Best anti vibration pad? Let's compare

[@ChaseMaximilian]

EVA actually stands for ethylene-vinyl acetate. It outperforms cork and is more resistant. The bonded black rubber gives the foam resistance to sliding on the floor. The blue color is arbitrary as EVA foam is mostly made in black. Someone created a blue dyed version to stand out from all the others and it just kind of stuck around and other manufacturers started to copy it.

[@soundproofist]

Thanks. I'm not sure where I got that acronym when I made this video. But I got it right in the "How to choose the right type of foam for noise reduction" video, which I did this year. Unfortunately, KZbin doesn't give you the option to replace older video uploads with a newer one (with corrections) or I'd replace some of the older videos with corrected versions. Thanks for watching, and I appreciate your feedback!

[@detox6658]

Proper mechanical isolation requires the isolator to provide a natural frequency that is well below the forcing frequency. The natural frequency of the installation is determined by the stiffness of the isolator and the amount of deflection that the isolator is experiencing. The more deflection, the lower the natural frequency, and (generally) the better the mechanical vibration isolation performance. It appears that neither of these pads was being subjected to a sufficient load to create meaningful pad deflection. The best idea is to consult with the OEM of the proposed isolation pad to ensure that the loading on the pad will be sufficient to create meaningful deflection that will translate into a natural frequency that will isolate the disturbing mechanical frequencies. The loading on the pad will be a function of the total weight (pounds) being supported and the area of the pad (square inches) that will receive that load. Under or overload the isolation pad (pounds per square inch) will provide sub-optimal performance.

[@soundproofist]

So I think what you're suggesting is that (in this example) the anti-vibration pads weren't a good match when paired with a small and lightweight mobile phone (or the vibration emitting from it). Do you have a suggestion for a more effective test?

[@georgeanastasopoulos5865]

Thank you for this demonstration, lecture video, and explanation! I've got the four square pads underneath large two bookshelf speakers for my second hi fi audio system. The cork version can also be put under turntables, too. Now I have a better understanding; and by using the Scientific Method we can correctly choose the pads for anti-vibration, and anti-resonance for our audio systems.🔉🎵🎶

[@Lughnerson]

I like old mouse pads and the little sticky pads you put on your car dash to stop items from slipping. Recently I used cheap foam pipe insulation underneath my flat screen TV foot pads to insulate it from the place upon which it sits. Works great!

[@soundproofist]

That's a great idea to "upcycle" old mouse pads or use pipe insulation creatively. The old mouse pads are closed-cell foam, so the foam is denser (like the E.V.A.) and absorbs vibration better.

[@shamrocky]

Excellent video, very helpful, thank you!

[@soundproofist]

You're welcome!

[@daverussell457]

Cork, E.V.A. and nothing all sounded the same to me.

[@soundproofist]

This was a difficult video to record because I was trying to capture a low vibrational hum in a floor joist with an iPhone. You really need more sophisticated recording equipment for that -- probably very sensitive binaural gear -- and also listen to it with headphones on. The point was that certain vibrations that might not seem very noticeable at the source actually put low vibration droning into the building frame, which I was trying to record. As an example, when a neighbor in the building next door to mine bakes something in the oven, the kitchen fan creates a droning sound that goes through her wall and into mine where our buildings connect, and I hear a droning in my apartment until she turns off the fan. In this case, I was running an iPhone app that created a silent vibrational pulse. To my ears, the EVA pads prevented more of that vibrational hum from going into the floor. The cork wasn't bad, either, but when I compared the two, E.V.A. was slightly better. And nothing at all would definitely create more noise. You might not hear it, but the adjacent neighbor will.

[@daverussell457]

@@soundproofist Thanks for replying. And thank you for letting me know that the EVA pads were better.

[@treyfeeley2519]

I am interested in creating a car seat exclusively for truck drivers . I want to create a product that eliminates or reduces the vibrations or shocks that the driver feels while driving. I am interested in providing a layer of anti vibration padding. Which type would work best in this application that would be cost effective, easy to work with and readily available? Thanks!

[@soundproofist]

That's a great idea. I have no experience with seating, but it seems like a truck driver's seat could be mounted on the floor with anti-vibration springs to isolate it from the vibration coming through the floor from the engine and the road. What type of spring design? Good question. I would start by looking at sites like antivibration-systems.com/products/spring-mounts/ or kineticsnoise.com/spring-vibration-isolators. For the interior of the seat itself, the top portion of it needs to be ergonomically designed for comfort and support, yielding to human body shapes. EVA foam (which has good anti-vibration qualities) could factor in, but probably not in the very top-most part of the seat, which I assume needs to be more pliant. I'm sure you've been researching this already with articles like this one: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5799102/ ("Ergonomic considerations for designing truck drivers' seats: The case of Bangladesh").

