cheap monitor platforms DIY?

[ferez21]

Hello,


So, i have a big desk, and my monitors are placed on each side of the desk, which is fine and it's the only arrangement i can have in my tiny room.
Problem is, they're not at ear's level so when i'm producing, i have to bend my back in order to bring my ears to the tweeter's height.
I need to build two square platforms, 10cm high, one for each speaker -
Any ideas how to make it cheaply and effectively?

Cheers, Erez.

[kryptonaut]

I had a similar problem, and after fiddling about cutting bits of wood to various shapes I ended up using pieces of the styrofoam packaging from the speakers. I cut two wedge-shaped pieces - easy to cut with a kitchen knife - and wrapped them completely in black duct-tape so they look nice (if you don't inspect them too closely!) The wedges are angled so that the tweeters point at ear level when I'm sitting in front of the desk.

I guess it depends on how professional a job you want to do, but I'm pretty happy with my solution!

[ferez21]

Nice idea dude, thanks

I just need a practical solution, which will look OK and be vibration-proof.
Is it actually absorbs speaker vibrations?

[kryptonaut]

Well, the foam has a bit of 'give' to it so I guess it will absorb vibrations to an extent. Better than resting the speakers directly on the desk anyway. Maybe not as good as proper stands, but they're essentially free so I'm not going to complain

If it's a problem you could try standing the wedges on something more spongy, like maybe a mousemat or some kind of kitchen cleaning pad, to give more isolation.

[ferez21]

Haha, i actually thought of stacking 12 mouse pads under each speaker

[Lost_Highway]

Auralex MoPADs can be used to angle speakers upwards to direct the sound to your ears as well as dampening vibrations through to the desk.

Depending on how close you are to the speakers they might not angle enough, but it might mean that you can get away with something smaller than 10 cm high to sit them on.

[ferez21]

but they aren't cheap, are they?

[Lost_Highway]

but they aren't cheap, are they?

I suppose it depends on your definition of cheap. And whereabouts in the world you are.

They're about £29 here. Thomann sell them for €38.

[ferez21]

i'm in the middle east, so double the price :\

[GaryG]

Conventional wisdom says your speakers should be on a solid base, not anything soft or flexible. This means the speakers can't move about and distort the sound (all the energy goes into moving the cone not the rest of the case).

I used to have my stereo speakers on bricks (low to the ground... ) with a blob of blutack to decouple them (though something like spikes are much better). Definite sound improvement.

[Hink]

Conventional wisdom says your speakers should be on a solid base, not anything soft or flexible. This means the speakers can't move about and distort the sound (all the energy goes into moving the cone not the rest of the case).

I used to have my stereo speakers on bricks (low to the ground... ) with a blob of blutack to decouple them (though something like spikes are much better). Definite sound improvement.

I know someone who uses cement blocks

[GratuiTous]

Here's a quick little DIY project I put together:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzJGRD8fGc8

They actually look pretty attractive!

I've actually added 2 more legs into it for the same reason of my "tweeters" were not as ear height!

You can see the newer addition in action here as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbTTx2GQohs

GratuiTous!

[Redmerkurii]

A couple of telephone directories or Yellow Pages under each speaker should get you out of trouble. Cheap easy solution. Useful too should you require the services of a plumber, glazier, pest control service etc.

[GaryG]

Here's a quick little DIY project I put together:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzJGRD8fGc8

Jenga!

[timobrien]

For a while I used two thick volumes of Shakespeare books, one under each speaker.