Best location for isolation cones.


Just got 4 sets of Dayton Audio Black Chrome Isolation cones delivered yesterday.

Due to the space constraints on my rack, i couldnty put em under the gear like i had intended, instead i put them beneath each subwoofer which gives righter more defined bass.
However, i also put a set beneath each speaker stand. I also have a new rack.

The imaging seems to have suffered a bit. Are isolation cones beneath speaker stands a bad way to go? Seems the imaging was a little bit better before i put them into play, but with the new rack i just put in im not entirely positive which is giving me a hard time

Ive never used these before so i dont know if there any big NO-NOs associated with such a thing.

Any advice?
slappy
Jburidan: Keeping one's ears level with the tweeter is an old wive's tale. Some designs work best with your ears above, some below, some sitting even with the tweeter. This has to do with the cabinet design ( acoustic center of the drivers ) and many other factors. Even if listening with your ears even with the tweeter provided the most neutral tonal balance, who's to say that everyone would prefer this type of "neutrality" anyhow??? Obviously, personal preference plays a large part in what people buy, how they set it up and what they like to listen to. Sean
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Placing a cone under the speaker raises the height of all drivers, which affects voicing. IMHO, the result has zilcho to do with isolation, and everything to do with geometry. If you have precision engineered speakers, such as Green Mountain, Meadowlark, Theil or Vandersteen, recommend you not change the height of the drivers. Get a listening chair that levels your ear with the tweeter. Raising the subwoofer a smidgen is a whole 'nother story.
..glad to hear you had some real-world pleasure from cones and points last night.....
Hey folks, thanks for all the input!
Well, i had the spikes set so that the speakers were slightly tilted backwards, i went ahead and tightened em all the way down and this definatly restored some of my imaging.
The girly was over last night so that restricted how much i could mess around with it, gott play with her first. LOL
Anyways, when i get home tonight im probably just gonna pull those cones off the speakers and save them for another use.
Yes Slappy, Ohlala is correct about the foam tape being a "no-no" with these things. Definitely get that out of there, because it is eliminating any chance of the cones working at tall.

Although most people already know I'm with Starsound(maker of Audiopoints), I was in "Clark Kent" mode, because I was trying to get my point across without blabbing our product's name all over the page. Now it seems I can't "not mention" our product either, without drawing some fire. I simply tried to deliver useful information without mentioning our products by name.

But anyway, Ohlala was right about his technical point regarding the foam sticky tape.

Banksfriend(and others):
I use Audiopoints and Sistrum platforms in my system, and I also work for the company.
Get rid of the foam pieces and read this Stereophile article for some tips.

Just for kicks and if you can find this specific back issue, take a gander at Jonathan Scull's "Fine Tunes" in the February 2001 edition of Stereophile. This is an article that J10 compiled out of various posts that i made on AA several years ago about "cones" and how they work. The wording might not be the best, but you should get the basic idea.

Once you've done that, you're going to need to experiment with speaker placement. That is, if you want to make any type of major progress with this system. Once you can get the speakers dialed in, you'll then be able to hear more of what your system is capable of and what each "tweak" adds or subtracts from the system. Having said that, cones may not be the optimum type of footer for all components / support structure interphases.

As to your rack, are your shelves stationary i.e. part of the support structure or are they individually removable without compromising the stability of the rack itself? Experimenting with various types of wood and / or other shelving materials can pay off with big dividends from my experience.

Other than that, congratulations. It appears that you've been working hard and are now reaping some of the rewards of your past efforts. I know that you had talked about doing a lot of work on your house in the past and that it was eating up a lot of your cash. I hope that your system is coming together as you had hoped and you get plenty of enjoyment out of your 'Stang : ) Sean
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TWL is correct. Not all cones/spikes/points are created equal. And as far as I know, if the cone is a metal material, then labeling it as an isolation cone should minimally be considered a misnomer but is more likely an oxymoron.

Regardless, the ideal placement for your cones should be to place one directly underneath the power supply of the given component and the two where ever to stabalize the component. Power supplies generate a hum/vibration and by placing your cone directly underneath it, you are giving that internally generated vibration the greatest opportunity to exit the component before it spreads around the chassis.

As for the speakers, I've tried several different methods and different cones. Not one of them made a different until I obtained the proper sized AudioPoints that thread and tighten into my speaker stands which are threaded into the speaker cabinet. Only then was there a difference and the difference was incredible after settling.

-IMO
Or you could cough up $40 for the speaker spikes...maybe?
Setting the top heavy speaker 'n stand on sponge-topped cones is your problem. I am sure being made from the wrong kind of brass is another major issue - good grief - but method two seems like a solid ticket. Hope it works.

Banksfriend - most of the time Twl discloses that the sells audiopoints. I guess he's in Clark Kent mode, right now.

"A cone is not a cone.

It depends on how well engineered the "cone" is.

They are not all the same, and cannnot be lumped into one category.

Some points will do wonders, while others just don't."

You have to get Audiogon to incorporate flashmedia.
TWL, Diddnt expect a whole lot. LOL

well, on the speakers i see 2 ways of connecting them

the first method which im currently using is to use the supplied foam sticky things between the cone and speaker.

The 2nd method would be to ditch that sticky foam thing and unscrew the cones and take the top part with the threaded post through the speaker stand then screw the bottom of the cone into the remainder of thread that is sticking out of the bottom of the speaker stands. That would make a pretty solid connection to the speaker. How i currently have it with the foam thing the speakers basically have suspension. LOL
A cone is not a cone.

It depends on how well engineered the "cone" is.

They are not all the same, and cannnot be lumped into one category.

Some points will do wonders, while others just don't.

The best bet with the Daytons(which are pretty low on the scale), are to not use any of the "leveling features", and screw them into the speakers nice and tight against the botttom, and make the pointy tips screwed in tight against the cone body. At least this way they have some chance of working.

Even if the Dayton cone had any possibility of working, these "leveling features" would defeat it. Try tightening everything up with no leveling and see what you think.

Cones are made with certain principles(if the designer knew what he was doing) and the wide top part of the cone needs to be tight up against the base of the speaker, because it is not the threaded part that makes the vibration transfer, it is the interface between the speaker base and the top surface of the cone. The whole cone needs to be solid and rigid(thus the recommendation to tighten up the "levelers"). Now we know it's not made of the right type of brass, and doesn't have the right shape geometry, but it might work some for a low priced cone.

With a "proper point(cone)" you can expect improved imaging, better soundstage, less smear, tightened bass, and general improvements all around. Not sure what to expect from the Daytons, except that I can tell by looking at them that they are flawed design.

If it does work at all, there will be at least 2-3 days of "break-in" time, for it to "settle" into place mechanically, so give it a weekend.

What can you expect for $16.95 for a set of 4 anyway?
If they worked, everybody here on Audiogon would be using them. The whole world gets the Parts Express catalog.
I'd say if you put them under the speaker stands, subwoofer or monitor, try to screw them into whatever it is they're under. Otherwise, if they're loose, they could just make things worse.

With components in a rack, I just try a whole gang of different places. A good place to start is putting one under the transformer.

Start sawin', baby!
oh yah, also, the rack is wood, so it can definatly be modified. Im certainly not afraid to grab the saw-all and go to town. LOL