Hi Steve,

Take a look at Sorbathane, which is a both a vibration damper and
isolator. Thick 1-inch sheet works very well. Not cheap, but
cheaper than moving a wall.

The butcher block will not damp or isolate, and will transmit
vibration. Because the butcher block is thick, it will have
minimal color of its own, but again, it will transmit vibration
to the file cabinet. The carpet will compress and also not provide
any damping or isolation, and will still transmit the bulk of the
low frequency vibrations to the file cabinet.

Not sure if a wall shelf just above the file cabinet might be less
problematic (assuming the file cabinet is against a wall), especially
when combined with Sorbathane or other damping/isolating material
between the speaker and shelf. The wall is going to be more rigid
and have more mass than the file cabinet.

If the speaker/file cabinet is in a corner, you might also want to
add some DIY corner bass traps:

https://www.google.com/search?q=DIY+corner+bass+traps

~ Eric

_________________________

Eric Jacobs
Principal
The Audio Archive, Inc.
1325 Howard Ave, #906
Burlingame, CA 94010
http://www.theaudioarchive.com


tel: 408-221-2128
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Disc and Tape Audio Transfer Services and Preservation Consulting



On 9/29/14, 2:45 PM, "Steven Smolian" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I'm putting a speaker on a metal filing cabinet- it's either that or move
>the walls.
>
>Anyone have experience taming this beast so it doesn't add unwanted bass
>coloration. Anyone have experience wityh this problem?
>
>I'm contemplating putting on a butcher block for density and heavy rug
>underlay below it, the speaker on top. It's a bookshelf B&W.
>
>Amy practical suggestions welcome. I've already ruled out hanging it from
>the cieling, suspending it from helium baloons, etc.
>
>Steve Smolian
>
>