REL Carbon Special
 

In my second floor audio room (suspended floor) I am using a REL sub but it causes my floor to vibrate even with output level set low. Any suggestions for isolating this sub from floor below it?

Isoacoustics Aperta Sub series are excellent.https://isoacoustics.com/home-audio-...ts/aperta-sub/

I own dual Carbon Special subwoofers. The products that I'm using is
called EVP pads in large size (Equipment Vibration Protectors) by the company A/V Room Service. My system is in a finished basement but perhaps these would benefit you. Good luck.

Tony - am thinking of putting a 10" sub in my rack in an open space as it is ideally located for same. But, am wondering if it might not feed unwanted vibration back into my other gear. Do you think the IsoAcoustics Aperta would provide enough isolation to prevent this?

Auralex SubDude-HT™ Subwoofer Isolation Pad may help. :thumbsup:
https://auralex.com/subdude-ht/

I really don't know Glenn. It worked very well for me under a sub on a suspended wood floor, but in an equipment rack will be quite different. I wouldn't think that would be ideal regardless of isolation.

I concur; it will create even more problems than it solves.

Very good. I'll remove the shelf it would sit on and the sub will then sit on the carpet on the concrete floor. The Iso Aperta or the other iso-pad may be needed to raise it up a couple of inches.
Thanks.

I have the Auralex SubDude Ron shared above. It's supporting a B&W DB1 sub and significantly reduced vibrations on suspended wood floors. No more rattling picture frames either. What's great, the tweak was under $100.

The Carbon Special has a down-firing passive woofer...don't believe REL recommends any platform as this was part of their sound design. The IsoAcoustics Gaia may also be an option.

Yes, absolutely they would. EVPs are what I use under my REL sub as well. My townhome is on the "second floor' and runs along a set of garages below it on the first level. As such, my floor is "suspended", i.e., not set onto a slab.

Here's a diagram from Norm's site at A/V Roomservice that illustrates accurately the improvement that the EVP's provide. Look at the diagram carefully. Note how the sub in the right panel is on EVPs, and the sub in the left panel is not. When I did this experiment for myself, I then understood exactly what this illustration was referring to. Look at the illustration carefully. Note the "walls" on the figure on the left, and how they are "wavy" and vibrating. Then, look at the walls in the right panel, and they are not vibrating. This is an accurate graphical example of exactly what the EVPs do.

https://photos.imageevent.com/puma_c...bsize/EVPs.jpg

Based on Norm Varney of A/V Roomservice's recommendation, i put an EVP under each foot of my REL sub and was shocked at how much quieter the room became. Turns out that the sub's energy couples to the floor, which is tied to the walls, which are drywall construction. When the energy from the sub couples to the floor and then the drywall-constuction walls, the walls then resonate at...70 Hz. And believe me, the impact of this is very audible.

When I put my REL on the EVPs, not only did the "sub-bass" performance improve, but more importantly, the room itself became much QUIETER.

It was something of a revelation, but given Norm's expertise, not an unexpected one.

Here is a reference link for EVPs. My recommendation is to read this carefully.
https://avroomservice.com/wp-content...Spec-Sheet.pdf

What I've also learned is that much like Caelin at Shunyata, or JR Boisclair for turntable set-up, Norm Varney is REAL deal. When he conveys information about room design, room acoustics, vibration, you can take it to the bank, as the saying goes.