The Sound Floor

[Floyddroid]

Being as i am in the hunt for another house i will be taking into consideration where my beloved hi-fi is going to be housed. More importantly on which type of floor? I have always enjoyed the depth and timre that a suspended floor gives to music yet having heard the effects to the overall sound of a colleagues dydtem on a solid floor i am wondering what the AOS family think? Just throwing this out to you guys for debate.:eyebrows:

[MartinT]

My music room is carpet on concrete. I think it's the only surface good enough to hold big speakers stable and unmoving, with the cones piercing the carpet and resting directly on the concrete.

[synsei]

I'd much prefer to house my system on a solid floor but that is impossible where I live so I will just have to live with it. My previous turntable (a Thorens TD160mkII) was not at all happy, even when placed on a Target TT shelf, but the SL1210 doesn't seem to have any issues (I can jump up and down on the floor without the needle jumping) ;)

[Macca]

I lived in 8 different houses in a 10 year period and I will say that concrete is better beyond any doubt. Especially if you are running a TT. And try and go for something with internal walls made of brick and not stud walls.

[synsei]

The TT shelf is mounted on an internal brick wall (the outside walls are solid concrete and impossible to drill into) and so it's not ideal. I had to work with what I've got unfortunately but it has yet to phase the Techie...

[Tarzan]

My music room is carpet on concrete. I think it's the only surface good enough to hold big speakers stable and unmoving, with the cones piercing the carpet and resting directly on the concrete.



x2

[KC Jones]

My music room has suspened wooden floors - 3.5 x 4.5 m2 into a bay window.
To take some of the bounce and echo out of it, I placed 2 layers of foam cushion matting ontop of the pine floor boards, then some 18cm wide solid oak floor boards on top but didn't nail through into the joists, just tacked through the tongue into the pine boards underneath.

(Tip - remember to blunt the tip of the nail with a hammer before nailing through the tongue and then use a punch to see the head flush)

This will give the floor a quiet, solid floating presentation!?, just as good as a true solid floor, maybe better?

Maybe I'm slightly off subject, but for a few hundred quid any room can be transformed into a decent music room. So you can choose your ideal dwelling and not let the HiFi rule your choice. Remember the best dance halls have suspended wooden floors, so you can take the Mrs 'round once or twice before you sit down to listen.

[anthonyTD]

Solid floor, especialy if you are using a vinyl set up! :)
A...

[Sonority]

Floors these days actually have a grading system applied to them - especially if timber construction, higher the number the better.

A lot depends on the age of the house you are looking at, and the way in which it was built. Most are built with only profit in mind - that says it all as regards to their construction.

Wooden floors have moved on hugely though. A modern suspended floor, made from engineered I beam timbers, correctly spaced and specified to correct loading, with a properly laid sub floor is all but indistinguishable from concrete.

Finding one of the above, however, will be a bit of a needle in a haystack at a guess, unless you DIY?

I even have a friend who's listening room is over his garage.
A large number of 'acro props' especially under his (large) speakers help to keep the floor of the room above stable and non moving. These do, however, need tuning with the weather conditions..

[anthonyTD]

I tend to agree with Stephen,
When a wooden floor is done right, then it can be very good as far as sonics are concerned, however, as Stephen pointed out, these type of floors are very few and far between these days, unless your looking at an old house, ie; Marco's system is upstairs in a very old house, with huge supporting beams under the floor and his system works very, very well in that enviroment.
A...

[KC Jones]

The house I was refering to was built in 1916, so it's solid, the floors are done as they were then - right I presume, cost not being a factor.
With modern houses I would say the walls were more of a problem for sound, more so than wooden floors. Do modern houses have wooden floors?

I have vinyl and it sounds great, houses, floors, walls, amps, sources to one side, its the speakers that do it for me.

Anyway, dont let the house spoil your HiFi, let the HiFi spoil your house!

[Sonority]

You could, if very lucky, find one like this :eyebrows:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/sph2701/IMG_1202.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/sph2701/IMG_1194.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a221/sph2701/IMG_1191.jpg

If you screw 1" birch ply to the top of that, half an inch of coco matting atop of it, then 'float' a 1" t&G floor atop that, sealed at all the edges with mastic, I guarantee you will have no complaints :lol:

The doubled up joists (not required but pure belt and braces) are for the entrance area & where the speakers sit.
This floor does not move at all - even for T/T use.

[Sonority]

Kevin,
Yes, under MMC (Modern Methods of Construction) timber can and is used to great effect. If done right, and some are - they are truly great for HiFi, and actually dont cost the earth (literally as well as $$)

[KC Jones]

Nice floor!
I see a lot of hard work has gone into the construction, makes mine lookl like I was just playing at it!

Another plus for suspended floors, if they are not as good as solids is; you can hide your wiring runs underneath and have strategic holes for speaker wire etc to emerge from, resulting in shorter runs, possibly?

[Marco]

When a wooden floor is done right, then it can be very good as far as sonics are concerned, however, as Stephen pointed out, these type of floors are very few and far between these days, unless your looking at an old house, ie; Marco's system is upstairs in a very old house, with huge supporting beams under the floor and his system works very, very well in that enviroment.


I find that *good* wooden floors make for a more harmonically rich sound, without adding bloom, or stripping away (natural) warmth, and in the process creating a slightly 'hard' sound, such as concrete floors tend to do in comparison. For me, as long as bass boom isn't a problem, then good wooden floors, in the right circumstances, make for more musical sounding results :)

Marco.

[Mr. C]

My music room is carpet on concrete. I think it's the only surface good enough to hold big speakers stable and unmoving, with the cones piercing the carpet and resting directly on the concrete.

Think about what you just said there Martin.

How do spikes work in relation to speaker cabinets?, how does all that vibration energy dissipate through 4 points with at most a 1.5mm point (at most, most are smaller).

Are there any adverse effects to using this method?

There is so much more yours (or pretty much any speakers) can give in terms of overall performance by not using spikes.

Over to you guys........

[Marco]

Well, mine have castors on them! :D

Although those sit on spiked Mana Soundbases.... ;)

Marco.

[MartinT]

There is so much more yours (or pretty much any speakers) can give in terms of overall performance by not using spikes.

I played with spikes (or, rather, cones) under my previous speakers compared with just resting them on the carpet. The cones won for bass definition, tightness and extension. With my current Ushers we installed the screw-in cones when first setting them up and I haven't felt the need to revisit this. Just as well, in view of their weight.

What would you suggest as an alternative?

[realysm42]

I live in a Victorian era flat; I'm sure it's solidly constructed, but the floor seems to be cheapo slot together 'wood' tiles. In other words it's horrible for my poor speakers.

I went from having:

Nothing, just speaker stands (!)
Spikes in stands (before this I didn't know they did anything lol!)
Granite slabs
RDC (3 layers; large improvement)
Franc isolation > Granite slabs (tremendous upgrade)

I'm moving somewhere with solid concrete floor; thank God, but I won't changing any of what I have.

The difference isolating (or decoupling or whatever I actually did) wasn't subtle, I'd never have beleived the difference it could actually make if I hadnt been through it; I'm glad I have though as it's an important lesson in how sensitive equipment is to it's surroundings.