Speaker isolation feet

[Ronen]

I have a new Focal Sopra 3 floor standing Speakers
Each speaker is 70kg weight.
The Sopras have built in rubber feet with spikes optional to use.Under the Glass Base
My sopras is standing on Ceramic hard floor.
Now standing on the rubber feet but to make them stable I use 1-2 spikes feet to floor.
Any recommendations to :
1. Keep the present situation
2. Add rubber feet- but not expensive ones
3. Add expensive feet / spikes
Thanks.

 

[AdamG]

2. Look no further. Protect the flooring and reduce vibration transfer into the house/floor. Acoustically it makes little to no difference in measurable performance. So go with what looks best to you and protects your flooring.

Beautiful speakers btw! Very nice choice.

 

[Ronen]

2. Look no further. Protect the flooring and reduce vibration transfer into the house/floor. Acoustically it makes little to no difference in measurable performance. So go with what looks best to you and protects your flooring.

Beautiful speakers btw! Very nice choice.

Thank you. I will stay as it is.

 

[Dunring]

I use black rubber doorstops on each corner with Loctite Gel which works better than any glue.

 

[Ronen]

I use black rubber doorstops on each corner with Loctite Gel which works better than any glue.

Don’t fully understand the described items …

 

[Thomas_A]

These are not too expensive (if you can find them where you live).

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[fpitas]

For DIY I've just glued a big carpet sample under the speaker. Of course, I use audiophile grade oxygen free carpet (OFC).

 

[NADKEF listener]

I have isoacoustics gaia ii. Not because i believe in miracles but just for aesthetics. Bought these cheap, second hand…

 

[Ronen]

I have isoacoustics gaia ii. Not because i believe in miracles but just for aesthetics. Bought these cheap, second hand…

Thanks. My speakers are very high, on a glass plate, In my opinion, the Gaia is too high that makes my speakers higher

 

[ThatSoundsGood]

I really like these. I put them on some 50lb. homemade speakers. I have tile floors and these slide well, but don't damage the floor. I do think that there is something to be said about decoupling from the floor in some situations.

Little Fat Glider

Herbie's dBNeutralizer Fat Dot with Magic Slider provides mobility and superb "Fat Dot" decoupling on almost any kind of smooth floor or thin, unpadded carpet. With extra-thick dBNeutralizer pad and smooth polymer bottom, Little Fat Glider achieves a superior level of sonic perfection. Superb...

herbiesaudiolab.com

 

[fpitas]

I really like these. I put them on some 50lb. homemade speakers. I have tile floors and these slide well, but don't damage the floor. I do think that there is something to be said about decoupling from the floor in some situations.

Little Fat Glider

Herbie's dBNeutralizer Fat Dot with Magic Slider provides mobility and superb "Fat Dot" decoupling on almost any kind of smooth floor or thin, unpadded carpet. With extra-thick dBNeutralizer pad and smooth polymer bottom, Little Fat Glider achieves a superior level of sonic perfection. Superb...

herbiesaudiolab.com

Unless you feel your floor is non-resonant and will be a valid part of the audio system, decoupling sure seems like the right approach.

 

[egellings]

My floor is concrete. Thin spikes on the speakers does it for me. If I move the speakers, the spikes do not leave a mark on the carpet after the carpet is vacuumed.

 

[OldHvyMec]

You always decouple a speaker no matter the design. If you want to transfer the harmonics into or out of a piece of equipment you are on a lost journey.
You want the equipment to dissipate any vibration quickly or within your target by design. When any cabinet is coupled to ANY type of floor you can count
on smear. Even a concrete floor with anchored friction pears on 4 foot centers and a 5.5" slab will transfer vibration. The material under slabs subsides.
They normally get dryer and dryer under the slab. Very few homes on slabs or any slab has friction pears. Tilt ups are an exception.

The reality of it is, spend your money on good pods and enjoy the sound a whole lot more. They not only work for SQ they are a great step in quieting
down your hole domicile for you and others. It would be a shame to ONLY enjoy 80% of a great speaker when you could enjoy closer to 100%.
I'm not saying those numbers are accurate, but the difference in a treated room with no correction and decoupling speakers makes tuning your
speakers to your space a lot more achievable mechanically. Everything works better.

If you are a TT person you are one up again. I have seen ONE TT out of 100s that worked better on points. It was a direct drive too. So in 99% of the
turntable I've seen is easier to set up with pods vs points unless the points resting on pods. LOL

I've used a lot of different methods over the years. The least expensive and the best overall is air ride. A base that will hold an innertube is a wonderful
thing. Then "PODS", "Springs" and "sorbothane". I've tried sand pits, tennis balls, silicone gel packs, hanging in spring hangers, Setting on cantilever springs
Air and springs. 1 ton speakers EACH. Sand filled speakers, Concrete cabinets.

DECOUPLE everything and quit arguing. Subs are the worst for smearing mains... I quit using ANY bass in my main cabinets. That was a wakeup call too.
Different story but even with 400 + lb speakers and the narrowest front baffle I could buy, distortion from the bass section, FLOOR transfer and standing wave
bass frequencies all contributed to something you could definitely measure and hear. I didn't even bother measuring I knew what was going on from my
experience with IRS Betas for 13-15 years.

