Isolation for speakers on spikes


A friend recently gave me some Vibrapod isolation discs to put under my speakers, B&W 704. The effect was amazing, however I believe that by removing the spikes the speakers lost a lot of their quickness, and with some music they sound even a little muddy and dull. I tried resting a board on the pods, and the speakers with spikes on top of that, but that didn't work out. How can I get the best of both worlds--the great isolation benefits but also maintain the quickness and clarity that spikes deliver?
rfprice
Could be the board you are using in the configuration you described. I tried the same thing on my suspended wood floors which are carpeted. Vibrapods on the carpeted floor, MDF board on top of them, then the spiked speakers on top of them. Sounded OK but not ideal. When I substituted a 1" thick maple wood chopping block for the MDF the transformation was amazing: fast, clear, dynamic, musical and I've kept them that way since with a high degree of satisfaction; 2" would probably be even bettter. I got the chopping blocks from TJ Maxx for $10 apiece but you can also get them at Bed Bath 'N Beyond, Ross or a hardwood supplier for reasonable cost. If you can't find maple try other hardwoods. I've got bamboo cutting boards under my spiked monitors on stands and they, too, sound significantly better than the MDF or directly onto the metal stands.

Also, make certain you have the correct Vibrapods for the weight they are supporting.
Hope this helps.
Isolation will help prevent nuisance vibrations or resonances transfering from room to stand to speaker and vice-versa..."rattling" or "boominess" at certain frequencies.

Spikes make a very strong connection to a wooden floor: vibrations and resonances will transfer more easily. This can help if you have some useful vibrations somewhere that you want to amplify. For example, transfering low frequency enclosure vibration from enclosure to the floor for instance to enhance bass.

In theory damped systems have lower distortion overall - so my preference would be to use those vibrapods; Blu-Tak works great too!
All those vibrations in your speakers: where do all those deleterious resonances go with your Vibpods? Those 'pods keep the very microphonous meanies and the like right in your speakers, where you don't want them. You want them to go to Mother Earth through the points. This has been beat to death here on the 'gon. Some are couplers, some decouplers, and yes; some mix the two. Go figure. Why do you think the Sistrum Platform worked so beautifully? Pure coupling--magnifying the points capabilities with the us of the platform acting as a resonant conduit.
Thanks for the responses so far. Warrenh, I think I may try the audiopoints. We have the same amp, right, the YBA Passion? You think the audiopoints will lend the same benefit as the pods and also clean up rest?
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