• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Loudspeaker isolation ...

audioBliss

Active Member
Joined
May 7, 2019
Messages
258
Likes
294
Location
Sweden
If they aren't Sorbothane I'd personally avoid them and buy the genuine product, which is also likely to be cheaper.

Here is a Sorbothane product guide which gives details of the correct weight range for their products:

https://www.sorbothane.com/Data/Sites/31/pdfs/product-guides/Sorbothane-SPG.pdf

As you correctly say, a lot of things that look like Sorbothane, aren't, and don't perform the same. It's not just any sort of rubbery material...

Ah I didn't realize that the material was called Sorbothane hehe. Well I'm not 100% exactly what material is used but reading about the properties of the SD pads as well as the Sorbothane ones it seems that both materials have very similar properties so who knows. All I know is that an independent organization in Sweden has done measurements of their performance -LTS - translates roughly to Sound Engineering Society and it checks out.

So to me it seems that two different companies have both solved the problem in a correct way but sell their products in different markets.

Imo this type of product i.e. Sorbothane and Sonic Design pads is the right approach to isolate the speakers. Before this there was only stuff like blue tack and spikes. Blue tack is more of a hack imo that might work i certain situations and spikes seem to have no valid use case at all expect ruining your floor. Nice to see that there are several places to buy correctly engineered products.

Edit: I saw now that Sorbothane seem to have an even finer granularity of the pads which is nice. They also seem to have their marketing in order. I use the SD pads here at home but I got them custom pads to the exact weight of my speakers. Seems to not be easy to get in the stores. With Sorbothane it seems it's easier to get a hold of.
 

Ultrasonic

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Dec 30, 2018
Messages
742
Likes
593
Location
UK
...spikes seem to have no valid use case at all expect ruining your floor.

The intended purpose of spikes is to be able to push through carpet to firmly couple whatever is on them to something like a solid concrete floor. Somehow in audiophile-land this fact got lost and people started talking about spikes providing isolation.

I use spikes on my downfiring sub, in a carpeted lounge with a concrete floor underneath. I initially didn't have spikes but there was a fair bit of vibration seemingly travelling via the carpet/underlay. Fitting spikes seems to have reduced this. (I say seems as I haven't tried to measure the difference to be able to prove it.)
 
Last edited:

SIY

Grand Contributor
Technical Expert
Joined
Apr 6, 2018
Messages
10,386
Likes
24,752
Location
Alfred, NY
If they aren't Sorbothane I'd personally avoid them and buy the genuine product, which is also likely to be cheaper.

Sorbothane is a good material for this, but it is far from the only option. Some other materials have higher damping, which can be useful in some situations.

My issue at the moment: my speakers (which are tall and narrow) originally had metal cones for feet to attach to outriggers for use on soft surfaces. The house we just moved into has carpeted floors where the cones are badly needed, but I can only find seven of the eight...
 

SIY

Grand Contributor
Technical Expert
Joined
Apr 6, 2018
Messages
10,386
Likes
24,752
Location
Alfred, NY
Wow, no controls whatever, lots of loose variables, and Austin is unapologetic about it.
 

Snafu

Active Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2018
Messages
223
Likes
140
well, when isolating something, nothing beats pure mass.
main idea with these was to elevate tweeter to ear level and reduce floor vibration.
mission accomplished :)

duntechgranite.jpg
 
OP
Purité Audio

Purité Audio

Master Contributor
Industry Insider
Barrowmaster
Forum Donor
Joined
Feb 29, 2016
Messages
9,051
Likes
12,150
Location
London
That is not isolation but directly coupling.
Keith
 

Soniclife

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Apr 13, 2017
Messages
4,500
Likes
5,417
Location
UK
Is there a good article delving into the different approaches that are commonly used, as it feels like the hobby hasn't progressed further than, try some things at random and see what works for you. And we know how good that approach is.
 

