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Stands, to couple, or not to couple, contradicting products and positive reviews

There are many practices/products intended to "couple" a stand-mount speaker cabinet to the floor of a room (spikes, adding mass to the stands via sand/shot, specific bolt-on stands for certain models, etc.).  Conversely, there foam speaker pads by Auralex and others, which are intended to de-couple or isolate the speaker from the stand, with rave reviews of audible sound improvement.  

So which is right, should I try to "connect" my speakers to the mass of my house, or do I want to "float" the speakers so they are free to resonate on their own?
waxhawfive
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,408 posts
 
Roller bearings isolate laterally, couple vertically. Symposium Acoustics Roller Blocks and the similar bearings made by Ingress Engineering in Canada are a great value, if the Townshend Seismic Pods are out of reach. 
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
I’m getting a strong sense of deja vu here but recall, gentle readers, roller bearings in cups isolate in the horizontal plane AND the three rotational directions, you know, twist, rock and roll. 🕺 That’s why when roller bearings are used in conjunction with some nice springs hint hint you can isolate in ALL 6 DIRECTIONS.

geoff kait
machina dynamica
serving audiophiles’ isolation requirements since 1996
schubert
7,386 posts
 
AMEN to all that chayro !It's both the fun and the agony of audio, cut and paste .
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Yeah, esp. if you’re shooting blanks in the dark, right, Schubie? 😎
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,408 posts
 
Roller bearings employed in conjunction with springs provide, as Geoff again correctly postulates, isolation approaching that of the much more expensive Minus K, Newport, Herzan, Vibraplane, etc. platforms.
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