Isolating speakers from suspended floor [Archive]

alcarmichael

24-12-2017, 10:31

agk

24-12-2017, 10:33

Grab a pair of slabs from a local garden type place for a quick fix/experiment and stand the speaks on they.

RothwellAudio

24-12-2017, 11:05

Grab a pair of slabs from a local garden type place for a quick fix/experiment and stand the speaks on they.

No, there's no compliance there, so the only effect is due to added mass. However, a heavy slab sitting on top of a tyre inner tube does have compliance and will be a lot more effective. Also, there would be some scope for tuning the system by altering the pressure in the inner tube.
Of course, wobblyness could be an issue to bear in mind.

Stereosane

24-12-2017, 11:17

I've also got suspended wood floors, I had good results with a marble base with blutak underneath and then I had nice rubber feet made for my speakers instead of using the spikes, there was definetly an improvement in the bass, it isolated the vibrations a lot as I could always feel the bass in my feet through the floor before but now I only feel it when really loud or with very deep bass.

mikeyb

24-12-2017, 11:20

Suspended from the ceiling [emoji38]

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=speaker+suspension+kit&rlz=1C9BKJA_enGB590GB590&oq=suspension+speaker+ki&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l2.12678j0j4&hl=en-GB&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

Macca

24-12-2017, 11:22

Slabs do work after a fashion, I used to use them when I had a room with suspended floor (never again).

Or you could try a pile of cork mats/floor tiles under each stand. Not tried that but it might work and less unsightly than slabs. Granite or wooden chopping boards might also be worth a go.

CageyH

24-12-2017, 11:34

Blue Horizon spike shoes worked well for my stand mount speakers on a suspended floor.

paulf-2007

24-12-2017, 13:48

The slabs I use are covered in black velvet, got them with some red rose speakers and stands I once had. Have a suspended floor in my garden room, never had a problem, but then under the floor are just timbers and not a cavity like a house,

paulf-2007

24-12-2017, 13:51

When I built a listening room in my barn in France I built concrete columns under the floor, level with the floor and stood the speakers on them. Worked a treat.

alphaGT

24-12-2017, 14:16

I’ve read that if you have a suspended floor, the best place to locate speakers is close to the end of the joist. Placing your speakers along an inside wall where the floor is bouncier exasperates the problem.

And similar to Paul’s solution, if there is crawl space under your floor you can brace up the floor directly under the speakers, with a paving stone and some heavy timber under the joist. Whether this will prevent bass from propagating to the neighbors? Isolating from the floor is bound to help.

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Ammonite Audio

24-12-2017, 14:30

Merry Christmas.

I’ve recently moved house and seem to have an issue with my floor transmitting sound! It’s suspended wooden floorboards with an oak floor atop. The floor seems to be sucking out the bass in my living room where the speakers are, if I go into the next room I then hear the bass. This makes me think my new neighbours will be quite displeased.

I’ve checked out the quite impressive looking Townshend platforms but am wondering if there’s anything at the - just bought a house so broke - end of market for me to experiment with?

Speakers are B&W 805N with the dedicated B&W (no spikes) stands.

In such situations, there really is no substitute for proper isolation, which the Townshend Podium products provide preventing the room/house structure (including connected neighbours' properties) from singing along to your music. Slabs, Blu-Tak etc only alter the transmission characteristics of the speaker/floor interface, rather than blocking transmission altogether. You can DIY an isolation solution with straightforward mass/spring theory, but ensuring stability is a key factor with speakers such as yours that the Townshend stuff addresses pretty effectively.

Townshend Seismic Speaker Bars (http://www.townshendaudio.com/hi-fi-home-cinema-equipment-vibration-isolation/seismic-isolation-bars-for-speakers-subwoofers/) are rather cheaper than Podium platforms and work just as well with suitably dimensioned speakers, but I suspect not your B&Ws unless you used different stands with a larger footprint.

RothwellAudio

27-12-2017, 09:41

Slabs, Blu-Tak etc only alter the transmission characteristics of the speaker/floor interface, rather than blocking transmission altogether.
Yep.

You can DIY an isolation solution with straightforward mass/spring theory, but ensuring stability is a key factor with speakers such as yours that the Townshend stuff addresses pretty effectively.
Yep.

Primalsea

27-12-2017, 09:53

I have some Atacama speaker stands that had pressed steel bases that were not very siff. I replaced these with wooden bases made from two chopping boards from Tesco that I bonded together and then drilled the mounting holes, so they could be bolted to the columns. Maybe something similar but with patio slabs could work. Two slabs together or maybe with a layer of foam between, you could play around a bit until you find the solution and then cover it with something somit looks domestically aceptable.

alcarmichael

27-12-2017, 11:04

Thank you for everyone’s comments and suggestions. I think the Townshend platforms are the way to go, I’ll have to wait a while until I can afford them though. In the meantime I’m contemplating giving these a try:

https://www.studiospares.com/Headphones-and-Speakers/Speaker-Spares-and-Accessories/Studiospares-Speaker-Isolation-Riser_465310.htm

Thoughts? Any experience of them?

VanDerGraaf

27-12-2017, 11:56

Auralex platforms will do a very good job and at far less cost than anything made by Townshend (although with perhaps slightly less elan).

VanDerGraaf

27-12-2017, 11:57

Minstrel SE

27-12-2017, 12:48

Yes many of us cant rip the floors up or build sound chambers. The paving slab idea is as cheap as chips and I understand that it alters the interface between the suspended floor enough to make a pleasant change.

They are heavy enough to provide smaller speakers with stability but then Im just using them with Minstrels and stand mounts. Larger speakers may take more thought

Then you can play around with layers without spending the earth. Im a big fan of cheaper home solutions like foam and white tac but then my equipment is a compromise anyway and Im not yet aiming for the last word in sound.

A concrete slab with a fabric frame cover can be integrated into the home without spending silly money

RothwellAudio

27-12-2017, 13:10

The paving slab idea is as cheap as chips and I understand that it alters the interface between the suspended floor enough to make a pleasant change.
A change maybe, but it's not really addressing the issue.

You can DIY an isolation solution with straightforward mass/spring theory...
This is addressing the issue because the "mass/spring" is fundamentally the way all isolation or suspension systems work. Without the spring the mass/spring theory breaks down, or at least you're just altering the mass and leaving the spring part of the equation as the springiness of the floor. Those foams slabs act as a low Q spring and will be a lot more effective than nothing at all.

Minstrel SE

27-12-2017, 13:30

well yes it will not be addressing every issue that people have. I didnt really have a problem with boomy bass or the bass being sucked away.

I wanted to hear the speaker more isolated from the wooden floorboards. I spike it straight onto the concrete which adds further isolation with the tip spikes and I hear more of the speaker doing its own work apart from the floor. The floor will never be completely out of the equation. I could add spike shoes and extra layers..

I could take things further but the speaker is surprisingly stable on those spikes and I prefer what I hear. I think slabs will help and for £3 each it may well be worth a try...they can always be used under the barbecue outside or something

Pieoftheday

27-12-2017, 18:04

alcarmichael

27-12-2017, 18:10

Tempted to try these myself, useful thread:)

I’ve ordered a pair. I’m guessing they’re closed for Christmas though as I have to wait a while for delivery.

paulf-2007

27-12-2017, 18:19

Pieoftheday

27-12-2017, 18:20

I’ve ordered a pair. I’m guessing they’re closed for Christmas though as I have to wait a while for delivery.

Would you still use the spikes on your speakers/stands with these? My baby tannoys don't really do Earth shaking bass but I have had the occasional frown from the neighbours after I've cranked them up a bit the night before.:rolleyes:

alcarmichael

27-12-2017, 18:31

Would you still use the spikes on your speakers/stands with these? My baby tannoys don't really do Earth shaking bass but I have had the occasional frown from the neighbours after I've cranked them up a bit the night before.:rolleyes:

My stands don’t have provisions to attach spikes. I think the fact that the base of my stands are perfectly flat and my wooden floor isn’t, contributed to the missing bass. I’ve since carefully repositioned them to get them as stable as possible and the bass is back. I’m guessing the foam platform will help compensate for my imperfectly flat floor.

Pieoftheday

27-12-2017, 19:02

My stands don’t have provisions to attach spikes. I think the fact that the base of my stands are perfectly flat and my wooden floor isn’t, contributed to the missing bass. I’ve since carefully repositioned them to get them as stable as possible and the bass is back. I’m guessing the foam platform will help compensate for my imperfectly flat floor.

Well they're worth o punt and a tad less than the Townshend ones, though I don't doubt they're good

Pharos

27-12-2017, 23:00

There is a picture of my ESS Heil/Rogers mid/woof speakers on the "Show us your speakers" thread.

