HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

What's the ultimate speaker support?
Light and rigid?
Massive?
Spikes? (top, bottom, top & bottom?)
Blu-tack?

I currently have a set of Atacama stands holding up my Cube 1s (four large circular pillars between base and top) and have a set of those rubber washing machine feet things recommended by the Doc betwixt speaker and stand. (I bought them to try with my previous speakers but they didn't work - here though they definitely seem to.)
Everything sounds great, as indeed it should, but what next? Will spikes to the floor help? (I have these yet to fit but couldn't wait to listen before fitting 'em!) Would adding sand (or other dampening material) inside the stands make any difference?

I've seen talk on other threads on coupling/decoupling and would benefit from someone explaining that to me. (In terms I can understand )

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Made up from sheets of marble. That is what I use but it is at least a two person carry at nearly 40 kilos. Any rubber based flexible material is decoupling, it is only needed if you need it, you have to experiment, each system and installation is different. Decoupling needs normally means you have a problem that you are hiding by decoupling it. If a system is on song IMO then couple rigidly.

Light and rigid has worked best for me.

With hollow 'heavy metal' stands I hear ringing and the bass goes bloated and slow. If I were going to fill your atacamas I would probably put sawdust in them to damp the ring without adding more mass.

I use very light and rigid torlyte stands with my cube 1s. Spikes through carpet onto concrete floor. Stupid money new but can be found occasionally s/h for 250ish. The 'something solid' open frame stands also look interesting and are made to measure...

I used those Atacama, four leg stands, (filled), with spikes on the bottom and three stubby Michell Tenderfeet, point up, under the speakers. VERY tight and controlled bass with a solid image. Tried all sorts between the stands and speakers including rubber feet, wood cones and Blu-tac but the Tenderfeet worked the best, (with a really tiny spot of Blu-tac under each just to stop them moving around.

I have square pillar ash wooden stands. I filled mine 3/4 full with metal shot used for sand blasting.I have 3 spikes on top into cups on the bottom of my cube 1's and 3 spikes on the bottom again into cups to save my wooden floor. Seems to be all good but not tried experimenting with anything else. Yet!

I have heavy metal Atacama stands filled with sand, secured to mats with spikes on a wooden floor. Small amounts of bluetac secure he Cube 3s.

Chunk McDaniel wrote: ↑Sun Apr 22, 2018 10:49 pm I have square pillar ash wooden stands. I filled mine 3/4 full with metal shot used for sand blasting.I have 3 spikes on top into cups on the bottom of my cube 1's and 3 spikes on the bottom again into cups to save my wooden floor. Seems to be all good but not tried experimenting with anything else. Yet!

Sorry made a mistake here I have Cube 2's.

I definitely hear a "ring" if i whack the pillars with a screwdriver, although I'm not sure it I hear it with the music (perhaps I'll notice it when it's gone?) so some kind of filling is in order to deal with that.
Has anyone ever tried that expanding foam used in building? It has almost no mass and would be pretty easy to install although not so easy to get rid of if it doesn't work.
(It was once used by a 6'5" Paris-Roubaix winner to fill the rear stays on a carbon fibre bike frame to very good effect!)

So what! the pillar is not being whacked by a screw driver when it is doing its job, it will have to handle small amounts of low frequency energy transmitted downward by the speaker, and it either earths this with its mass, as in my marble ones, or transmits it to be earthed in the floor as with the Torlyte ones. You do not want to store or alter that energy without earthing it as it will just reflect back, your idea of expanded foam will do this. Filling a stand is to create mass, minimum dried sand, max lead shot.

Dr Bunsen Honeydew wrote: ↑Mon Apr 23, 2018 1:44 pm So what! the pillar is not being whacked by a screw driver when it is doing its job, it will have to handle small amounts of low frequency energy transmitted downward by the speaker, and it either earths this with its mass, as in my marble ones, or transmits it to be earthed in the floor as with the Torlyte ones. You do not want to store or alter that energy without earthing it as it will just reflect back, your idea of expanded foam will do this. Filling a stand is to create mass, minimum dried sand, max lead shot.

I think i get that.
So for example your marble would undoubtedly make a sound if i gave it a whack, but that's irrelevant as it's the mass which is doing the earthing?
So without buying new stands i should consider adding mass rather than "damping" which will store energy and muddy up the sound?