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Best budget Damping material?

Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 6:20 am
by Copyright
My new Lian Li feels much thinner then the previous models ive owned. Becuase of this any noise or vibration seems to resonate. I have to suspend 2 more drive and I would like to add some weight to the case and possibly something to help with any high pitched noises. I was considering dynamat and top it with some sound proofing foam but this gets expensive. Any ideas what I can use that wont break the bank? Thanks!

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 5:22 am
by seraphyn
Sound isolating material from the hardware store. Should be cheaper and work just as well.

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 6:06 am
by Copyright
What section would I find this stuff and what does it look like? Any specific brand? I have a Lowes and Home Depot near me.

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 8:30 am
by jhhoffma
Peel & Seal also known as roofer's tape (generically) is essentially the original version of Dynamat (aluminum and asphalt/bitumen). Dynamat Extreme is butyl rubber and some other sound absorbing materials and is quite a bit different.

The roofers tape can be found at H/D and Lowe's for sure, but maybe not under the same names, but it's usually $13 for a 6"x25' roll.

Also try looking for very heavy self-adhesive vinyl floor tiles. I've used these in all of my cases, and they work well for mass-loading. They can be found at the same stores, but usually you can only get the lightweight ones, but on occasion they will get a special batch of heavy industrial ones. They are usually on sale for less that $1/tile.

It's a crapshoot, but try them out and see which ones you like since it's all pretty cheap.

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 8:49 am
by Copyright
Roofers tape ive heard of before. Does this stuff have a smell to it? Most of the roofing supplies ive messed with dont gernally smell to good. Thx for all the info!

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 9:07 am
by jhhoffma
Yes it does, but if you leave the case in the sun for a day when it's warm out, most of the volatiles will dissipate.

The floor tiles use a waterbased acrylic PSA (pressure-sensitive adhesive) that has no odor to it, but is very tacky.

Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 12:09 pm
by jessekopelman
The eDead stuff from Elemental Designs is well priced and you can order pretty much exactly the amount you want (by the sqft). eDead v1SE^2 is nice heavy butyl rubber damping material. It is barely more expensive than Peal & Seal in small quantities (and they have a thinner v1^2 which is basically the same price as Peal & Seal) and easier to work with for this application. Very easy to cut and apply and no bad smell. They also have eDead v4 foam, if you feel a layer of that would be helpful.