On first installation there was a lack of bass, and I have a wooden floor, and so theorised about that.
I bought from RS acoustics, with a money back guarantee, a pair of granite plinths weighing 17k eaxh, and also had cut 10mm thick 'cushions' of EPDM rubber to go between the granite and the speaker bases.

The theory was that sound leaving the cabinet would travel through the rubber, hit the granite and be reflected back, but in both directions be attenuated when passing through the rubber which is not a 'pure spring', but lossy.

The bass improved, as did the mid, with much more attack.

Lawrence001

28-12-2017, 08:34

I had an ESS power amp a few years ago, lovely thing. Did some research on the brand and discovered their AMT speakers, have always wanted a pair since. Should have kept the amp to match with the pair I might one day buy, rate as hens' teeth (possibly due to a manufacturing fault with the heatsink fins causing a high failure rate).

Pharos

28-12-2017, 09:24

I still have the brochures on the ESS amps and preamps, their figures were way ahead of the game back in the 80s.

I may be selling my ESS/Rogers speakers now I have the Betas, and I will also include all of the Xover parts and ESS woofers so that they can be easily restored to ESS AMT 1D spec should the buyer doubt my work with the BBC Rogers mid/woofer.

For about £1.5k, they are not really very compromised compared with the ADAM Betas which cost £25k at '09 prices, have 5 drivers, are active and use ICEpower amps. ADAM consulted Oskar Heil before taking and furthering his design as far as they could.

anthonyTD

28-12-2017, 13:20

I can vouch for the Townshend speaker bars, I have been using them under my Tannoy Kensingtons for a few years now, and although my listening room has a concrete floor the improvements gained from Isolating the speakers from the floor are still very obvious.
I didnt want to mention them earlier as they are not cheap, and some folk may want to try more affordable solutions first, however; In your situation, I feel confident that this may be the best solution.
A...

DSJR

28-12-2017, 13:56

When at Listen Inn, I noted the way the suspended floor was treated there, was to place a large MDF 'island' over the existing floor and bolt through to the joists underneath. it certainly strengthened the area where the speakers were placed but looked effin' ugly. A pal took the initiative from this and replaced the floorboards under each speaker with solidly bolted mdf 'squares' and claimed an 'improvement.'

One thing that also may help is to place paving slabs under the speaker stands. Reviewer Jimmy Hughes had a heated concrete floor and still used them before the huge Impulse speakers arrived, dressing the tops of the slabls with attractive tiling so they didn't look so hideous. Long time ago now and modern speakers may not benefit in the same way.

I'm sure the Townshend affairs will be just fine :) I fear though, the costs are very high as many accessories are these days.. I suppose it depends on the speakers used and how 'tight' their bass is?

Yomanze

29-12-2017, 08:27

You can read my thread with similar experiences here:

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?54627-Bright-Star-Isonodes-Coupling-vs-Decoupling

My solution was to use Bright Star IsoNodes in place of my speaker floor spikes. Using granite platforms isn't enough & real squishy / bouncy (but damped) decoupling is the best way to go.

After I'd decoupled my speakers I moved onto my rack & decoupled all the components. This gave me a welcome improvement too. As I have a speaker close to the rack I think this helped proportionally more than may happen in other rooms.

Primalsea

29-12-2017, 09:05

I have solid floors and I tried some silicone pucks under my speaker stands and it made the system sound terrible. Bass became a bit strident and imaging was all over the place. There is no one solution that fits all, so you have to experiment quite a bit.

Lerxst

29-12-2017, 09:39

walpurgis

29-12-2017, 09:49

I am no expert but if I had stone/brick walls I would be looking at using some kind of bracket, extendable out to the position of where the speaker is now located. Just mount them low for floorstanders. Would that not isolate the speakers entirely? The brick wall will have too much mass to resonate.

I'll probably get shot down in flames for this idea.

Wall mounting is not a daft idea.

Such mounts would need to keep the speakers fairly close to the wall though, otherwise they might 'lever' themselves off, depending on how much weight they were carrying.

I'm sure such a product is probably already available (and I don't mean ordinary speaker wall brackets for smaller speakers).

Lerxst

29-12-2017, 10:47

Wall mounting is not a daft idea.

Such mounts would need to keep the speakers fairly close to the wall though, otherwise they might 'lever' themselves off, depending on how much weight they were carrying.

It would have to be a DIY project I would think, if you did it.

walpurgis

29-12-2017, 10:56

What do they use in clubs and discos? I've seen BIG speakers wall mounted as part of the 'house' system.

