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Isolating Feet for bookshelf speakers worth it ?

E

eddie1

pfm Member
Do Isolating Feet improve the sound of bookshelf speakers at all ?
Can't use stands speakers currently sat on shelves with back to wall.

Linn Tukans from CD5/Naim160/Nac62
 
I think the only realistic answer is "try it and see". In the context of what you like, with your speakers, in your room, etc. One man's "improvement" is another's "degradation."
 
Try 'Sonic Design', seem sensible. You have to know to weight of your speakers, low foo factor and surprisingly inexpensive too.
 
Sorbothene domes from eBay.... Find the seller that has a chart that details the weight that the different diameters can support. You'll find that they will cost less than a tenner and are as good as any with hifi 'marketing'
 
I put Nordost Pulsar Points under mine and the improvement is laugh out loud impressive. I also put them under my Infinity satellite speakers on my 2.1 AV system and they had a similar spectacular effect. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Nic P
 
I'd think "What do the designers of quite possibly the most expensive production speakers in the World, the Vox Series, use on their 'budget' Living Voice £15k models, to stick the speakers to thier bases?"

BluTack
 
Depends if the furniture reverberates at a frequency within the speakers' output and your hearing! If not, BluTack. If so Monitor Isolation Pads, as used in studios, £20 odd from pro audio places.
 
It depends whether you are getting room interaction issues or not... in my living room with a suspended wooden floor, decoupling made a positive difference, and stopped my neighbours complaining about the bass. Image focus improved, and a bit more natural on the top end.
 
PaulMB said:
I think the only realistic answer is "try it and see". In the context of what you like, with your speakers, in your room, etc. One man's "improvement" is another's "degradation."
Click to expand...

Absolutely.

One thing is for sure, the way a speaker is supported can have a profound effect on the way it sounds.
 
Bigbobby666 said:
Sorbothene domes from eBay.... Find the seller that has a chart that details the weight that the different diameters can support. You'll find that they will cost less than a tenner and are as good as any with hifi 'marketing'
Click to expand...

What he said.

I've got them under mine and they made a big difference.
 
MVV said:
Try 'Sonic Design', seem sensible. You have to know to weight of your speakers, low foo factor and surprisingly inexpensive too.
Click to expand...


Thanks for making me aware of the Sonic Design feet. I ordered a set last night.

I currently use Sorbothane domes under the speakers (Roksan TR-5's) with marble chopping boards under nether them. I’ll report back.

Cheers
Rob
 
Yes, I think it is generally a good idea. YMMV and all that. I have had shelves and especially cupboards booming away, it sounds nasty. As to a solution, it could be as simple as a folded towel. See also BluTak, halved squash balls, rubber bungs, etc. Take your pick.
 
MVV said:
Try 'Sonic Design', seem sensible. You have to know to weight of your speakers, low foo factor and surprisingly inexpensive too.
Click to expand...

I just bought some for my Larsen 6 speakers (and the Larsen centre speaker) - they have definitely made a substantial difference. They are very good value from a sound per pound point of view, although pretty expensive from a material point of view...
 
I was given a set of Sound Spike Will mag-lev feet from Korea and with absolutely no faith because of their bling appearance, I must admit, I placed 3 of them under my Sugden amp roughly where the toroidal is (left of centre). The improvement in the bass was amazing so obviously the shelf it was on was micro-resonating quite badly. No idea what they can do under a speaker but you must match them with its weight. Hence I used 3 instead of 4 because the amp (14kgs) wasn´t heavy enough to work with all four. I brelieve Hi-fi Collective do them for differing total weights but pricey.
 
You can try an inflated bicycle inner tube under each speaker and see how you like it.

BTW
I don't understand how adding spikes isolates the speaker from the support
 
I think the 'theory' of spikes is that the sharp 'point' provides so little contact area that 'energy' cannot get through or past it.
 
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