Subwoofer Sock "Mod" & Dampening Vibrations?

[DaveK]

I've been reading people doing the sock "mod" to their subwoofers, they put a sock or glove in the port, but what does this actually do? I couldn't find any information about it.

Also, I was wondering if there was a way to dampen the vibrations from the sub so people around me in the apartment block don't hear thumping at 3am while maintaining the bass for myself?

 

[sneekypeet]

seems to me it would deaden the sound of the woofer, as plugging the port will cancel the airflow the port allows for.

@ 3 AM use headphones

 

[timta2]

Typically closing a port will tighten the bass but will lower the efficiency of the woofer, if it was designed to be used in a ported enclosure. Its probably not a good idea but I don't think there is any harm in trying it. If you want to research it further try searching for "Difference between sealed and ported enclosures" or something similar.

Keep dreaming about acoustically sealing your car so your neighbors can't hear your bass. The nature and design of automobiles makes it difficult to insulate for low frequency radiation of the sound. You can spend a lot of money on Dynamat or similar sound insulating products and while it may help to a degree it will never prevent all or most of the sound escaping. It can make your system louder and more efficient in the car. It can also (depending on how much you apply) make your vehicle heavier and therefore, slower.

 

[Sir_Real]

Theres two types of speaker cases ported & sealed. Yours most be fairly big to have bass ports. The port is there to release the low frequency sound waves (usually around 80-160htz) from the inside of the speaker case through to the outside. This increases deep bass without having to pump in more wattage.
If you block the port up you'll increase the back pressure in the speaker box so the woofer cone wont push in & out so far. You should notice a drop in the deep base & vibrations.

Appart from sound proofing your appartment i carnt see anyway you can have booming bass & not p*ss off the neighbours.

Or u could use headphones !

 

[DaveK]

Well, I don't necessarily want to shake my room with bass, but I want to hear it. Would putting it on a cushioned surface help the person on the floor below me from hearing the thumping? I have subwoofer headphones but sometimes I just don't feel like wearing them lol, especially during the day.

 

[timta2]

That is funny, I didn't realize that you were talking about a home system. You didn't specify and well, since I saw pictures of your car (?) I thought you were talking about the system in your car.

I don't think you are going to have much luck using your subwoofer at any respectable volume without bothering your neighbors. Low frequencies really travel and vibrate through materials. Placing it on a cushion of some sort might help a little. If you can talk your landlord into letting you insulate your walls, floors, and ceilings you could pull it off. It would cost a fortune though.

I have worked for several high end custom home electronics companies and spent quite a bit of time installing automotive systems for friends and family members. Its not the first time I have heard these questions

 

[phanbuey]

Get a wooden box with an open top... get some dynamat, line the box with 2-3 layers of dynamat, and then put your subwoofer in... point the open end at your face.

 

[Studabaker]

The best thing to do with subwoofers that most people don't think about or realize is to put it in a corner. It'll bounce off the walls.

 

[jagass]

I'm interested about it too...

 

[Darren]

I've been reading people doing the sock "mod" to their subwoofers, they put a sock or glove in the port, but what does this actually do? I couldn't find any information about it.

Also, I was wondering if there was a way to dampen the vibrations from the sub so people around me in the apartment block don't hear thumping at 3am while maintaining the bass for myself?

The solution is very simple



Solution 1:

In the AV receivers configurations change the size of the satellites/book shelf speakers to "large" this will redirect the low frequencies which would normally go to the subwoofer to the satellites instead and hence allowing you to enjoy bass from the satellites instead of the overpowered subwoofer! (handy if you've got bookshelf speakers with bass ports)



Solution 2:

In the AV receivers configurations lower the crossover frequency of the subwoofer frequency to below 50 Hz area and therefore the subwoofer and/or the speakers configured as "large" will only produce bass during "extremely low frequencies" of below 50 Hz. Frequencies above 50 Hz will be sent to the speakers configured as "small" which are usually the satellite speakers. I think THX standard is 80 Hz but there is a lot of debate around this area, most receivers manufacturers set their equipment to around 80Hz or 100 Hz by default and hence allowing for the subwoofer to thump more often, In movies there is rarely scenes where the frequency is lower the 50 Hz and hence why its a good setting to use:

Both solution one and two can be used in conjunction with each other depending on your receiver.