[chino]

Hi!   What's the deal of putting spikes/points compared to say rubber pads  between the upper plate of the stands and the bottom of speaker? Is it better this way? Wouldnt the speaker be unstable? Can somebody explain and if so what did you guys use? Thanks!

[Red Dragon Audio]

Hi!   What's the deal of putting spikes/points compared to say rubber pads  between the upper plate of the stands and the bottom of speaker? Is it better this way? Wouldnt the speaker be unstable? Can somebody explain and if so what did you guys use? Thanks!

Hey Chino,

I have Reference 3A mm de capos sitting atop Osiris 24.5" stands.  I used to use blu-tac as the stand-to-speaker-interface... but one day got the urge to use these $4.00 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?accstwek&1092265379">Sorbothane pads. (I don't sell them but I do give them two thumbs up!)

I use three under each speaker and they are extremely stable.  Since I don't use any wax paper between the pads and the speakers/stands they STICK LIKE CRAZY!  These won't ever tip over even when bumped hard.  

But how do they sound Heavy?  Much better than the blu-tac I was using.  The midrange became smoother, more resolving and the whole musical spectrum improved.  I have had these under my speakers for about 3-4 months now and I love them.  I didn't really know why they worked so well but recently I was chatting with Gary of www.PandaThumbAudio.com about his Sorbothane footers.  I asked what his footers would do for my speakers and he said that I should keep the ones I had (those mentioned above).  So instead of trying to sell me one of his own products, he just gave me the truth...that is the mark of an honest person so I listened intently to what he said.

Soooo....here is what Gary told me about using Sorbothane between speaker monitors and stands:
"For resonant frequency, you want it low if you're trying to isolate/damp a component with sorbothane. For speakers, this isn't really the case. It's good to have them isolated for high frequencies, but for low ones you want to have the speaker coupled to something rigid - namely, the stand. This is because of Newton's third - the same force that causes the driver to oscillate is applied to the cabinet, and increasing cabinet mass by coupling it to a stand will lessen its movements and reverberations. Some people claim that the mass of the cabinet is effectively infinite compared to the mass of the voice coil and driver cone, so heavy stands will have no impact on the sound. The first thing that tells me this is wrong is my ears. The second thing is the fact that if you have speakers on cheap, flimsy stands all you have to do is touch them when music is playing and you'll feel them vibrating. This proves my point. So, the nice thing with sorbothane is that you can design a thin support to have a resonant frequency of about 150Hz... that's going to couple your speakers to the stands for frequencies below 100Hz or so and isolate the cabinet for frequencies above around 200Hz. For a 27 lb. speaker, this translates to a small pad about 1.25" square by 0.25" thick.(mine are round pads that are 2.25" in diameter & .25" thick) If you were to use the pandafeet under the same speaker, you'd get a resonant frequency of around 12 Hz, so you'd get no mass coupling for any frequencies and your heavy speaker stand wouldn't be doing you any good (although the fact that they'd be isolating your cabinets would probably mean your speakers would sound better overall... just slightly less tight bass I would assume)."


Hope this helps and a special thanks to Gary for his insight and knowledge regarding this matter.

[lonewolfny42]

I have Osiris stands also, and I use Grip Liner between the speakers and the stand top. Very inexpensive! You can pick it up in many different stores (Home Depot, Variety Stores, ect). Just cut a piece the size of the stand top. Very simple, and grips very good. This is what I'm talking about ... http://www.kitchenetc.com/Products.cfm?sku=000299288  

[chino]

Thanks for the info guys   appreciate all. Wish I can get those beautiful Osiris stands    but theyr a bit too high for my speakers and pricey. One more thing... which is preferable to fill the columns... sand or those metal fillings? If sand... what kind? sorry noobie question   many thanks.

[lonewolfny42]

Thanks for the info guys   appreciate all. Wish I can get those beautiful Osiris stands    but theyr a bit too high for my speakers and pricey. One more thing... which is preferable to fill the columns... sand or those metal fillings? If sand... what kind? sorry noobie question   many thanks.

I use playbox sand from Home Depot.

[Captain Humble]

lonewolfny42 said: I use Grip Liner between the speakers and the stand top. Very inexpensive! You can pick it up in many different stores (Home Depot, Variety Stores, ect). Just cut a piece the size of the stand top. Very simple, and grips very good. This is what I'm talking about ... http://www.kitchenetc.com/Products.cfm?sku=000299288

Great idea.  I'm using B&W floorstanders for my rears.  In order to get them above the back of my couch, I placed them on Target Audio sand filled stands (same stands I used for my Marble 9.0s).  The stands weigh a ton and this Grip Liner is just what the doctor ordered.

  My wife uses the stuff to line her kitchen cabinets.  I'll rob a piece from one of her top shelves and see how long it takes for her to notice it's missing.  

Jeff

[lonewolfny42]

Hey Captain, If you try the Grip Liner on your stands , let me know what you think....thanks !!

[yeldarb]

Try the cylindrical stands from partsexpress.

Filled with sand, spiked on both ends, not a killer $, and work very well.

[Carlman]

To answer your initial post, theoretically the points provide drainage whereas the rubber or other squishy stuff provides absorption of vibration.  Some believe in coupling, others absorption...

When I had a really good sound room, I could hear a slight improvement in bass detail and imaging focus using spiked vs. non-spiked floorstanders.  

If someone can hear a difference between using lead shot vs. sand, more power to him... I do not have that kind of ear.  Spiked vs. rubber things on sand-filled stands makes no difference in sound to me either.

This kind of thing is really difficult to A/B compare.  To me, spikes on speakers on stands make the speakers harder to adjust, more dangerous in general, and make very little improvement... YMMV...

-C

[mcrespo71]

Thanks for the info guys  appreciate all. Wish I can get those beautiful Osiris stands  but theyr a bit too high for my speakers and pricey. One more thing... which is preferable to fill the columns... sand or those metal fillings? If sand... what kind? sorry noobie question  many thanks.

Like wolfie, I use Home Depot playbox sand that cost a whopping $2 for a 50lb bag.  It really works and is stupid cheap, though I've never made a comparison to lead shot.

Michael

[lonewolfny42]

Thanks for the info guys  appreciate all. Wish I can get those beautiful Osiris stands  but theyr a bit too high for my speakers and pricey. One more thing... which is preferable to fill the columns... sand or those metal fillings? If sand... what kind? sorry noobie question  many thanks.

Like wolfie, I use Home Depot playbox sand that cost a whopping $2 for a 50lb bag.  It really works and is stupid cheap, though I've never made a comparison to lead shot.

Michael

And if you have extra sand , you can make some great sand castles in the back yard....anyone need a pail and shovel....

[chino]

thx guys! Bought that stupid cheap 50lb sand to fill my VTI stands now I have plenty of extra sand   Tried the liner grip   excellent  idea but they made the overall height fall a bit short so I bought those sorbothane pads like heavystarch. Yup they sticked like crazy. All in all everythings just fine.

[lonewolfny42]

Extra sand....mmmm....get a few plastic baggies....fill with sand (double bag)....place on top of cdp and/or speakers ! Any extra after that.....pail and shovel time...