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Interesting discovery when my carpets were cleaned yesterday!

I have some bookshelf speakers that sitting on some Dynaudio Stand 20 speakers stands. They are each filled with 50lbs of lead shot and my speakers are attached using some blue tack stuff (it helps hold them in place kind of like mounting them with screws). 

Anyways, while having the carpets cleaned I removed the Dynaudio spikes that came with the stands so that the speakers would be easier to move around as a whole because they weight 110lbs-ish each. 
When the carpet guy was done we put the speakers stands on some foam blocks to keeps them off the wet carpet until it dried. 
Later that night after getting the speakers dialed back in (I have certain measurements to get them back to where they were), I kept the foam blocks on the stands until I know they were right. 
Well, it actually sounds better with the foam blocks than the spikes. So now I’m on the hunt for something to actually use instead of the spikes. 
My room is carpeted  with carpet padding underneath on a second floor (a wood sub floor). So I need the ability to lock them down so they won’t get knocked over as I have a five year old. 
I’m not sure which type of feet I should use. Should I isolate or what what?
I don’t think I’d spend tons of money on something like this but I want to see what you guys would say. I’ve looked at the Gaia II feet and although they seem to come recommend I would prefer not to see them being silver in color...don’t know. 
Ideas?
todd1010

Showing 3 responses by mitch2

mitch2
4,294 posts
 
@team212 
Stand Mount speakers do not seem to benefit from Footers /Isolators/etc.
You cannot lump all stand mount speakers together.  Some are small light boxes on lightweight stands, others like Harbeth 40 series speakers are even heavier but have somewhat resonant cabinets, while others like my Aerial LR5s have cabinets as solid a brick and weigh quite a bit - 175 pounds for speakers and stands.  My experience has been either Herbies Giant Fat Dots/Gliders or properly sized individual springs (not so different from what Townshend uses) result in a better sound than when the stands are spiked to the concrete floor.
mitch2
4,294 posts
 
I started my decoupling experiment a little over a month ago as documented in this thread:
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/decoupling-speakers

Currently, I have in my room, Herbie's Giant Fat Gliders under my two large subs (about 150 pounds each), Herbie's Giant Fat Dots under a multi-support system for my monoblocks (about 110 pounds each, and springs under my two large stand-mounted speakers (about 175 pounds each, including the stands).  I am still trying the various options but all of those sound better than my former spiked set-up.

There are many purpose built products at a wide price range and, as you found out, there are also options to accomplish decoupling relatively inexpensively:

Springs:
Elastomeric materials:
  • Sorbothane (check out IsolateIT!)
  • Silicone (check out Hudson Hi-Fi)
  • Herbie's dBNeutralizer footers (dots and gliders)
Isolation Pads:
  • Closed Cell Foam or Cork Isolation Pads (check out Diversitech)
  • Owens Corning 705 DIY (similar to EVP Isolation Pads)
  • Hockey Pucks 
Air Spring
  • Air Bladder under a platform
Regarding springs, I have found loose springs to work quite well (similar to Townshend products) when they are,
  • properly sized for capacity and stiffness, 
  • properly positioned under the equipment based on the center of mass, 
  • damped - I cover them with heat shrink, which provides damping and a padded top and bottom so equipment and racks are not scratched, and I put a hole in the heat shrink to allow air to release from inside the spring without creating an air lock (do not use adhesive lined heat shrink)
Good luck
mitch2
4,294 posts
 
Lots of users here report good results using the IsoAcoustic Gaia footers under their speakers.  While I am certainly not questioning the sonic effectiveness of the Gaia footers, I am interested in learning more about the technology behind how they work their magic....so I did a little searching.  The reviews mostly seem shrouded in mystery with the most revealing I could find stating:
The Gaia ‘pod’ itself comprises a machined and dark-chromed stainless steel top and base section, separated internally by a secret-sauce internal elastomer structure, this prevents any resonance from the ground interacting with the loudspeaker and vice versa. There is decoupling in the vertical and horizontal planes, which is why the positioning of the Gaia logo is important: it aligns the decoupling with the plane of the drive units. Hocus-pocus status: revoked!
I am envisioning an internal structure supported on both the bottom and sides by an elastomer material with the material being stiffer in one direction, which is why they want the Gaia logo oriented to the front or back.  Anyone here able to pull back the curtain and provide more specific information?
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