Daverz

Major Contributor
Joined
Mar 17, 2019
Messages
1,294
Likes
1,451
I use outriggers with spikes to "ground" my speakers to the flooring rather than having them "floating" on the thick carpet and pad. Also to give them a wider base than the stock cones which mount under the speakers.

https://soundocity.com/
 

audioBliss

Active Member
Joined
May 7, 2019
Messages
258
Likes
294
Location
Sweden
To try and illustrate what real isolation means. Imagine a typical store bought subwoofer. This usually vibrates so bad that it moves around. Doesn't matter if you put it on a piece of granite it'll just vibrate off. Put spikes on it and you might succeed to plant it to the floor but put your hand on the floor around it and you'll feel the vibration. Put it on proper isolation pads and the pads will absorb the vibrations. The sub won't move and the floor will not vibrate.
With proper speakers the vibration is more subtle but the same applies. If the pads under the speakers are rock solid they will for sure not work, they will just transfer the energy to the next medium. Sure that could be granite but in that case the speakers will be slightly moving around on that granite. You only want the sound from the speakers making sound and not turning your floor into a second speaker. Some like that effect though since you might perceive more bass or whatever.
 

MattHooper

Master Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Jan 27, 2019
Messages
7,201
Likes
11,817
Anyone have opinions on the Isoacoustics products, that get many raves?

https://www.stereophile.com/content...and-damnedest-audio-demo-ive-ever-experienced

I heard an in store demo similar to the one mentioned in the above show report. The change did seem fairly impressive.
At one point I ended up with their "Isopucks" which are made on the same principle as the rest of their stands and footers. I was using them for a different purpose, but tried 4 of them under one of my speakers (I only had 4). I heard a difference in sound, though didn't prefer it. Seemed to make things darker, more lush, but less punchy and concise, so I didn't bother doing any more tests. Of course the problem with testing such products is that they raise the speaker, altering the angle to the listener, possibly changing some aspects of floor interaction etc. So in just trying the product only, it's difficult to untangle audible results due to the product vs simply altering the position of the speakers.
 

Webninja

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Oct 8, 2018
Messages
419
Likes
468
Location
Los Angeles
Looking for more info on this, as I have the iso acoustics for my jbl305s, I stumbled upon this:

http://ethanwiner.com/speaker_isolation.htm

Seems like he has the same philosophy as ASR, and setup a test to measure the difference of various isolation products.

His conclusion is they make more of a difference by changing the height of the speaker than any significantly measured change in the sound.
 

audioBliss

Active Member
Joined
May 7, 2019
Messages
258
Likes
294
Location
Sweden
That's why my speakers have the Sonic Design pads countersunk into the base of the speakers :)
 

March Audio

Master Contributor
Audio Company
Joined
Mar 1, 2016
Messages
6,378
Likes
9,317
Location
Albany Western Australia
well, when isolating something, nothing beats pure mass.
main idea with these was to elevate tweeter to ear level and reduce floor vibration.
mission accomplished :)

View attachment 26314

OK, I am going to have to get the accelerometers out and post measurements of things that isolate and things that dont isolate. :)

Its a massive area of confusion in the hifi world and keeps cropping up.
 

Snafu

Active Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2018
Messages
223
Likes
140
^
my problem was loosely floating floor and you could feel it vibrating when standing nearby speaker.
those granite slabs press floor down and speakers stand on them as they were planned to do (a bit higher but anyway),
no need for spikes or isolation system.

this was my solution and i'm not pissing on any ones cereals or telling what to do.

cheers
 

Shadrach

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Feb 24, 2019
Messages
662
Likes
947
OK, I am going to have to get the accelerometers out and post measurements of things that isolate and things that dont isolate. :)

Its a massive area of confusion in the hifi world and keeps cropping up.
This will be interesting. An explanation of one of the most difficult areas of quantum mechanics on a hi fi forum.
I hope you'll be covering the phonon compensation mechanism at some depth and the role of temperature in resonant and non resonant materials. I was okay with the math, but the differing models for solids, liquids and gases left me brain dead at uni.;)
 

Olli

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 6, 2018
Messages
331
Likes
242
OK, I am going to have to get the accelerometers out and post measurements of things that isolate and things that dont isolate. :)

Its a massive area of confusion in the hifi world and keeps cropping up.

Alan - any timeline for this?
 

guyinoz

Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 30, 2019
Messages
20
Likes
9
I have the isoacoustics Gaia 3 and they are awesome. My floor standing speakers never sounded better. Not a audiophile so not great with words but would say they are more directed, greater energy and all parts of a song can be more clearly identified
 
Last edited:

CDMC

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
1,172
Likes
2,321
I use the isoacoustics speaker stands for my desktop speakers. I have no idea if their technology makes a difference, but getting the tweeters at ear level made a massive improvement. Given they were the same price as other stands I could find, I figured I had little to lose.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom