[shmoo]

Jethro, The stands had been partially filled by the previous owner. I have not yet screwed the spikes in, I have been moving them around the room and will once they are in the final resting areas.
I had been used to the overall sound of the OB1, which are similar to the IB1 so
I knew what to expect. I sometimes flip between CD and DAC, but for the most part I find the Linn is super sweet, although it does not have the bass impact the Bryston DAC has.

[b5pt9]

What's this about partially filling the stands?  I figured the deader the better so filled them to the brim with kitty litter.  In fact I had to switch to scented kitty litter to finish topping up the right stand but it doesn't sound much different than the left .

Seriously though what's the theory behind having the stands partially filled? 

Oh and congrats Shmoo on the IB1's, I've had mine 8 months and continue to be impressed.  I listened to my old favourite first 2 Dire Straits CD's last weekend (self titled and Communique) and they sounded just perfect with the IB1's.

[jethro]

b5pt9:

I'm no expert, so everybody feel free to correct me.
If the stands are packed too tightly, then the sand/kitty litter can't
vibrate as easily and convert the sound vibrations into heat.
In my case I had more of the speakers vibrations being transmitted
to my wooden floor when the stands were fully filled.

[James Tanner]

Think of your speakers as a room. The corners are where all the resonant energy builds up. So the idea with a 4 post stand is to act like a conduit to allow the energy to quickly flow away from the box corners and get dissipated as heat through friction.

So the concept with not filling the stands to the top is the empty stand post acts like a vibrational conduit and allows the energy to flow away from the speaker more rapidly.  It travels quickly down the low mass posts and then hits a large mass that dissipates that energy through heat by the fiction motion of the material used as the stand filler. If the stand is filled to the top then the energy tends to accumulate around the top of the stand and does not move away from the speaker as quickly.

That's the theory anyway.

james

[Bob in St. Louis]

May I intrude please?

This idea of partially filling with sand makes perfect sense, but I have a question;
Would the theory of partial filling still apply if a fella was to have sand filled speakers?
{Specifically open baffle, mind you}.

Thanks,
Bob

[b5pt9]

Very cool, thanks guys .  I figured it had to do with resonance of the stand and coupling to the speaker cabinet.  Now I have a zero-dollar tweak to try when I get back home.

[Levi]

Good information here!

I just bought an OB1 and currently breaking it in.  The OB1 surely has more bass than my Sonus Faber Grand Piano and has better resolution and dynamics. 

So far the OB1 will be my reference.  I have slightly smaller room.  Definitely, the bass is there but not overwhelming.

Cheers,
Levi

 

[jethro]

James,

Thanks for the correct explanation.
I knew my explanation was probably lacking.