speaker isolation

[southpaw]

Been thinking of getting some sort of heavy and solid thing (granite / slate ?) to put under my speakers. Has anybody tried this and is it worth it? Also any tips on which stone.



This is the kind of thing Ive been looking at. Any ideas....

[xerxes]

I use some of these:www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8420486.htm

They measure 400mm x 300mm, big enough for most stands and floor standing speakers. In fact I have 2 under each speaker stand separated by sorbothane sheets. I got the sorbothane here: store.securehosting.com/stores/sh204131/shophome.php, look under isolation products. I used 1 sheet per speaker, the sheets are 6" x 6" which I then cut into 3" x 3" squares, using 4 between 2 granite slabs under each speaker.

On top of the granite/sorbothane bases I have a pair of Partington Dreadnought Broadside stands, which are completely sand filled and very heavy, and on spikes on top of these my speakers. I think the bass is slightly tighter with the granite/sorbothane bases.

I'll take a picture of the whole ensemble later.

[xerxes]

Here we go:

[aurum]

These are good on a slab of granite.
www.soundocity.com/products.html

[PinkFloyd]

I had great success with bog standard paving slabs from the local garden centre (the types they use in pavement construction) I went over them with a wire brush on a drill and then painted them black. The speaker stands I was using at the time (atacama IIRC) were filled with lead shot which I got really cheaply from a company called Caledonian cartridge.... I was passing one day, popped in and asked them if they sold lead pellets direct to the public.... "what are they for?" "speaker stands" <looked at me like I was a nutter> "how much do you need?" "a few sacks" Cost me about £20 for a boot load...... very effective indeed I mixed 4 part shot to one part rinsed and dried sand (collected from local beach) and bob's your uncle. That was a few years ago and I'm now running floorstanders but I assume you can still buy lead shot unless it's now illegal to kill with lead ;D

[southpaw]

Thanks for all the comments.

I think I should have a go at it - just do it spend the ££s on pretty granite or pop down the garden centre for some paving slabs ?

[PinkFloyd]

southpaw said:

Thanks for all the comments.

I think I should have a go at it - just do it spend the ££s on pretty granite or pop down the garden centre for some paving slabs ?

Pop down the garden centre for a couple of slabs, give them a good scrub up / paint them and enjoy the music

[southpaw]

aurum said:

These are good on a slab of granite.
www.soundocity.com/products.html

$325 dollars for granite from an hifi shop

Ive found what look to be identical stuff used for tooling inspection stuff for £75 translated into $s would be about $150. Does anyone else seem to think adding the words audio grade tends to double (or more) the price of stuff.

Rant over...

In the sprit of team cheap bastard I went down local garden shopy and bought 2 paving slabs - total cost £3.60.

I'll clean them up and give them a try before going for the nice looking stuff.

[southpaw]

All done and sounding great for a £measly cost. A bit firmer in the bass region but it has completely focused the soundstage / imaging. Doesn't look as fancy as yours Xerxes - I'll post a nice pic once i tidy it up a bit.

[rickcr42]

Back when i had "assisted" mini monitors as my main set I had very good luck with the reasonably priced/Built Like a Brick Sh*t House Lovans filled with lead shot.Even before the shot was added they were pretty damn free from ringing so I am a fan and will not hesitate to recommend the product if asked.

Now I have semi-floor speakers that are planted on a mix of spikes down/paver/brick spacers with rubber slabs top and bottom/another paver/spikes up/speaker then a slab of green marble on top of the wood box with a layer of sheet rubber and sheet cork under it so it doesn't dance off the top when playing music at live levels