[glaesemann]

I have a couple of nice pieces of black granite left over from a kitchen redo. They are 24"x48"x1" solid granite. Thought I may fix them to my VanderMye Magnepan 1.6 stands.

Feedback?

[chrismercurio]

My only experience with granite is as a component shelf under amps or turntables and in my experience it makes the sound very hard and bright.

Without using reviewer speak, granite = bad sound.

C

[mcgsxr]

I have not tried it, but I would think if the drivers were isolated from the granite, it would be fine.  So, a rear or magnet mount, and placing the baffle in front of the drivers, but without solid mounting to the baffle, might be the way to try this.

Free is good!

How would you cut the holes though?

[JLM]

The cost of cutting/edging is the rub.  Basic edge is $13/foot.  So you're looking at over $300 to do the perimeters plus drilling holes.  How did you end up with that much leftover?  (That's over $600 in material!)

We had leftover from a kitchen sink cut out, so I researched what I could do with it (relating to audio of course) and ended up not doing anything with it.  The cost to cut and finish it versus the questionable sound quality improvement value I was gathering from my researching didn't make sense.

[glaesemann]

The cost of cutting/edging is the rub.

This is not a problem. I can have them cut for very little.

How did you end up with that much leftover?

We replaced the black granite.

My only experience with granite is as a component shelf under amps or turntables and in my experience it makes the sound very hard and bright.

I can understand this at the source level, but is this true for speaker design as well? I am going to give it a try and see what happens. I'll report back.

[markC]

It would be great if it worked out, 'cause it sure would look cool and definitely be unique.

[Bob in St. Louis]

In my VERY humble opinion, I would think that granite would be an acceptable baffle material. Although isolation would be a must. At least a foam or rubber gasket between the driver and baffle.
I can imagine a slight 'sharp' quality to the sound, possibly described as a "clinically clean" sound. But I'm not sure. I've never messed with granite. I've heard of quite a few fellows asking about Corian, Marble, and Granite, but have heard no real life reports.
What kind of drivers are you talking about.

Bob

[el`Ol]

When I went to the stone mason to have my polymer concrete baffles done I found myself knocking on the about fifty stone boards in his showroom. He said he has built his own speakers from black granite, and in fact, from knocking on it, it was by far the deadest stuff, unfortunately also by far the most expensive.

[glaesemann]

What kind of drivers are you talking about.

Bob, I hadn't settled on drivers yet. Any suggestions?

[JLM]

Being rigid and dense, granite should make an excellent baffle material. 

Just ask Green Mountain Audio or Norh (who both use similar materials).

[satfrat]

I would suggest you email Robert of Ridge Street Audio Designs as they have a composite granite loudspeaker, the Sason, and would have the experience to answer your questions. RidgeStreetAudio@comcast.net



Robin

[Bob in St. Louis]

What kind of drivers are you talking about.

Bob, I hadn't settled on drivers yet. Any suggestions?

Well, since you asked....
HawthorneAudio.com has some rather nice coaxials.
Very nice. Capability of about 50 HZ without augmentation.
I'm a very big advocate of these puppies.  aa

Bob

[el`Ol]

Hemp and Radian have better built coaxials with a Qts of 0.5. The Hawthornes would have better bass performance in really large baffles due to their higher Qts, but this is not relevant in narrow baffles. For the (active) bass the Hawthorne Augie is easier to handle and goes lower than others, a good choice, though the frequency response is not perfect.

[DanTheMan]

The Hawthornes are actually built for small baffles.  The high Q is to act like a bass boost.

[el`Ol]

The Hawthornes are actually built for small baffles.  The high Q is to act like a bass boost.

Works a bit for those who have no augies. If I had to develop coaxials for OB I would assume that everyone has dedicated bass drivers and use high Qts / high Fs.

[djbnh]

My only experience with granite is as a component shelf under amps or turntables and in my experience it makes the sound very hard and bright.

Without using reviewer speak, granite = bad sound.

C

Not to thread crap, but - I use granite under my speakers, my amps, my preamp, my cdp (Vibrapods underneath the granite), and use marble as the middle part of a cone-marble-cone sandwich for my TT in my system. I have not had a "very hard and bright" sound with my applications. YMMV.