Audibility of speaker stands, feet, isolation pads etc.?

[Alexium]

This is a question that I've been wondering about for a while. I know many people fill their stands with sand. Has anyone measured if there is any difference? What about elastic vibro-isolating pads? I don't mean for huge subwoofers, I mean regular speakers, bookshelf and floor-standing but nothing huge. And what about slabs of different materials that audiophiles place under their speakers and claim that the material makes an audible difference (e. g. marble, concrete, different kinds of solid wood)?

I understand that decoupling speakers from the surrounding environment could improve sound by exciting resonances in the environment to a lesser degree. But in a typical living room, typical speakers, typical listening volume, can it actually make an audible difference?

 

[delta76]

No, "vibration absorbing sand" is pure snake oil.

 

[Frgirard]

subject treated 21357 Times


peoples who said it's change sound must proove their tells

 

[delta76]

I was first aware of the "Vibb eaters" from this post on a facebook group. As you can see, "snake oil" usually comes in package, because if you believe in one snake oil (cables), you will believe in other (vibb eaters).
With all the money spent on Nordost cables and the VIbb eaters, he could simply buy a better pair of speakers (not saying 948 is bad, I have a pair and happy with them), room treatment, and some money left.

But no.

Sometimes the audio industry is so, so weird.

 

[Alexium]

So, there is no proven reason to prefer placing bookshelf speakers on a an expensive stand instead of a nightstand or a stool?

 

[Jim Shaw]

Just one man's experience:

Several years ago, I purchased a pair of Klipsch RP600Ms and a pair of Pangea four, square channel post steel stands. At a couple of consistent points in the spectrum (centered right in the region of maximum hearing keenness), I heard some nasty noises. Like those annoyances that, once heard cannot be unheard, I had to find and fix the cause(s). At first, I blamed the Klipsches, whose faults are legion. But careful listening showed the annoying sounds to be coming from below the speakers. Yep, from the stands.

So I filled the channels with kitty litter (an alternative to dry sand, and easier to handle). Voila! As a further fix, I placed isolating foam pads under the speakers, but on top of the stands. Voila squared.

Epilogue: I read through Amir's reviews and bought a pair of Elac DBR6.2s. Voila cubed!

 

[fpitas]

For DIY speakers I glue a carpet sample under them to absorb vibration. A more elaborate plan might be a thick rubber pad etc. The stuff used for industrial non-slip floors would probably work great. Never used stands, so no opinion there.

 

[Alexium]

For DIY speakers I glue a carpet sample under them to absorb vibration. A more elaborate plan might be a thick rubber pad etc. The stuff used for industrial non-slip floors would probably work great. Never used stands, so no opinion there.

But have you ever measured whether it actually makes any difference?

 

[Alexium]

no. The default stand that comes from the same manufacturer usually works best, but for aesthetically reasons (easier to mount, matching looking and feel etc.)
as long as it's right height, it's stable, it's good enough.

Should have clarified that I mean sound quality considerations only. Looks is a different argument entirely - you have a point there, but it depends on the specific interior and furniture.

 

[birdog1960]

New member here with similar questions. Have Philharmonic BMR bookshelf speakers coming tomorrow! Bought VTI stands. There are plastic vibration feet that the stands can be set on but they are awkward and seem unstable. Do they make much difference? Also, there's really no mount for the speakers: They appear to just sit on the tops of the stands which are a bit smaller than the speakers. VTI sent some cardboard circles to put between the speakers and stands but I was thinking of some furniture pads or even velcro. Want the best sound but don't want speakers I've waited 3 most for falling off! Advice appreciated!

 

[Bob from Florida]

Problem - speakers on Porcelain wood plank flooring. Don’t want spikes for obvious reasons. Solution used by audio buddy- Stillpoints speaker feet $75 each - need 6 for my pair of speakers. Solution solved at Lowes. Total cost <$30 for all 6. The knob has a 3/8 by 16 nut inside. Thread your carriage bolt through from the bottom - I drilled out the plastic enough for the head of the carriage to disappear inside. Use the nut to lock the carriage bolt in place against the imbedded nut. Screw into speaker feet and adjust for level. If you have different threads, browse for your solution at your local hardware store or online source. Compared to the Stillpoints no audible difference- as long as you keep the height the same to avoid changing acoustics with floor coupling for bass or tweeter height relative to ears.

 

[Alexium]

Don’t want spikes for obvious reasons

Would you want spikes otherwise? Do you think they sound better?

 

[Karl-Heinz Fink]

The problem is pretty complex........

We know serval mechanisms that make a difference. Vibrations in the cabinet walls of the speaker can be fed into the stand and can get radiated, depending on the construction. The sand filling might help with some construction. The stand itself can vibrate.

Using a suspension on the stand - or the speaker - can help, but might be a disaster. In theory, the resonance frequency of the suspension should be low enough, so everything above that frequency is isolated. So far, so good. But now the speaker might be moving backwards and forward (driven by the cone) and that generates intermodulation at high frequencies. The tweeter only does very small excursions and together with the moving cabinet, you generate new frequencies that are not part of the music. This can be easily measured.....and the radiation of the stand as well. Nothing to do with snake oil.

ATB KH

 

[Bob from Florida]

Would you want spikes otherwise? Do you think they sound better?

No, I stopped using them when I still had carpet. Changing the height always was audible.

 

[Alexium]

Yes, it's important to get the height right, you may even need to adjust the height if you change your armchair / sofa. Adjustable height stands could be very versatile and useful in this regard.

 

[Alexium]

Vibrations in the cabinet walls of the speaker can be fed into the stand and can get radiated, depending on the construction. The sand filling might help with some construction. The stand itself can vibrate.

This is what I thought intuitively. Obviously, these effects exist, the question is about their level of audibility / importance.

 

[Cote Dazur]

So, there is no proven reason to prefer placing bookshelf speakers on a an expensive stand instead of a nightstand or a stool?

To my knowledge, their is no scientifically, measurement and/or abx test, proven reason for the sound to be affected. Main advantage of stands is to have proper height in relation to your seating position and the advantage of easier proper placement in comparison to tables as an example.
Some people are convinced their hear “tighter” bass using spikes either under stands, speakers or both, I was one of them until I put it to the test of abx, and realized if I did not know what was what, I could not tell anymore.
Where the speakers are located, yes, what surrounds them, yes, spikes, sorbothan, nothing, filled with sand, not so much. Just an other audiophile folklore.

 

[birdog1960]

from this: https://ledgernote.com/blog/q-and-a/speaker-spikes/ it appears spikes for speakers or for speaker stands do different things? So what i'm getting from this is: Fill the stands with sand but don't need spikes? Agree or disagree...

 

[birdog1960]

what about the interface between the speaker and the stand? I've seen blue tac recommended . As of now, I'm thinking stand with no spikes on hardwood floor, 1/2 sand filled stands (lower center of gravity for stability) and blue tac to partially stabilize speakers on stand. obviously will be experimenting with setup tho. thoughts? seems a very confusing topic.

 

[Alexium]

Here's an interesting result on a similar topic: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...bx-audibly-improved-by-5-silicone-pads.32640/

The "Similar threads" feature of the forum is great!