You can buy a 100 lb. bag of silica sand for under $10 at building supply yards. Buy two bags, put half of each in homemade cloth bags, and put a bag on each of the 1.7's legs, front and rear. Four 50 lb. bags for under $20, ya can't beat it. The sand will weigh down the legs and also damp the ringing of the metal.
Cheap/free tweak of the Magneplanar 1.7s, etc.
Reading up on some of the extensive tweaks--if not downright full rebuilds--of the Magneplanar 1.7s, it inspired me to try something really simple.
So, figuring the Maggies could use a bit more anchoring and stability, but not wanting to spend anything *just yet* I grabbed 16 volumes of my Encyclopaedia Britannica and put four volumes on each of the feet--two on each foot in the front and two more per foot in the back.
The results surprised me, matching (at least) the improvement you get from speakers sitting on the carpet vs. spiking them through the carpet to the floor underneath. There was a fuller-bodied presentation, a more organic and less disembodied presentation. It increased the sensation of bodies in the room making music. Imaging improved, and resolution of high-pitched percussion noticeably improved. Sounds of orchestral bells, the triangle, tambourine, etc. were easier to hear in large orchestral numbers.
There was more body to the bass, so much so that I turned my subwoofers off except for recordings that had significant sub-40Hz info.
If you have some relatively small heavy things lying around the house, place them on your Maggie feet and see what you hear.
Later today I intend to hit Home Depot for bricks or paver stones or thrift shops for old dumbbells or small free weights.
So, figuring the Maggies could use a bit more anchoring and stability, but not wanting to spend anything *just yet* I grabbed 16 volumes of my Encyclopaedia Britannica and put four volumes on each of the feet--two on each foot in the front and two more per foot in the back.
The results surprised me, matching (at least) the improvement you get from speakers sitting on the carpet vs. spiking them through the carpet to the floor underneath. There was a fuller-bodied presentation, a more organic and less disembodied presentation. It increased the sensation of bodies in the room making music. Imaging improved, and resolution of high-pitched percussion noticeably improved. Sounds of orchestral bells, the triangle, tambourine, etc. were easier to hear in large orchestral numbers.
There was more body to the bass, so much so that I turned my subwoofers off except for recordings that had significant sub-40Hz info.
If you have some relatively small heavy things lying around the house, place them on your Maggie feet and see what you hear.
Later today I intend to hit Home Depot for bricks or paver stones or thrift shops for old dumbbells or small free weights.