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HOW TO WEIGH YOUR LOUDSPEAKER (mainly relevant for Audiophile Feet only)
For the Standard Damping Feet, any weight of loudspeaker may be accommodated (upto 100 kg per cabinet) using one of the four weight range packs currently available. These are:
0 to 12 kg, 12 to 28 kg, 28 to 50 kg and 50 to 100 kg.
Hence if the total weight of each speaker cabinet falls within one of the four ranges above, then that is the product you need to order.
For the Audiophile Damping Feet, however, you will have to weigh your loudspeakers more thoroughly, as the Audiophile Damping Feet are designed to operate over a much narrower band (of weight loading) and hence the packs are sold from a point of view of the maximum loading per damping foot.
Method for ascertaining the weight loading of each corner of your loudspeaker cabinet.
Grab your bathroom scales and block up a stack of, for example, Hi-Fi Magazines to exactly the same height as your scales. Then have ready four equal height stacks of small coins. Position the scales and magazines close to each other and place two stacks of coins on top of the scales and two stacks of coins on top of the magazines. Then place the loudspeaker on top of these four stacks of coins, having made sure that each stack of coins is placed at each corner of the speaker. If you have a lightweight "bubble" level, then please use it to make sure the speaker is level (front to back and side to side).
So, now you will have the following:
A loudspeaker standing on four small piles of small coins with the front of the speaker standing upon two columns of coins, which are on top of the scales. The rear of the speaker is standing on two stacks of coins which are on top of a stack of hi-fi magazines.
Make sure the speaker is stable and will not topple off the coins.
It is very important that the loudspeaker cabinet stands exactly level when you read the scales since any deviation (from the level) will make the centre of the gravity shift and will give erroneous measurements. Check with a spirit level (or a small ball on top of the cabinet) that the speaker is level when being weighed.
Now you can read off the weight of the "front" of the speaker via the scales. Note this figure down.
Then turn the loudspeaker with the rear side over the scales (and the front half over the magazines). Note this reading also.
For a final check, weigh the entire speaker; the sum of front and rear readings should be the same as the reading for the entire speaker. If not, then re-weigh the speakers. Furthermore, if the cabinet is asymmetric sideways, it will also be necessary to weigh each corner separately. (Do this with one stack of coins on the scales and three stacks of coins on the magazines).
To order the Audiophile Feet for your speakers:
Take the front reading and divide by two (as this will give the weight of the speaker cabinet at each front corner). Do the same for the rear reading (which will give the weight of the speaker at each rear corner).
The Audiophile Damping Feet are supplied in 30 different weight range loadings (see table below). You will need to order one set of four Audiophile Damping Feet to go under the front of your speakers (so you can place two under the front of each cabinet) and one set of four Audiophile Damping Feet for the rears (again two pieces for each rear face). Note is it quite usual for the front loading to be higher than the rear - this is due to the weight of the drive units mounted on the front baffle of the speaker.
You will get the best results when the actual load is approaching the maximum permissive value as shown in the table.
Please do not overload the feet as this may reduce the effectiveness of the product.
Once you have calculated the weight loadings at each corner, then please refer to the following table. This shows you which pack(s) you require - the weight shown below indicates the minimum and maximum weight loading per damping foot.
It is also possible to specify and use Sonic Design Damping Feet for many other purposes - we have supplied these feet to many other industries, for use isolating numerous pieces of equipment. If you have any questions about this, then please feel free to contact us.