[rif]

Yeah, there may not be much I can do. I'd love to pull up the floor and replace it with real hardwood that's nailed to the subfloor, but that's a pretty drastic and costly option, and it may not make much difference.

If the "simple" solutions aren't helping, if they are just bandaids, maybe look into fixing the root cause.  How much would it cost for a contractor to fix the floor or put in a new one?  What's the cost of that compared to your equipment?  I'm guessing it would be a fraction, but that's just a a guess.

If you're willing to spend many thousands on equipment, maybe think of the cost of modifying the room as if it were another piece of equipment.

It's affecting your enjoyment of what most certainly is a passionate hobby, how much is rectifying that worth?

[Early B.]

If the "simple" solutions aren't helping, if they are just bandaids, maybe look into fixing the root cause.  How much would it cost for a contractor to fix the floor or put in a new one?  What's the cost of that compared to your equipment?  I'm guessing it would be a fraction, but that's just a a guess.

If you're willing to spend many thousands on equipment, maybe think of the cost of modifying the room as if it were another piece of equipment.

It's affecting your enjoyment of what most certainly is a passionate hobby, how much is rectifying that worth?

The floor may not be an issue. The real problem is likely my desire to fix something that ain't broken. It's typical audiophile behavior.   

[rif]

You're not just exhibiting audiophile behavior.  No one, audiophile or not, would say that the ability to rock 175 pound speakers with one finger is normal.

[toocool4]

Reading more into what you said and after seeing the pic of your system posted by WGH, I now get some of your issues. You set everything up fine and after a while, it becomes wobbly again. Your speakers are on the floor with 4 feet, I recommend you remove the feet and go to 3 feet. 3 feet are a lot easier to level and balance.
I would also say do the same thing on your Hi-Fi rack.

For your Hi-Fi rack I would recommend something like Finite Elemente Cerabase Classic, those are what I use under my Hi-Fi rack.
https://www.finite-elemente.eu/en/cera-interfaces/cerabase-classic/#tab-id-1

It may appear a bit pricy, but they really do work. It was a big jump in sound quality after I added them under my rack.

[Early B.]

Your speakers are on the floor with 4 feet, I recommend you remove the feet and go to 3 feet. 3 feet are a lot easier to level and balance.

That's a good idea!! It's perfect timing because the Herbie's gliders arrive tomorrow. I can remove the rear outriggers on each speaker and reposition one of them. Even if there's no sonic benefit, the speakers should be easier to slide on the floor with three feet instead of four and with gliders underneath.
 

[Early B.]

For your Hi-Fi rack I would recommend something like Finite Elemente Cerabase Classic, those are what I use under my Hi-Fi rack.
https://www.finite-elemente.eu/en/cera-interfaces/cerabase-classic/#tab-id-1

It may appear a bit pricy, but they really do work. It was a big jump in sound quality after I added them under my rack.

I'm being lazy and skeptical about pursuing three feet on the audio rack. Lazy -- I don't want to go through the hassle of unplugging and removing all the components on the rack. It's a pet peeve of mine. Skeptical -- the rack is 48" long, so I don't think three feet vs four feet will fix the wobbling issue, especially if the weight of the components is unevenly distributed. One thing I haven't tried is placing weights on the rack to even out the weight distribution, but that would look weird. I attempted to place wedges underneath the feet of the rack to stabilize it, but I couldn't get access to to rear left side of the rack -- too much stuff in the way. Here's a pic:


 

[toocool4]

Yes, it’s a pain in the ass to do, but if you took the time it will be worth it.
Looking at your rack, it looks like most of the weight is on the left-hand side. Using 2 x feet on the left-hand side and 1 x foot on the right-hand side would work.

How much does your rack and the kit on it weigh?  The Finite Elemente Cerabase Classic can handle 375kg (826 pounds) with 3 feet.

If I had a wobbly rack, it would drive me mad.

[Early B.]

How much does your rack and the kit on it weigh?  The Finite Elemente Cerabase Classic can handle 375kg (826 pounds) with 3 feet.

I move my rack a lot, so I use Herbie's threaded gliders. They work great. Hmmm...now that I think about it, those plastic gliders are shaped like discs, so they may contribute to or cause the wobbles.   

[rollo]

I am a big Fan of Michael Green methods. First covers off gear if possible, remove ever plastic wire tie. Then separate wires. Loosen screws by a quarter of a turn at circuit boards. Loosen bolts for transformer as as well by a quarter of a turn. Try it and be very happy you did.

charles

[Early B.]

That's a good idea!! It's perfect timing because the Herbie's gliders arrive tomorrow. I can remove the rear outriggers on each speaker and reposition one of them.

Done! Four feet have become three. I'll report back in a day or two on whether it makes a difference. My guess -- it won't make any difference, either sonically or mechanically. The benefit is aesthetics -- I modded the outriggers to accept larger spikes.

[Early B.]

Done! Four feet have become three. I'll report back in a day or two on whether it makes a difference. My guess -- it won't make any difference, either sonically or mechanically. The benefit is aesthetics -- I modded the outriggers to accept larger spikes.

Reporting back: turns out the three-footed speakers didn't matter -they're just as sensitive to the wobbles as 4 feet.

To sum up, in the past week, I've changed the following and none of it mattered:

1. placed a rug with rubber backing underneath my rack.
2. added IsoAcoustic pucks underneath my tube preamp and replaced the pucks under my DAC with better ones.
3. Placed a pair of tube dampers on the preamp tubes most prone to microphonics.
4. Changed from 4 outriggers per speakers to three
5. Replaced the speaker spike decouplers and installed larger spikes

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Use some long finish nails and nail down the floor under the rack.  I did not have problems with my old wood floor which was nailed down.  We replaced the old oak floor with a floating hickory floor and that was a mistake.

[Early B.]

Use some long finish nails and nail down the floor under the rack.  I did not have problems with my old wood floor which was nailed down.  We replaced the old oak floor with a floating hickory floor and that was a mistake.

Yep. I won't do a floating floor again. Two years ago, I installed a real wood floor upstairs and it's rock solid. If I were single, I'd replace the whole damn floor, but there's a long list of other home improvement priorities. The 44-year-old kitchen cabinets are next on the list. 

You make a good point, though, but a quick Google search warns against nailing a floating floor. Besides, the subfloor ought to be leveled before nailing or gluing a floor, and there's a 99% chance my subfloor ain't level. To do it right, I'd have to rip out the existing flooring, buy real wood flooring, and hire a crew to install it. Total cost would be around $2,500. Relatively speaking, it's not a substantial home improvement expense, but it's not gonna happen.   

[Letitroll98]

Don't know if this will help, but when I managed an Air BnB short term stay home I used these for securing a squeaky floor problem.  Might work?
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Squeeeeek-No-More-1-sq-ft-Coverage-Self-Drilling-Concealed-Screw-Hidden-Fasteners-50-Count/4441839?store=2411&cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-hdw-_-ggl-_-CRP_SHP_LIA_HDW_Online_E-F-_-4441839-_-local-_-0-_-0&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA_9u5BhCUARIsABbMSPuCdBifIx7Hc1G30MGHP81G4qLMduJuNcNHX9BSwOKDfjFoBCVHkHwaAmY_EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[rollo]

  Is it possible to reinforce floor from below ? Did that where basement was below. Used wood planks and screw jacks. Worked like a charm.

charles