Speakers on the floor or spikes are just bad. So are open bottom speakers. IF a speaker has an open bottom and a driver, Put it in a slot.
The old REL are bad the new REL are good. Simple. The old ones can be fixed for 20 dollars. ADD a butt plate (slot) and mount the plate on springs or pods.

Have you EVER seen a stationary powerplant on SPIKES? They would last about 2 days before driving the spikes through the concrete slab. LOL All I have seen
in the last 40 years are on very special isolators that have bellows. Without front, rear and block dampeners they would crumble.
Points don't do the Cha Cha Cha much less the Lambada. More like a pogo sticks without the pogo. I think points on pods might work.
I still like innertubes and about 5 psi..

The idea of harmful harmonics is as old as knowing crappy cables = crappy sound or the engine won't start. Routing cables is as important as vibration control.
It cost little time and pays huge dividends. I don't bother listening to plug and drop systems anymore. A waste of my time and my ears.

I like your speakers though. Treat them and yourself to a good selection of cables, amps and pods. It doesn't cost a lot of money to do a great job either.
I'm just taking for granted you have room treatment in place. In any case enjoy placing those heavy mothers. LOL

Time to feed my chickens.

Regards

 

[restorer-john]

...anchored friction pears...

Nah, way too much smearing.

 

[kongwee]

I will normally spike and add metal anti slip pad under it. Rubber/foam will just stain in future.

 

[OldHvyMec]

Nah, way too much smearing.

I have no idea what you're referencing with the picture. I'm sure it has a meaning.
As long as you keep yourself amused and understand there is no goat to get, you'll be fine.

I had to fix some equipment one time in Perth. No body in the whole county could figure it out.
I found that odd. I think it was the heat. I flew in from the Imperial Valley. It was 119 degrees at noon
when I left. Australia was pretty cool in comparison.

BTW the fix was a hydraulic cooler hooked up backwards. There is a check assembly on one end and a
thermal expansion valve on the other. I fixed it with a 39.00 dollar thermal gun from a supply store,
two adjustable wrenches and two 5 gallon plastic buckets to catch the eco-oil. LOL ECO-OIL! Soy
Fastest 20K I ever made. Good fish in Perth too.

Another thing. Why does the water go down the toilet the wrong way down under?
OR is the US screwed up. Which way does the water flow at the equator? A lot of backups I bet.

My tongue in in my cheek, Regards.

Your turn!

 

[AdamG]

Nah, way too much smearing.

View attachment 242741

Of course, spot welding can work in a pinch! The pear of speakers.

 

[OldHvyMec]

That is a bad looking pear. LOL

Spot weld?. Tool boxes are "spot welded"

I've "Tack welded" many things before welding them. "Mock up" or "tack weld" on a casing crown. The drill bit is in the background it fits inside the casing.
You can see my tack on the inside. I was adding 18-24" so the casing vs drill steel would line up correctly on the makeup / breakup.
This guy was doing double duty and had been a driller for 10 years he said. He was taking 2 days to drill a hole. When I left he was drilling 4 holes a day.

He wasn't MEASURING his progress. If he would have paid attention to the pressure gages he would have seen the problem. There is a reason for all
those gages and understanding what they are for. His were covered in grout.

The dog was digging holes faster.

 

[Hipper]

I have no idea what you're referencing with the picture. I'm sure it has a meaning.
As long as you keep yourself amused and understand there is no goat to get, you'll be fine.

I had to fix some equipment one time in Perth. No body in the whole county could figure it out.
I found that odd. I think it was the heat. I flew in from the Imperial Valley. It was 119 degrees at noon
when I left. Australia was pretty cool in comparison.

BTW the fix was a hydraulic cooler hooked up backwards. There is a check assembly on one end and a
thermal expansion valve on the other. I fixed it with a 39.00 dollar thermal gun from a supply store,
two adjustable wrenches and two 5 gallon plastic buckets to catch the eco-oil. LOL ECO-OIL! Soy
Fastest 20K I ever made. Good fish in Perth too.

Another thing. Why does the water go down the toilet the wrong way down under?
OR is the US screwed up. Which way does the water flow at the equator? A lot of backups I bet.

My tongue in in my cheek, Regards.

Your turn!

Nah, way too much smearing.

View attachment 242741

restorer-john wasn't being offensive.

You wrote 'friction pears' more then once but I've no idea what this means. Pears are a fruit as restorer-john illustrated.

What does 'friction pears' mean?

 

[Hipper]

I understand the Sopras come with a metal foot for the spike. Did you try that too?

I would suggest you ask fellow Sopra 3 owners what they do and the results they get. They seem to have a facebook page and perhaps there are specialist forums. Or you could ask Focal direct.

As these speakers cost a lot of money I assume you have a nice sized budget. If you haven't done so already, I would highly recommend you look into room treatment and other ways of improving the sound of any speakers in your listening room. There's plenty of information on these subjects on this 'Room Acoustics' forum. Given any reasonably competent equipment, and agreeing that speaker feet are important, room acoustics (which includes any or all of careful placement of speakers and listening position, room treatment [bass traps etc.], subwoofers and DSP/EQ) is the biggest single area of improvement you can make.