle directly under a turntable. For speakers, particularly heavier ones, I would still firmly recommend extending the DIY and going for properly spec'd individual springs from one of the online retailers and building a plinth system around them.  For lighter equipment loads, the vintage aircraft spring units I have posted about before, kick the Nobsound units into the weeds.

 

[Jules_S]

They look great Jules👍  Can I just ask are the tiles bonded to the sound damping material so each section is solid?
 

Apologies for the delayed reply, I've only just seen the resurrection of my thread. Thee's no bonding, no, I have simply layered the tiles and the damping. To be honest the weight of the tile(s) themselves and 43kg of speaker tends to hold them in place 😁

I have no doubt that the Nobsounds can be bettered, but at a price. This was a little experiment I wanted to do to find out for myself if isolation rather than coupling was a route worth investigating (the topic was quite hot at the time, and has been again recently). I couldn't justify the cost of Townshend platforms for the purpose of just trying something out, and this was a far cheaper way to have a go.

I agree with all who have said that the Nobsounds do creak - yes they do.How much of an issue that is at a microphonic level I'm not sure - certainly this isn't an audible noise in normal use. I can't imagine how using them under an amp would create a great deal of noise, although probably if it was was going to cause any issues at all I'd expect a valve amp to be more succeptible. Richard I see that you mentioned you could hear the rubbing being transmitted when used under a TT - what was causing the deck to rock so much to create that noise, I wonder?

I will be dismantling these platforms now anyway, as the tiles are too small to fit under my new ML Summits, where a more rectangular shape will be needed. I'm thinking of trying some really thick butcher's block-type timber in place of the tiles, to see if that works too.

I also note a recent posting on the ML forum where someone is looking to use the Isoacoustics Gaia II feet underneath Summits, and I might be tempted to try those out, although they are still a huge price jump from my home-grown platform. Still not sure I can justify Townshend though...

 

[MF 1000]

Wrap the springs in plumbers ptfe tape and that should stop any creaking