 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
74.126.74.106
Have any of you folks ever made a DIY bright star sand box equipment platform?
I was wondering what would be appropriate to use as the support shelf that floats on top of the sand,also thought of stretching 4mil plastic over top and allowing the components to come into into intament contact with the sand
Follow Ups:
I have one that was made for me and uses a piece of Corian with 5 pieces of "L" shaped aluminum about 3" long glued to the underside to keep it from moving around. With no experience with any commercial product like that, I've no way know if it was as good. Some comments in this thread have mentioned a deadening of the sound. I've moved five times in the last 16 years and just never got around to setting it back up. Just last night I pulled it out and decided to give it another go - just need to go buy some sand. I thought it was an improvement then, so I owe it to myself to try it again now (especially now that I'm trying to rid myself of unused stuff!) The fellow who made it for me used 9 hockey pucks between his sandbox and the surface it was sitting on so I did the same. FWIW, mine sat atop a Salamander Designs Archetype 5.0 rack on a slab floor. Now that I think about it, I did replace the top shelf of that rack with a 2" butcher block which is long gone so I'll have to think about that.
Tip 1 - Use a palm sander (with no sand paper on it!) on the surface of whatever support you decide on to help distribute the sand evenly in the box.
Tip 2 - Use a thin piece of foam to fit between your support shelf and the sandbox to keep the sand in - not that that was ever a problem for me.
marc g. - audiophile by day, music lover by night
Of course you do, I'm the guy who built that sand box. I still have the Dynaco gear you sent me too.
I've read that, in general, suspended TT do poorer on a sandbox than solid ones but I've never verified that. So if you've changed TT during the intervening years, YMMV.
I'll look forward to your review.
p.s. since this pic, I've gotten around to applying the veneer to the box
Bill
.
marc g. - audiophile by day, music lover by night
:-)
one of Mike's get togethers. I recently started visiting AA again after taking several years off. Good to see some of the old regulars are still around.
I remember you too. I made some lifelong friends from "ribfest". Much lest "sturm und drang" at AA Central in those days.
.
marc g. - audiophile by day, music lover by night
Don't know about Bright Star but back when sand boxes were big on the 'Net ('02, '03?) I tried with amps, meh, turntable, dead, but speakers on a suspended floor, aces.
4" depth of sand with a plywood 'shelf' not touching the box walls for the speaker to rest on. Last year I put my current speakers on them. Greater clarity in the mids and better defined bass. Highly recommended.
There's no virtue in being old,
it just takes a long time
nt
Tried Brightstar big and little rocks over the years, and frankly, when component is in contact with thin panel directly on sand, music sounds overdamped and dead.
Little rocks have no opening and sand does not fill all the way to top. These sound much better to me in right doses under certain gear (transport, etc). They also really improve subwoofers on top of the sub.
Regardless of which racks I used them, the Bright Star Audio Big Rocks made each and every component sound slow, dull, airless, and lifeless. OTOH, a few Stereotypical Audiophiles liked this type of sound, and used euphemisms like "smooth," "relaxing," and "stable." So, like everything else, you just have to listen, and judge for yourself.
Also note that the top is not sealed. Bits of sand can escape, in the gap between the box and the top panel. Because I didn't find the Big Rock to have any positives, I never did try to DIY one.
The sealed Little Rock, however, could effect some positives. In general, when placed on top of a comment, the smaller sizes worked better. When we used the heavier/larger Little Rocks, they could squeeze the life and air out of the music.
Interestingly, we found that the larger Little Rock did well as a base . Even under something like the modest Audio Alchemy DDE v1.0 DAC, the Little Rock used as a base removed some sonic fizz, grain, and instability.
This reminds me of experiments friends and I performed with bags of sand and lead shot way back in the day (mid-to-late 90's), placing them on top of loudspeakers and especially subwoofers. We used 5 and 10 lb. bags (depending on the size of the speaker) with good success. A really inexpensive tweak that yielded sizeable sonic benefits.
Physics didn't change....all of us went on to explore different ideas and forgot some of the basics. This thread is a good reminder....
I experimented with lead weight on speakers some years ago.
I went to an automobile tire store and asked for tire weights. They offered a five gallon bucket of used weights, which I took. Tire weights have a steel clip on them that is used to attach the lead weight to the wheel. However, weight is weight, and the price for used weights was right - free!
I was cautioned at the time, that used weights can accumulate numerous toxic chemicals. I used rubber gloves and metal trowels to shovel the weights into doubled freezer Zip-loc bags. One could measure the bag weights on a scale and have each bag weigh a specific amount, if so desired.
It is important that one seals these used weights in air tight containers as there are noxious fumes tha emenate from the used weights. As I write this, I thought of placing the weights in cake tins (like what fruit cake comes in). Alternative solutions may have to be employed if the weights are to be used in a sandbox.
Used tire weights may be free or at minimal expense. YMMV
One man's trash is another man's treasure.
DaveT
We purchased the lead shot at a local gun store. It came in a canvas bag, so easy to carry, easy to place. I remember two differing sizes/weights, like 5 lbs. and 10 lbs.
And implementing them was super-simple, as was the A--B--A test: play a track, plop them onto the subwoofer, then remove. We could hear the differences quickly and easily.
Now you'll pay 50 bucks for 25 lbs., unless you live in the CSSR where you can't buy it at all.
That's $100 for a decently audible tweak. Fairy Dust Fuses cost as much. Why would anyone fuck around with those used tire weights is beyond me. If you're that cheap get your kid's fat cousin to come sit on your original AR3's.
There's no virtue in being old,
it just takes a long time
Have you priced lead shot lately, Alan?
Not the inexpensive tweak it used to be.
I went to my local Menards home improvement store today to purchase some 10 gauge romex for a dedicated circuit for my Audioquest Niagra 9000, boy have copper prices went up!glad I only needed a 25 foot roll.
I had a feeling it probably skyrocketed. Lumber, steel, and other basics have done so the last couple of years. Rare earth metals (especially those used for plating) have gone crazy.
| FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
