[OzarkTom]

Thanks Danny, that was some good info!

If I had a pair, I would ship them to you for updates.

[corndog71]

http://www.supplyhouse.com/DiversiTech-MP-2C-Rubber-Cork-Anti-Vibration-Pad-2-x-2-x-7-8

A while back I was turned onto these little isolation blocks similar to ones sold by Mapleshade.  These are much cheaper and come in several cut sizes.  I picked up a bunch and have been using them mostly under my electronics.  Not a night and day improvement or anything but at the very least they keep things from moving around.

Anyway, I decided to give them a shot under the Minis and they dramatically improved soundstage focus.  Seriously!  The soundstage was ok before but after everything just locked into place.  Can't beat the price either.

[Stimpy]

That's good to hear.  Glad that it worked.

You read that some like to decouple the speakers from the floor.  Others believe that you have to couple the speakers to the room, for best performance.  Me, what ever works, is fine!  Maybe even try both.  Put the speakers on a concrete paving stone, then isolation blocks under the slab.  It might further improve performance?

When I worked at a CD/DVD replication plant, our Mastering Cutting Lathes rested on a huge granite slab.  It looked like an 8' long tombstone!  But, under each corner of the slab, there was an air bladder, that floated the slab from the floor; cancelling all external vibrations.  It worked really well to isolate the Lathes.  That's why I wondered how it'd work under your speakers?

As to Pierre Sprey of Mapleshade, he's an eclectic man.  A bit of an eccentric, but he has excellent ears.  And while some of his products seem unorthodox, I'd trust them.  Glad that you found a cheaper variation that worked too.
 

[Hank]

There are lots of commercial vibration products, some of which are bought and re-sold by audio snake oil companies (not implying that Mapleshade is one of those).
One of the best is EAR, but I shouldn't mention that since my company bought EAR a while back.
Air bladders - one of the many ways used to isolate turntables is to place turntable on a granite or butcher block and a partially inflated bicycle tube between the block and the cabinet top or dedicated TT stand.

[Stimpy]

Thanks Danny, that was some good info!

If I had a pair, I would ship them to you for updates.

An off-topic moment...   
 
Hey Tom,

Do you own Gallo speakers, like in your avatar?  I just read yesterday, that Gallo Acoustics has been sold.  A European manufacturer bought out Anthony.  The company is now owned by the NWX Group.

Thanks!

On-topic!     

[bdp24]

That's good to hear.  Glad that it worked.

You read that some like to decouple the speakers from the floor.  Others believe that you have to couple the speakers to the room, for best performance.  Me, what ever works, is fine!  Maybe even try both.  Put the speakers on a concrete paving stone, then isolation blocks under the slab.  It might further improve performance?

When I worked at a CD/DVD replication plant, our Mastering Cutting Lathes rested on a huge granite slab.  It looked like an 8' long tombstone!  But, under each corner of the slab, there was an air bladder, that floated the slab from the floor; cancelling all external vibrations.  It worked really well to isolate the Lathes.  That's why I wondered how it'd work under your speakers?

As to Pierre Sprey of Mapleshade, he's an eclectic man.  A bit of an eccentric, but he has excellent ears.  And while some of his products seem unorthodox, I'd trust them.  Glad that you found a cheaper variation that worked too.
 

There is a British designer by the name of Max Townshend. Townshend Audio use to have a product named the Seismic Sink, which was a 2-piece platform made of metal with an inner tube concealed between the top and bottom plates. The inner tube was inflated just enough to separate the top and bottom, and was available in a couple of sizes, like 17" x 14" and 19" x 16". Max now offers the Seismic Pod, which instead of being an air filled bladder is a spring inside a bellows-type rubber sleeve, and offers isolation down to 3Hz. He also offers platforms with a pod at each corner, but though they are very effective at isolation, are pretty expensive.

[Stimpy]

There is a British designer by the name of Max Townshend. Townshend Audio use to have a product named the Seismic Sink, which was a 2-piece platform made of metal with an inner tube concealed between the top and bottom plates. The inner tube was inflated just enough to separate the top and bottom, and was available in a couple of sizes, like 17" x 14" and 19" x 16". Max now offers the Seismic Pod, which instead of being an air filled bladder is a spring inside a bellows-type rubber sleeve, and offers isolation down to 3Hz. He also offers platforms with a pod at each corner, but though they are very effective at isolation, are pretty expensive.

I've heard of the Seismic Sink's, though I've never used one.  It would seem to be easy enough to implement, for a reasonable price, as a DIY experiment.  I even have a bike shop in the same building where I work.  An easy source for inner tubes.

That same reasoning draws me to the Pro-ject line of turntables.  Some models have built-in magnetic isolation, and I believe magnetic bearings.  Pro-ject sells magnetic isolation platforms too.  That'd be fun to experiment with as well.

[mlundy57]

I've heard of the Seismic Sink's, though I've never used one.  It would seem to be easy enough to implement, for a reasonable price, as a DIY experiment.  I even have a bike shop in the same building where I work.  An easy source for inner tubes.

That same reasoning draws me to the Pro-ject line of turntables.  Some models have built-in magnetic isolation, and I believe magnetic bearings.  Pro-ject sells magnetic isolation platforms too.  That'd be fun to experiment with as well.

Also pricey. The version with the magnetic decoupling feet is close to $1,000

[cedman1]

So Mr. Corndog sir,

Do you have any updates as I'm interested to hear /read your thoughts now that you have lived with the speakers for some time 

[Monsoon]

Their measurements say pretty much what I was expecting. If you play the mids up too high then they become directional. From John Atkinson: "the midrange units become quite directional at the top of their passband,"

Lowering the crossover point solves that.

From the width of the midrange, I can see that a more suitable crossover frequency would be no higher than 4k, but would the tweeter work well in that range?

Also, does anyone have the t/s specs for the midrange and tweeter?
I'm redoing a pair of FPF-1000's with new woofers, and i'd like to upgrade the crossovers while i'm at it.