Aerated blocks as loudspeaker plinths?

[ToTo Man]

I'm looking for something solid to sit my speakers on to raise the height of the tweeters to ear level. It needs to be dense as it will be placed on carpet and will have 40-50kg of weight bearing down on it through 4 spikes. The only block I can find that will give me the desired height without having to stack multiple bricks/blocks is this aerated foundation block: www.wickes.co.uk/foundation-block-44x215x30cm/invt/213639/
I have to concerns with this product however. The first is what effect an aerated block will have on the sound, and the second is whether the block will be strong enough to cope with the downforce applied by the spikes given that it is aerated and not solid. I'm thinking the latter problem could be solved by using 'spike shoes' on the blocks, but am still concerned about whether an aerated block is suitable for audio. Any thoughts?

 

[TheDecameron]

It's so cheap, you've got nothing to lose by trying it. Pretty ugly though.

 

[rhgbristol]

Spiked speaker stands will soon sink into aerated block and the support will be compromised. Think of aero chocolate bar for an idea of texture!

Some years ago I used patio slabs to good effect under spiked stands on carpet.

More recently I made by own concrete blocks by making up a wooden box to the exact size I wanted, and using a hand-mixed concrete mix of ratio one part cement, two parts sand and two parts three quarter to dust clippings.

Tapped the box whilst filling it, and got a nice dense block.
Three days later unscrewed wooden box from around newly cast block, rubbed it down and painted it to match decor.

Richard

 

[Mark Packer]

A friend of mine did this in the 1980's with his B&Ws. It worked fine and he wrapped them in in the same carpet as the room. They worked fine.

 

[timhum]

I followed your link and saw the high density blocks, Why not use one of them as a top layer to deal with the spikes. I agree with the thought that it would be ugly but a coat or two of black sandtex would make the bases neutral looking.
I found some 300mm black planters in Homebase, upside down they looked like solid slate. I added mass to them by sitting them on a pile of old magazines. I was perfectly happy with the arrangement but admit that when I spotted a proper speaker stand which fitted the bill on eBay, I got it. Sounds just the same (of course).

 

[Minstrel SE]

I use concrete slabs but you would have to stack quite a few of those as you say. Granite was just too expensive.

I dont know . Give it a try. I think something solid may be better. It depends what you want to spend or if you can turn your hand to some D I Y.

I covered my concrete with crushed velvet material and it all looks fine.

Why not stick a slab on an aerated block? I find resting the spikes straight onto concrete sounds great.

 

[Martyn Miles]

Aerated blocks ? Not as bad as two wooden shower stools from St. Catherine's College, Oxford !

 

[ToTo Man]

Thank you all for your input. I took a trip to my local Wickes today and they were all out of foundation blocks, so I went elsewhere and got these instead:
www.diy.com/nav/garden/fencing-pavi...dstone-Block-Kerb-Red-L-10-x-W-12-5cm-9273600

At 10cm high they're only half the height I wanted, but it's better than no height at all and I suppose I could increase the height in the future by stacking them in twos, as long as I can fix them together securely enough. They seem to be coping with the spikes ok (so far at least!)....

 

[graystoke4]

im at a loss on this thread ,,,NO mention of the type of speaker ? and why not just buy some stands ??without the speaker info how can anyone help ???yours mystified,,,and no-one asked ??

 

[Tony L]

FWIW those blocks take emulsion paint really well, it seals them so they no longer spread dust and they look fine - back when I co-ran a little recording studio we built the mixer support from a couple of painted fork-lift pallets standing on some of those blocks. It looked really cool!

 

[westsea]

im at a loss on this thread ,,,NO mention of the type of speaker ? and why not just buy some stands ??without the speaker info how can anyone help ???yours mystified,,,and no-one asked ??

Me too - mystified - that is; from my early days, speakers needed a solid foundation, the whole theory was to stop them bouncing around; which soft insulation block will not do, so something heavy/dense is more appropriate. In addition it was thought that setting the speakers on heavy open stands was a good as it reduced the horn effect from the corner formed by the speaker front and the floor; the enhanced bass was generally distorted. This is mitigated -perhaps - if the speakers are tall and thin and the bass driver is towards the top of the cabinet.

As Graystoke says, knowing the detail of the speakers would undoubtedly allow constructive help to be given

 

[ToTo Man]

im at a loss on this thread ,,,NO mention of the type of speaker ? and why not just buy some stands ??without the speaker info how can anyone help ???yours mystified,,,and no-one asked ??

Apologies, the speakers in question are Tannoy Lancasters.

 

[Martyn Miles]

Apologies, the speakers in question are Tannoy Lancasters.

If you look on the web you can buy Lancaster Grey building blocks, made by Hanson. Obviously the correct type to use...

 

[Arkless Electronics]

I once tried putting a concrete pavement slab under each speaker (large floor standers) in the hope of improved sound but in my case I thought it a retrograde step..... I got the impression that instead of vibration etc being dissipated by the floorboards, via the spikes, it was instead being reflected back up into the speaker! Not sure of the technical accuracy of that "finding" as electronics is my field and not vibration control/structural resonance etc...