Speaker stand musings

[realysm42]

Hello,

Stumbled upon this-this morning and gave it a read:

http://www.zenn.com.sg/Speakerstands.htm

What do you think?

I took the Atacama gel pads from my speaker stands (Nexus 5i, I think), then sprayed the top part of them with some black Plastidip (great stuff), for grip on the speakers.

They sound great with my setup now; I just put the pads on originally, assuming they would benefit the sound.

The tops in my stereo are really clear now (not over-poweringly so) and have tremednous resolution, also the bass they prodcue is firmer and mroe controlled; great upgrade to the sound and I won't be putting them back on.

[Wakefield Turntables]

I did the same with my atacama stands. I got rid of the gel pads. I now use 6mm sorbothane. This is beneficial for two reasons.

1. The speaker (a 56kg) ATC 50ASL now sits on a material which is especially designed for minimising vibration into pieces of equipment.

2. Sorbothane when warm actually becomes slightly sticky! So this means the bottom of the speaker is couple to the stand more efficiently.

I think the speakers sound better in this configuration.

[YNWaN]

Sorbothane is only effective when the load (weight) is matched to its density.

Any way, as the article states, you want to create a path for vibration to exit the cabinet and not isolate the speaker so that vibration cannot escape.

I would agree with what most of the, linked to, article has to say - my only caveat is that the author states that vibration naturally finds the lowest point, this isn't the case, vibration has no awareness of up and down.

[Reid Malenfant]

the author states that vibration naturally finds the lowest point, this isn't the case, vibration has no awareness of up and down.
I'd suggest that it'll find the point of least resistance ;) IE, if a heavy speaker is sat on a stand then something tells me that the opposite end from the stand will be the most free to vibrate..

A little like a skyscraper, while the base is fixed, the top is much more free to move (& often does - quite a bit as it happens :eyebrows:).

[YNWaN]

I'd suggest that it'll find the point of least resistance ;) IE, if a heavy speaker is sat on a stand then something tells me that the opposite end from the stand will be the most free to vibrate..

A little like a skyscraper, while the base is fixed, the top is much more free to move (& often does - quite a bit as it happens :eyebrows:).

I would agree with regard to your 'course of least resistance' comment, but I feel you skyscraper analogy is flawed. A skyscraper flexes because of external forces being applied to it (like the wind), whereas the forces on a speaker cabinet are generated internally, by the compression of the air volume.

[Reid Malenfant]

Indeed, that is true, though the path of least resistance will still be followed no matter what is exciting whatever. The author of the artical is wrong, at least we agree on that one :)

[awkwardbydesign]

2. Sorbothane when warm actually becomes slightly sticky! So this means the bottom of the speaker is couple to the stand more efficiently.

Doesn't that mean it is decoupling more efficiently? Absorbing not transmitting? Or have I got it wrong?

[YNWaN]

Decoupling and absorbing are different things. It won't really be doing any absorbing as there just isn't going to be enough of it. As far as decoupling, the effectiveness will be frequency and amplitude dependant.


at least we agree on that one :)

Indeed - sorry if I'm being a bit pedantic (am hung over).

[Dingdong]

So what's wrong with blobs of Blu-tak?

Works for me. handy stuff is Blu-tak.

[Wakefield Turntables]

vibration has no awareness of up and down.

Actually, it does. But I'll let you work that one out. :ner:

[YNWaN]

OK, choose to believe that if you like.

[awkwardbydesign]

Decoupling and absorbing are different things. It won't really be doing any absorbing as there just isn't going to be enough of it. As far as decoupling, the effectiveness will be frequency and amplitude dependant.

True, they're different, but my point is that they are both different from transmission. And similar in that. But I don't understand why there isn't enough vibration to be absorbed; isn't that the point of Sorbothane? Vibration to heat, and Rexton said it becomes sticky when warm. I assumed he meant it got warm in use; vibration to heat.
On the point of needing an escape path for vibration, then how or why do Max Townshend's Stella Stands work? I use a homemade version with heavy speakers and they stop vibrations reaching the floor, which means the floor is not excited, which makes for a cleaner soundscape.

[YNWaN]

Decoupling and coupling (or transmission as you put it) are two sliding halves of the same. All methods of joining will have an element of decoupling and coupling, the proportion of each dependant on the joining method used.

The issue isn't that there "isn't enough vibration to be absorbed", the issue is that there is too much vibration, not too little. The conversion of vibration into heat is significantly less efficient than you may think and the Sorbothane will not be perceptibly changing temperature because of this process. Sorbothane is, essentially, an over-damped polymer spring - if the load it is asked to support is too low, or too high, it will be under, or over, compressed and its isolation (decoupling) properties will be very much less (just like a spring in compression).

I would have to look at the stands you describe, but my experience indicates that any decoupling of the speaker from the floor gives a negative result compared to rigid coupling. Where this may not be true is if the floor is of poor construction or is very flexible (flooring grade chipboard perhaps, for example). The drive units energise the cabinet, primarily through compression of the internal air volume, but also directly. If the cabinet is isolated, this vibration is more prone to feeding back into the drive units effectively acting as low level echo - sorry, could say more but no time, have to go.

[awkwardbydesign]

The issue isn't that there "isn't enough vibration to be absorbed", the issue is that there is too much vibration, not too little. The conversion of vibration into heat is significantly less efficient than you may think and the Sorbothane will not be perceptibly changing temperature because of this process.

Ah, I misunderstood your statement. So you meant there wasn't enough ABSORPTION. That makes more sense, so the Sorbothane is mainly coupling, or not, depending.
So Rexton, what are you doing to your Sorbothane to get it hot? Should I ask?:eek:

[synsei]

Perhaps Andrew found its G spot??? :stalks::lol: