my desk is really shaky

[Brendan Bonura]

Studio desk are very expensive, and the one i had previously didn't fit all of my equipment, so i decided to get a cheep desk from Ikea. I got a vika amon 59" long desk top and 4 vika moliden legs. The desk fits everything perfectly, but it is SHAKY AS HELL. Its very annoying because my screen moves when i type, and im almost positive it is effecting the sound im hearing from my monitors. How can i fix this? Will adding another leg at the back middle of the desk work, or maybe super glue on the joints? The desk is on a carpet so maybe that is affecting it as well. all of the screws and blots are tightened to full extent, so thats not an issue. Please give me some advice, i really dont want to have to take it back.

 

[bandcoach]

you are experiencing the problem of long, unsupported beams reacting at their natural resonance frequency. You need to provide extra support along the length of table top to maximise its stability.....so an extra leg or even two legs along the back may work, although I would suggest both front and back sothat tehre is no difference in support and therefor resonance.

 

[GIK Acoustics]

It would definitely be affecting the sound coming out from your speakers. All desks actually do, most people just don't think it does since their desks do not shake as much as yours seems to. I would certainly recommend getting your speakers off the desk and onto stands if at all possible! If it isn't possible, then I would suggest decoupling them using something like the IsoAcoustics monitor stands.

Can you not add any additional screws/nails? That, along with glue, is where I would start.

 

[bandcoach]

@gik: the ikea table in question is a single span tabletop with corner legs only - as such it is free floating in the center without any support at all. Fixing that issue first is more important than trying to screw the speakers down or do anything else.

 

[GIK Acoustics]

@gik: the ikea table in question is a single span tabletop with corner legs only - as such it is free floating in the center without any support at all. Fixing that issue first is more important than trying to screw the speakers down or do anything else.

Yes, I agree. I was referring to the possibility of adding extra support at the points where the legs connect to the table top, not at the speakers.

An option would be to add some cross bracing to the legs - you could even do bars that connect the legs together while also attaching to the underside of the table top to give extra support.