Rob Tube

29-12-2017, 11:46

I had wall mounted heavy speakers on the wall mounted with special brackets in the Netherlands with Tight bolts. those brackets give you the possibility to tilt and swing the speakers around.

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/New-Adjustable-Wall-Mount-Holder-Home-Theater-Steel-Speaker-Ceiling-Brackets-15kg-Loading-For-Speakers-Stable/32760972801.html?spm=a2g0z.search0306.3.197.6f7399 eaCzfE64&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_0_10130_10 152_10151_51102_10594_10059_10312_10314_10534_1031 3_10084_100031_10083_10547_10546_10307_10604_10548 _10605_10341_10065_10142_10340_10068_10343_10342_1 0103_10344_10325_10545_10324,searchweb201603_0,ppc Switch_0&algo_pvid=b260ce47-e146-48f7-b9d4-030f93fc8b27&algo_expid=b260ce47-e146-48f7-b9d4-030f93fc8b27-27

anthonyTD

29-12-2017, 13:46

Many years ago, when I first moved into my own house, I had floorstanders hanging on chains on each side of a bay window, from memory; they seemed to work quite well!:)

Lerxst

29-12-2017, 20:58

What do they use in clubs and discos? I've seen BIG speakers wall mounted as part of the 'house' system.

The last time I went to a club there were other distractions, unfortunately.

alcarmichael

26-01-2018, 11:15

Well, if anyone else is interested in these I can personally recommend them. They’re brilliant! I have much more bass depth and impact, the music therefore of course sounds so much better. I don’t feel the bass transmitting through the floor and it’s much quieter in my next room which hopefully means my neighbours won’t hate me anymore!

They don’t look very pretty but I’m sure I can put some wooden trim around them in the future to help improve the look somewhat.

alcarmichael

26-01-2018, 11:23

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180126/edbbe9f645cdc6ef49757c6000ee6c0e.jpg
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180126/d140ffee2b5dffe02b828af277c0e600.jpg

In the meantime they’re hidden the best I could with a coal scuttle and fire tool set.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The Black Adder

26-01-2018, 18:13

Looking nice.. But you could do with a rug on that wooden floor... You will have frequencies bouncing all over the place... [emoji3] quite a good upgrade IMO.

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alcarmichael

26-01-2018, 18:26

A big rug will be coming soon. I’ve only been in the house a matter of weeks 😉

Pharos

26-01-2018, 23:17

I agree about a rug to dampen the acoustic. I am in the process of finishing my lounge refurb, and have despite good floorboards decided to spend on carpet for that reason.

Currently, empty and unpadded it is very live on spoken voice.

Edward

27-01-2018, 09:32

I found Soundcare's 'SuperSpikes' cured a lot of issues with suspended floors and tightened up bass very nicely. In fact added a lot of clarity overall.

Simon_LDT

27-01-2018, 10:57

How are those Soundcare spikes any different to a normal spike + shoe? Just been looking at them and at first glance I assumed the black base was some kind of rubber/squishy material which would compress with weight. However, looks like that black part is just plastic and the spike shoe inside still touches the surface it is placed upon. Just looks like a normal spike + shoe but with a case built around it.

They look nice (better than standard spikes) but not sure it would make a improvement for me as I have spikes with shoes and I've blu-tacked them down underneath.

Edward

27-01-2018, 12:29

Perhaps it is the mild steel insert that the spike sits on? I really don't know. They were suggested to me so I tried them as not too expensive I got a full set. For the reason you mention I also was suspicious but needed to protect my floor from the standard M8 spikes I had and found the improvements I mentioned.

VanDerGraaf

28-01-2018, 10:46

This is like Auralex on the cheap, you might be surprised by how good this solution will be!

I knew this would work well for you Alex. They don't look great admittedly, but to do an excellent job in this area doesn't require huge outlay.

My Auralex Subdude XL platforms are brilliant (terrible name aside) and perhaps a touch more discreet-looking for home use.

https://5uyxpw.ch.files.1drv.com/y4mCrZ4b2d4D046qjHRFJV80s-kkL0CCC1ZT2rmy4KQq8-FMyDLmMN6ZDy_GXogbtwAbI_kfLMCPLWNltL2TF5NG6IYlwA_L ydmM09Zp-e9gqEx0VSiiUWarENKht5pOWU00B04QmJ16q02RHJDkKvY7MrG TBwCchTh5-FXeuqOTmRdPV8XZaikL4ZaZnaAsP5JuX_Cvguvhu1BvcVtskSM ag?width=2640&height=4691&cropmode=none

Improvements are always heard, whatever the speaker, when using them.

