Vandersteens on wood floors... couple or isolate

I cannot tell you how frustrating my experiences have been with regards to your question. I have tried both with a multitude of speakers and can honestly say I don't know the answer. Coupling the speaker to the wooden floors just make the floor part of the speakers vibrating them. Isolating the speakers just means they will vibrate longer and accentuate the resonant frequency of the combo of the speakers and the absorbent material.

This is really just another case of vibrations elsewhere in your system such as the turntable or cd player. There I have found the active isolation base made by Halcyonic neither has a resonant frequency nor couples the unit to the stand. Speakers on the Halcyonics might be exceptional, but I will never know as I cannot afford more of the Halcyonics units.

Mass is probably important as it lowers the resonant frequency. You might want to put thick granite on a soft material and put the speakers on top. You will probably have to experiment with what this material should be.

I got excellent isolation and resonance control with a rig similar to Tbg's last suggestion. Placed Vibrapods on the floor, a maple cutting board on top of that, then the spiked speakers on top of the board. Worked like a dream with increased dynamics and clarity. Got the chopping board at Bed, Bath & Beyond for about $20/each. I found that the wood worked better than granite. A cheaper, and better, alternative to the Vibrapods are V-Pads available from your local Heating and Air Conditioning supplier. They're about @$2.50 and you need 4 for each speaker under the board. V-pads are 4"x4" pads of about 1/2" of cork sandwhiched between two layers of ribbed rubber.

I think the resonant frequency of the wood would be much higher given the lower mass of the wood.

Thanks for your input! Right now, the sound anchors are sitting directly on the wood floor. I've found this preferable to placing vibrapods (3 each) under the anchors. However, the bass and lower-mids seem to move everything in the room! Jgiacalo... maybe I'll try your approach.

Thanks again, guys!

Cdm, which model do you have? Have you tried them without the sound anchors?

2Ce Signatures... no, I've not tried them without the anchors. Do you suggest it?

Cdm, my 2ce sigs sounded best without any tilt so you may want to try them without stands and then add some rubber pads if you prefer. Keep us posted.