LF Cab stuffing materials in Oz

[magnarc]

Hey All

Just wondering if any of the other Oz members have recommendations on cabinet stuffing/absorption material they have purchased in Australia, and what and where?

Is it as simple as fibreglass at say Bunnings, or more specialised.

Thanks in advance,
Anthony.

[Old Guy]

I don't do much anymore, but of late started using polyester batting.

Easiest source was fabric shops, sold as "quilting batting"

Comes in different thicknesses and "lofts" I get the "high loft"

Same material as the speaker places sell as loose stuffing, except in sheets.

[SOOTSHE]

I remember when I first got my 19's & I removed all the fibreglass batting thinking "this stuff will be dangerous".
I replaced it with dacron wadding (polyester) & it changed the sound quite dramatically......for the worse.

I had the same experience when I built my La Scala's & eventually went back to fibreglass & yes, just got it from Bunnings.

If you cover it with speaker grill cloth it will prevent the fibres from flying around. I did this when I looked in my La Scala's one day & found the woofer covered in fibreglass. The speaker grill cloth cured the problem.

[Cal Weldon]

Fiberglass is good but should be covered in old cotton sheets or pillow slips.

Basalt insulation (Rock wool) is good and should be covered also.

Polyester, not quite as good but can be left uncovered.

Lambs wool is great but expensive.

Those are some of the more commonly known entities but there are lots to experiment with like egg crates (cardboard), linoleum floor tiles, sheet lead, old socks, gel seat covers, gymnasium floor tiles, automotive underlay, cork, immitation cork, carpet underlay...

You get the idea. There is not right material for all applications, some work well in combination with others. If you are speaking of a subwoofer, sometimes nothing is the best as the frequencies are too low for the stuffing to have any effect other then the apparent enlarging of the cabinet.

[valhallax]

ive often wondered about carpet padding..
and have read that one pound per ft^3 loosely stuffed polyester fiberfill for sub woofers. the article stated that the fiberfill actually cooled the air mass from vibrating air molecules inside the subwoofer. when i went to the fabric store the gal looked at me if was crazy, when i asked for 56 pounds of pillow stuffing

[magnarc]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

[Old Guy]

I replaced it with dacron wadding (polyester) & it changed the sound quite dramatically......for the worse.

By "wadding" you mean loose?

Polyester is a bit different from glass.

I use sheets, and check response, I have decent stuff for doing so.

Lining an extra surface or two may be required, but polyester sheet/batt can work well. It has a different absorption coefficient.

I would only use loose stuff in a sealed box, YMMV.