Edit: apologies for massive picture!

Yomanze

30-01-2018, 09:35

A big rug will be coming soon. I’ve only been in the house a matter of weeks [emoji6]

Congrats looks like a nice space.

Any chance of being able to pull those speakers forwards a bit? Your room looks very similar to mine. Some good clearance from the fireplace is worth trying. [emoji4]

Pieoftheday

30-01-2018, 10:25

Has anyone tried Audio serenity AS level2 isolation platforms? Can't seem to do a link I'm afraid basically they're granite slabs made to order,around £50?

Yomanze

30-01-2018, 12:37

They don’t look like they decouple. Looks like a mass damping solution.

Pieoftheday

30-01-2018, 15:18

They don’t look like they decouple. Looks like a mass damping solution.
I assumed they were to isolate speakers from the floor?

RothwellAudio

30-01-2018, 15:48

I assumed they were to isolate speakers from the floor?

Imagine standing on the floor in a pair of heavy/hard boots. You'll still feel vibrations through the floor (if there are any) because heavy/hard boots won't be very effective at isolating you. On the other hand, a pair of trainers with soft/spongy soles would be much more effective. Which is probably why people prefer running in spongy trainers.

A hard slab won't really isolate a pair of speakers but the added mass will make the floorboards vibrate a bit less.

Pieoftheday

30-01-2018, 15:52

Imagine standing on the floor in a pair of heavy/hard boots. You'll still feel vibrations through the floor (if there are any) because heavy/hard boots won't be very effective at isolating you. On the other hand, a pair of trainers with soft/spongy soles would be much more effective. Which is probably why people prefer running in spongy trainers.

A hard slab won't really isolate a pair of speakers but the added mass will make the floorboards vibrate a bit less.

Thanks for that, always something to learn:)

Macca

30-01-2018, 18:30

One house I rented had a separate flat in the basement, just one main room, a little kitchen and a shower room. The main room was under my living room. It was an old house, 1881, and the floorboards in the living room looked like the deck of HMS Victory. Huge oak beams. But the floor still bounced like a trampoline.

I used paving slabs under the speakers. The couple below were students so they wouldn't go to bed until 6 am. I'd be up and playing music by 1100 and they would be banging on the ceiling because it woke them up. Well they were only poxy students so I used to turn it up instead. They had the last laugh though. When they moved out 2 years later I discovered that their flat had no separate electricity supply. I'd been paying their leccy bill the whole time.

Si74

30-01-2018, 18:41

I had a pair of Keswick Audio Torinos that went down to 20Hz (I didn't believe that either till I heard them) in my lounge. Suspended floor above a 22x22ft garage.
The bass was an utter nightmare, floor bouncing, cones flapping, Lencos going wild! Tried all sorts of slabs, cones, spikes, chopping boards etc,etc. Stillpoints between two sheets of MDF made it bearable but the isolators cost about 3 times what I paid for the speakers (fabulous speakers by the way).
A move to Audio Physic Virgos and still problems although not to the same degree.
Purchased or swapped I can't remember a pair of Voodoo isolation platforms, apart from the initial worry about the 'wobble', these transformed the system.
A move to a much smaller room , still suspend floor and the Voodoos still made a night and day difference.
A swap to AN/Js on an Australian welders idea of replicas of the Audi Note stands, metal three times as thick as the originals and a two man lift even without the additional sand filling and I was almost a convert to sheer mass.
A trial period with a 6.5K pair of not to be named speakers, unimpressed till me and my mate sat them on the Voodoo Plats, not a one man job when you've borrowed 6.5k speakers. An utter transformation which almost had me buying them.
Fortunately a pair of 6ft high pair of double mouth horns intervened at a fraction of the price:-)
Unfortunately at 75Kgs each, no way could the Voodoo plats cope.
Tried a set of RDC cones under them with much trepidation, waste of time.
They now sit on two sets of Aurio something bearing isolators so they only 'wiggle' as opposed to 'wobble' as does everything else in my rack (Townshend so wobbles) bar the Oracle and I could not live without them.
My mate now has the Voodoo plats under his Audio Physics and feels the same way.
Hence I'd say all this spikey crap was made up by pikeys selling crap or scrap.
Until everything in your rack wiggles or wobbles along with your speakers, you won't hear half of what it can do!
Should I win the lottery this week, first purchase is a set of Max's things for under my speakers, a custom pair for under my monoblocks... well maybe after a barn load of nice motors,yawn......

