Is it ok to stack receiver on top of the subwoofer?

[stanrozenfeld]

I have a fairly small living room, and currently there is no place for my receiver except on top of the subwoofer. The subwoofer is Atlantic Technology 372pbm, 15 inch, sealed cabinet and weighs about 85 pounds. The receiver is Marantz SR-18 and weighs about 50 pounds. The receiver fits perfectly on top of the subwoofer, with all its four support legs solidly on top of the subwoofer surface. All the receiver wents have plenty of space and are away from the wall.

I just want to verify if it's a good idea to keep it that way. Does it in any way compromise performance or shortens the lifespan of either unit?

Thanks in advance,
Stan

 

[scarecrow]

I'd say it won't harm it but I'd look for a better place anyways. There is a chance of too much vibrations jarring a chip or something but look at a car system they take a lot of bumps so I dunno really.

 

[Audioholics]

My gut says try to find a different place.

 

[MACCA350]

I wouldnt If I were you, the vibration alone should detour you from this.

I have a HTPC in a desktop case sitting ontop of my Velodyne sub (it wouldnt fit in the rack without cutting out the back, which I will do shortly). Audible rattling can be heard from the HTPC at certain Frequencies, Im sure this could effect the sound quality If a receiver was in its place, not to mention the possibility of internal damage. So theres no-way I would stick my 3805 on the sub.

cheers

 

[bobman1235]

I wouldnt If I were you, the vibration alone should detour you from this.

I have a HTPC in a desktop case sitting ontop of my Velodyne sub (it wouldnt fit in the rack without cutting out the back, which I will do shortly). Audible rattling can be heard from the HTPC at certain Frequencies, Im sure this could effect the sound quality If a receiver was in its place, not to mention the possibility of internal damage. So theres no-way I would stick my 3805 on the sub.

cheers

Uhh... I would STRONGLY recommend you move that HTPC post haste. You think a receiver is hurt by constant vibrations, you should see how a hard drive is going to react. YOu're going to have disk failures within a month if you don't move that thing.

 

[stanrozenfeld]

that really sucks that I have to move it! The only other place available is where I was going to put a second sub. So I guess an equipment rack would have to go there instead.

It's terrible that you guys told me what you really thought instead of what I wanted to hear But thanks!

Stan

 

[Krazykaj]

Next time you play a movie like 'The Incredibles', go sit on your sub for a while

Somehow i don't think your electronics are going to like it

 

[zumbo]

Next time you play a movie like 'The Incredibles', go sit on your sub for a while

Somehow i don't think your electronics are going to like it

Sit on the sub. Now, why do you have to go and tell us about your sick little adventures?

 

[mtrycrafts]

I'd say it won't harm it but I'd look for a better place anyways. There is a chance of too much vibrations jarring a chip or something but look at a car system they take a lot of bumps so I dunno really.

That would be easy to test Do it and feel the receiver for vibrations.
I doubt you will feel much, if anything

 

[mtrycrafts]

My gut says try to find a different place.

From my handy-dandy references

"CD Magic", Pholmann, Ken C., Stereo Review, July 91, pg 39-42.

Ken tested placing a CD player on top of a pro sub, did some measuring too, playing, of the analog outs. Up to 120dB spl. Nada, zilch, zippo

 

[mtrycrafts]

I wouldnt If I were you, the vibration alone should detour you from this.

I have a HTPC in a desktop case sitting ontop of my Velodyne sub (it wouldnt fit in the rack without cutting out the back, which I will do shortly). Audible rattling can be heard from the HTPC at certain Frequencies, Im sure this could effect the sound quality If a receiver was in its place, not to mention the possibility of internal damage. So theres no-way I would stick my 3805 on the sub.

cheers

Oh, you mean natural rattling? A better foot would take care of it, no??

I am sure you mean that the vibration would affect the sound from the speakers, not the addes mechanical sound of the vibrating component? If so, how so???
If one cannot measure such differences in the analog outs from a CD player, atop a sub at 120dB spl, why would the receiver be different???

 

[mtrycrafts]

that really sucks that I have to move it! The only other place available is where I was going to put a second sub. So I guess an equipment rack would have to go there instead.

It's terrible that you guys told me what you really thought instead of what I wanted to hear But thanks!

Stan

Stan,

Just because those guys told you one way, I am telling you the other way. Do it. Try it. Place your hand on the receiver and feel the vibration, if you can. Try some foam under the feet of the receiver and feel it again.

Ken Pohlmann tested a CD player on top of a sub at 120dB spl. Didn't affect the sound output. It didn't mistrack, if I remember the article.
The receiver is solid state. It has an isolation feet on it and you can add more isolation to it, even inexpensive and attractive ones. Go for it.

Audio is more science that guessing

 

[mtrycrafts]

Somehow i don't think your electronics are going to like it

Why do you think this??? Did you ask recenlty
Those electrons will never know the difference. Just because you can feel the vibration doesn't mean it is of concerne.

How about those built in amps and crossovers on powered subs???

 

[mtrycrafts]

I have a fairly small living room, and currently there is no place for my receiver except on top of the subwoofer. The subwoofer is Atlantic Technology 372pbm, 15 inch, sealed cabinet and weighs about 85 pounds. The receiver is Marantz SR-18 and weighs about 50 pounds. The receiver fits perfectly on top of the subwoofer, with all its four support legs solidly on top of the subwoofer surface. All the receiver wents have plenty of space and are away from the wall.

