Thoughts on cargo netting to attach speaker to ceiling?

[1niltothe]

Mulling over options for attaching speaker to ceiling.

Before everyone gets angry and shoots the idea down, I'm curious about the learning side of things, i.e. what the effects of this might be, parameters etc, in relation to other options, for instance

• mechanical vibrations through the ceiling to neighbours etc
• acoustic effects of net on sound, i.e. extent to which net physically blocks / is transparent to frequencies
• why this is / is not a decent idea in relation to other ceiling attachment options
• etc

EDIT - should add - the room is not a typical room, it's a huge former factory with reinforced concrete ceiling, and there's not a big concern with typical "listening position" stereo in this instance - more akin to nightclub or public venue sound.

And writing in the spirit of investigation, curiosity, discussion.

Image below is not mine.

 

[DVDdoug]

I don't see any problems with it. It should give you some isolation from the ceiling/neighbors (compared to solidly mounting it to the ceiling) but usually the walls/floors/ceiling are vibrated more by the soundwaves in the room, and the soundwaves pass-through the walls, more than any direct-vibration.

I'd angle it down and aim it at the listening position.

Some people would be bothered by the "soundstage" coming from above. And corner positioning can affect the sound in bad, or good, ways.

...My large rear speakers are supposed to be floor-standing, but they are hanging by chains near the ceiling from the wall behind my couch.

 

[1niltothe]

I don't see any problems with it. It should give you some isolation from the ceiling/neighbors (compared to solidly mounting it to the ceiling) but usually the walls/floors/ceiling are vibrated more by the soundwaves in the room, and the soundwaves pass-through the walls, more than any direct-vibration.

I'd angle it down and aim it at the listening position.

Some people would be bothered by the "soundstage" coming from above. And corner positioning can affect the sound in bad, or good, ways.

...My large rear speakers are supposed to be floor-standing, but they are hanging by chains near the ceiling from the wall behind my couch.

Thanks a lot.

One thing I've noticed in our building, which is a former mattress factory and has pretty thick concrete floor / ceiling, is the neighbours heard the bass when the subwoofer was directly on the floor, but seemingly not when it was isolated somewhat with pads and feet.

This has not been fully tested scientifically, just via a long period without any polite WhatsApp exchanges - I came to the assumption that the main noise transfer between floors was mechanical somehow, although I'm not the most experienced acoustician on earth

 

[kemmler3D]

• mechanical vibrations through the ceiling to neighbours etc

Probably less than attaching it to a joist, but with a good speaker that should already be mostly negligible vs. other routes of transmission to adjacent spaces.

• acoustic effects of net on sound, i.e. extent to which net physically blocks / is transparent to frequencies

Will probably mess up the treble a bit but (wild guess) probably not much more than putting on a grille.

• why this is / is not a decent idea in relation to other ceiling attachment options
  
  CON: Hard to aim/position the speaker accurately using a net.

CON: It looks really ugly / stupid

CON: If you're going to attach something to the ceiling anyway, you're going to need to attach it to a joist anyway, for safety, so why not just use a normal bit of mounting hardware?

• etc

This has not been fully tested scientifically, just via WhatsApp messages - I came to the assumption that the main noise transfer between floors was mechanical somehow, although I'm not the most experienced acoustician on earth

This does happen... you can do well layering stuff underneath the sub to avoid direct transmission of bass through the floor. However, people assume that a LOT of sound must be transmitted directly from the speaker cabinet through the floor. But the contribution of sound traveling through the air and then being transmitted through the floor is underestimated. Bass is just really hard to block any way you slice it.

So I guess my upshot here is if you've put the sub on some good isolating feet / pads / layers of material, putting it in a cargo net isn't going to get you much further than that.