Macca

30-01-2018, 18:48

Everyone really rates those Townshend stands but as you say, they are a bit spendy. After the experience with HMS Victory I made sure when I bought a house it had a concrete floor.

alcarmichael

30-01-2018, 21:18

Sorry, only just noticed further replies.

I knew this would work well for you Alex. They don't look great admittedly, but to do an excellent job in this area doesn't require huge outlay.

My Auralex Subdude XL platforms are brilliant (terrible name aside) and perhaps a touch more discreet-looking for home use.

https://5uyxpw.ch.files.1drv.com/y4mCrZ4b2d4D046qjHRFJV80s-kkL0CCC1ZT2rmy4KQq8-FMyDLmMN6ZDy_GXogbtwAbI_kfLMCPLWNltL2TF5NG6IYlwA_L ydmM09Zp-e9gqEx0VSiiUWarENKht5pOWU00B04QmJ16q02RHJDkKvY7MrG TBwCchTh5-FXeuqOTmRdPV8XZaikL4ZaZnaAsP5JuX_Cvguvhu1BvcVtskSM ag?width=2640&height=4691&cropmode=none

Improvements are always heard, whatever the speaker, when using them.

Edit: apologies for massive picture!

Massive picture required due to massive speakers 😊👍

Congrats looks like a nice space.

Any chance of being able to pull those speakers forwards a bit? Your room looks very similar to mine. Some good clearance from the fireplace is worth trying. [emoji4]

There’s a good few inches between the speakers and the wall, more than it looks in the picture but I do have space to bring them forward and have a play.

bonzo

30-01-2018, 21:29

Merry Christmas.

I’ve recently moved house and seem to have an issue with my floor transmitting sound! It’s suspended wooden floorboards with an oak floor atop. The floor seems to be sucking out the bass in my living room where the speakers are, if I go into the next room I then hear the bass. This makes me think my new neighbours will be quite displeased.

I’ve checked out the quite impressive looking Townshend platforms but am wondering if there’s anything at the - just bought a house so broke - end of market for me to experiment with?

Speakers are B&W 805N with the dedicated B&W (no spikes) stands.

Hi Mate, I had this issue. My Martin Logan Summits had downward firing woofers that let the bass down to the neighbors below. Forget all the granite and marble recommendations. Tried them all. Also had 1000 quid Townshend platforms. The best is to get Auralex pads, which cost around 70 quid off amazon. Problem solved and sonically it was the best. You can put granite below that if you want. If the sound still goes through, there are mats available which are kept under washing machines to stop vibrations going through. I bought one and put it at the bottom of the Auralex, but it looked ugly, not WAF. Unless you can cover it with carpet etc.

This will solve vibration issue through floor easily as well as direct bass going down through. My floors were strong enough that the rest of the sound around the room was not going through

RothwellAudio

31-01-2018, 10:04

Purchased or swapped I can't remember a pair of Voodoo isolation platforms, apart from the initial worry about the 'wobble', these transformed the system.
A move to a much smaller room , still suspend floor and the Voodoos still made a night and day difference.

...Hence I'd say all this spikey crap was made up by pikeys selling crap or scrap.

Yes, I agree there has to be an element of bounce for effective isolation. Spikes or slabs don't do it.
BTW, I looked up the Voodoo platforms but only found these:
http://voodoocable.net/product-category/component-isolation-systems/
Are they the things you're talking about or have they stopped making the platforms?

Yomanze

31-01-2018, 10:13

When I first started this stuff I was led to believe that spikes were ‘mechanical diodes’, now I realise this is nonsense and they are there to achieve the most rigid possible coupling. This means the speaker “sees” the floor, or the component sees the rack. For a concrete floor it is more appropriate to couple as the floor isn’t going to move, but suspended wooden floors are a different story!

darkmatter

02-08-2020, 15:47

Interesting thread and a subject I have been researching carefully, as I have a listening room in a Victorian house with a wooden suspended floor.

The loudspeakers I will be using are of my own design weighing 150 kgs each and will be looking for a solution to isolate them.

I have been looking at various commercial solutions but the ones that might work ate over £1,000

The solution I will try will likely be a DIY effort as I do not want to throw £100s at it with no guarantee of good results.

The footprint of my loudspeakers is around 26" x 21"

Research continues.