[@treyfeeley2519]

@@soundproofist THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS INFO!!!!!!

[@mostirreverent]

The manufacturer calls it EVA (Extreme Vibration Attenuation), but says they are a blend of EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) and other materials. Not sure if they mean the blue part is a blend or the blend meaning the foam plus the rubber outer parts...

[@soundproofist]

I assume the blend of materials is just the blue foam, and doesn't include the rubber outer layers. Wikipedia says: "Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), also known as poly (ethylene-vinyl acetate) (PEVA), is the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate." And also says: "EVA is an elastomeric polymer that produces materials which are "rubber-like" in softness and flexibility. The material has good clarity and gloss, low-temperature toughness, stress-crack resistance, hot-melt adhesive waterproof properties, and resistance to UV radiation. EVA has a distinctive vinegar-like odor and is competitive with rubber and vinyl polymer products in many electrical applications."

[@theweknd6946]

What is the best for heavy items on truck bed? I want to reduce the bouncing effects too

[@soundproofist]

Is it an open truck bed? I'd put a thick rubber pad on it. If it's enclosed, I'd consider the same type of padded flooring that they use on gym floors, which are usually sold as interlocking tiles.

[@theweknd6946]

@soundproofist open truck bed 😊

[@vexedandHexed]

Good demo. I want to use the E.V.A. pad for a drum platform made of wood, around 3mts x 2mts of measure. I want to put them in the corners and the middle, making a cross like shape, and filling the rest of the empty space of the false floor with foam to prevent the vibration of the acoustic drums. I play in a second floor. Any suggested idea?. Cheers

[@soundproofist]

Sounds interesting and promising, though I'm not sure if I'm visualizing it correctly. You might want to watch this case study on a Fitness Center floor modification done by Kinetics Noise Control. The use case (though larger scale) might be similar: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2aZamehn7KmbqM

[@vexedandHexed]

@@soundproofist I will check. Also I have read somo reviews saying that the odor of the pads is disgusting. That make me doubt if buy them or not

[@Ohknottme]

Do you think these EVA pads would work as temporary window soundproofing? I have a series of windows in my home office that faces a busy road, but I occasionally need to make some voice recordings from home. My idea is to use a few of these to cover the windows, with an air gap of about 1 inch between the glass and the pad. These seem rigid enough to pressure fit and ensure no leakage around the window sill. If not, do you have any better ideas to block out traffic noise, or at least greatly reduce it?

[@soundproofist]

For a window plug? What are your window dimensions? I haven't tried making a window plug, but it seems like a very thick piece of EVA (stuffed into a window) or an "EVA sandwich" could block a lot of low-frequency noise in a window. I'm not sure where to buy EVA on its own or at custom sizes, though. The pre-made rubber/EVA blocks are sold as 12x12, 18x18, etc. and in your case, you need a custom fit. Is your studio actually in China (based on your profile name)? If so, available materials and building structure (steel versus wood?) might be different than the US. I've considered making window plugs from Homasote, for example -- readily available in a lot of US hardware stores. But Homasote is stiff (not pliable), so it would need to be an exact fit for the inside of your window frame. It will hold its shape when you take it in and out of the window frame and not crumble after a lot of use. In Canada, SONOPAN looks interesting, but I don't think it's available in the US. If you can find a source for large pieces of floor mats for gyms (the really thick ones), that's another option to try, and it's more forgiving with the inside-window-frame fit. However, a lot of those mats have puzzle-piece edges and they're sold as tiles that you assemble to fit the space, which you might not want. And of course I assume you're already using a dynamic microphone with a front pick-up pattern to eliminate most ambient noise.

[@Ohknottme]

@@soundproofist the windows are 50 inches high, but 12 feet wide, followed by another 3 feet after a 90 degree corner… Lol, less than ideal, I know! I am actually in China, so I should be able to find most types of materials. I actually use a shotgun mic, as its hyper cardioid polar pattern is excellent at noise rejection

[@soundproofist]

@@Ohknottme Yes -- there are a lot of companies in China that produce various acoustical products for the home and office. Several companies make fairly thick PET acoustic panels (like boiled wool, but made from recycled materials), which are like thick slabs. For some ideas, take a look at some of the companies we follow on Instagram. The challenge is getting whatever you need in a size that fits your window. As you probably saw in another video here, I have a large window (48 inches high by 94 inches wide) that I added three large plexiglass panels onto ..by affixing them to the outside of the window frame on the drywall and connecting them together to make a seal. Based on the window designs on most American buildings, that was more feasible than trying to make the three panels fit together inside the window frame. The plexiglass mutes the noise, but it was powerless against very loud construction noise if it was directly in front of my building, like jackhammering. And cars revving their engines outside are still audible, but they don't resonate as much inside my home now. Whatever you do, you need a snug fit, easy removal, and easy storage when the inserts aren't in the windows.