I just want to verify if it's a good idea to keep it that way. Does it in any way compromise performance or shortens the lifespan of either unit?

Thanks in advance,
Stan

I think the paranoia is overwhelming on this issue. Don't worry about it.
Ask your self about those built in amps and crossovers in a powered sub, or any speakers system. How come they don't mind the vibration? After all, we are talking solid state stuff.

 

[Krazykaj]

Why do you think this??? Did you ask recenlty
Those electrons will never know the difference. Just because you can feel the vibration doesn't mean it is of concerne.

How about those built in amps and crossovers on powered subs???

No, sorry there i was more refering to a HTPC.
I have the DD-18 and when you hit the 18hz-25Hz frequencies, the sub really 'shakes'. Put a glass of water on top of the sub and you'll see the constant vibrations. Or you could put an empty glass, picture frame or something of simlar nature on top of the sub and see if it 'moves' 'vibrates' slowly to a different spot.
But for things like hard drives and such, it is not the ideal situation you want your gear in. Not that it would alter the actual sound in any way, but more that there is a much higher chance of hardware failure, as they are highly sensitive electronics with presision moving parts.
But even from the point of view of an amp, ok there are no 'sensitive moving parts' like in a hard drive, however, there are still bits and peices that are screwed together, attached etc. that physically MAY be affected over time by constant vibrations. I'm not saying you will have a problem, and i am certainly not saying that there will be an audible degredation in audio quailty, but physically you 'MAY' put your hardware at risk. All you need is one slightly dodgy bit in your equipment and there it goes.

A good examle is currently in my HT (not hardware though), i have a slightly cracked window up the back. Now, at about 32Hz @ -30dB and up, that crack vibrates aginst iteslf and creates a very loud 'buzzing' sound, and obviously the crack is slowly getting bigger, i've just been too lazy to fix the glass.
Now imagine that that small crack was a small fault in the plastic holding your amp together, or a loose screw, or a bad connection.

You can of course put your equipment anywhere, but i would have thought it was 'common sense' not to put your equipment where the chances of physical hardware problems/damage are much higher.
And also some equipment would be much more prone to the effects of constant vibrations, like a hard drive, tube amp, CD/DVD players etc.
Whereas things like the Sub amp and crossovers, first, are not only designed for that envionment, but also, there really isn't much that can physically 'move' 'break' 'shift' there.

Note: when i say vibrations, i mean loud strong vibrations, stuff from 15Hz - 30Hz at reference levels.
And i am also assuming that the gear is in direct contact with the sub, obviously if there is some serious dampener between the two or the gear is not actually touching the sub then the senario changes. The effects of ONLY the air movment created by the sub are small.

anway, my 2cents, i may be completely wrong, it is only what i thought, i'm here to learn as well

Cheers
KJ

 

[jaxvon]

I still don't think it's a good idea. If your sub isn't magnetically shielded, then you could start to get problems going on in there. Besides, it isn't a good idea to subject your components to unnecessary vibration, especially over the long term. True, the electrons might not mind, but all of those soldered parts and mechanical joints and such won't be too happy with LF pounding.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I still don't think it's a good idea. If your sub isn't magnetically shielded, then you could start to get problems going on in there. Besides, it isn't a good idea to subject your components to unnecessary vibration, especially over the long term. True, the electrons might not mind, but all of those soldered parts and mechanical joints and such won't be too happy with LF pounding.

I guess then those active subs with built in amps and cross overs are a poor choice???

 

[jaxvon]

It's for convenience's sake. People wouldn't be too interested in buying a nice compact subwoofer if they had to stick another component on their shelf. If I had the choice and the money, I'd buy a sub with an external amp. Why do you think Hsu only warranties their electronics for 2 years and their woofers for 7?

Seriously, think about what's going on in there. High amplitude, LF waves are shaking the hell out of sensitive electronics. It's not good for your body, it's not good for your car, so why would it be okay for an amp?

 

[stanrozenfeld]

I want to thank everyone for their input.

Today, I put on a CD which had heavy bass content (Symphonic Star Trek from Telarc) and walked up to the receiver and felt it. There was a lot more vibration than I expected!

I've had this receiver for six years with no problems, and it cost me a bundle back in 1999, so I have no intention of risking it now, because to replace this receiver with something comparable would cost me in excess of $3000.

Regarding how sturdy those subwoofer amps are: I've had my speaker system also for 6 years. The speakers came with 5 year warranty, but the subwoofer amp had only one year warranty. So guess which part broke down recently... yep, it was the subwoofer amp... loose solder connection and all that.

Fortunately, Atlantic Technology has an excellent customer service and fixed it quickly for a reasonable price. It's also interesting that on their new 6200 system, which was designed to replace my 370 system, all their subwoofers are passive with external amplifiers.

My conclusion is that I will immediately start researching and shopping for a good rack (any advice on that?) This will also give me excuse to completely organze my equipment and do some cable management.

Fortunately, my subwoofer gives plenty bass, so it's not even clear whether I would have substantially benefitted from another subwoofer.

Thanks again, everyone!
Stan

 

[jaxvon]

I rest my case.