[@Ohknottme]

@@soundproofist Yes, I watched that video specifically for this reason -unfortunately, we open these windows often, so the plexiglass isn’t an option for me, as it may be too cumbersome. The PET panels may be perfect, as they may provide some sound ABSORPTION as well from the inside - I bet I can find some custom sized ones from a factory here; thank you so much!

[@soundproofist]

@@Ohknottme Please let me know how it works out, whatever you choose. Or even make a video! By the way, nice voiceover work...

[@hethaerto1]

Thanks for the demo but I couldn't hear anything.

[@soundproofist]

Yeah, it's very hard to record low-frequency noise, especially using a smartphone that filters out certain sounds. I could hear the difference with good headphones on. This experiment might have been more conclusive if I'd used highly sensitive field microphones (like what nature recording people use) or focused on the frequency measurements (not the decibels).

[@marthafelix4905]

My toddler kicks when inside his crib and my neighbor below complained that he feels the vibration. His crib is on carpet, what can I use to reduce the vibration from his kicking?

[@soundproofist]

I would get a large rubber mat that fits under the entire crib. For example, the kind that's used in fitness centers. They go underneath the exercise equipment. You didn't say if your carpet was wall-to-wall or an area rug. If it's an area rug, you might be able to hide the mat under the rug. If it's wall-to-wall, then over the rug, but under the crib. A rug is usually good for absorbing airborne room noise and to some degree, softening footfalls. But on its own, it's not anti-vibration. A solid anti-vibration mat (for mechanical equipment or for the gym) should do it.

[@govtjobbykapilpeon1283]

My neighbour used overlaock machine the noise of that machine i feel irritating what should i do

[@soundproofist]

I'm not sure what kind of machine this is ("overlaock"), but if it makes a loud sound & vibration, you should offer some anti-vibration pads to your neighbor and ask your neighbor to put them under the machine.

[@filipushendris]

I want to reduce sounds from my indoor cycling training, what material should i buy for it?

[@soundproofist]

What are the types of sounds that you're trying to manage? Is this for a class that you facilitate? Or is this your own equipment in your own home or apartment, and you're trying to not disturb your neighbors? For example, you might have vibration noise from the cycling equipment, airborne noise from the pedaling, or exercise music coming from speakers. Each one might have a different solution. But for starters, no matter where you are (gym or home), you should have an anti-vibration mat under the cycle(s).

[@yukino4780]

My downstairs neighbor has a ceiling fan and the buzzing sound can be heard throughout my place. I wonder if I can get rid of the vibration and buzzing sound if I put the anti-vibration pads where the vibration is strongest?

[@yukino4780]

I mean in my home

[@soundproofist]

​@@yukino4780 Unfortunately, you can't block the vibration noise in your home by putting anti-vibration pads on your side. Not unless you decoupled your whole floor! However, if you search Google for topics like "anti-vibration installation for ceiling fan," or "anti-vibration ceiling mounts," you'll find different products that you might be able to buy for your neighbor. Ask them nicely if they would be willing to replace the current fan mounts with anti-vibration mounts, and offer to buy what's needed after you figure out what size and type. Sometimes these mounts are similar to the pads I show in the videos, but they might have a hole drilled through them for attaching to the ceiling joists. Then use a silicone sleeve around the screws. Or... some isolator mounts have springs in them. You'll find that a few companies specialize in these kinds of products, so you might find some creative solutions. I'm sure that noise is very annoying because it goes directly into your floor and into your feet!

[@yukino4780]

@@soundproofist ok, thank you!

[@M1k3AMoon]

I wanted to get the EVA pads but I've been seeing a lot of reviews online of people complaining about a very strong smell from the rubber attached to the pads that doesn't go away with time. Do you know of any alternative options with the EVA material that wouldn't have this kind of issue?

[@soundproofist]

I think the rubber smell does go away eventually. I bought a whole box of pads from Supply House, and they reeked at first, but I they did air out. What's your use case? It's possibly that some gym flooring (tiles) might contain EVA, but in some cases the tiles might be too soft, depending on your needs. Also, I've never bought anything from this company, but check out www.apexhusain.com/naturetech/. They advertise some EVA products.

[@M1k3AMoon]

@@soundproofist I'm looking to use them for fans that cause a lot of noise for the lower floor. And thank you!!

[@mostirreverent]

I didn't smell anything, using small squares.

[@seancollicott3277]

HOW ABOUT A LINK TO THE PRODUCT ON AMAZON

[@soundproofist]

Sure thing. I'll post the links in the main thread.