Marble to place speakers on?

Where do you guys get this marble? Just 3 days ago I put some ceramic tile 1/4"X 12"X 18" under my speakers.It was very cheap ($2ea.) and it was all I could find that would fit.I have my speakers spikes almost all the way into the speakers.They are out about 1/4" I hear no ringing or anything else other than deeper and tighter bass.I still would like to try some marble if I can find it.

david: most cities of any size have suppliers and fabricators of stone countertops, floors, etc. i have purchased over the years several "scrap" pieces of marble and granite from a supplier in denver. i've not used these under speakers, but i know from experience that pieces of marble of the "correct" size for most speakers' footprints are readily available. the prices will vary rather dramatically depending on the color and "purity" of the marble you want. as redkewi sez, tho, you shouldn't go for the purest stuff, e.g., white carrera. your choice of stone, and its relative purity, will likely be dictated by the color you want. the last piece of marble i bought was "green empress," which i used as a top insert on a muse model 18 sub; it was beautiful but i wouldn't choose it to mate with my current speakers. good hunting. -kelly

If I do bolt the speakers to the marble, am I doing away with spikes all togather hence adding mobility by sliding?

I agree with the above comments/suggestions. At a prior home where I had a pier/beam foundation, I used marble slabs (but did not bolt the speakers to them) that I found at a rock shop while traveling through Arkansas. The results were impressive (ditto previous comments). I am currently in a home with a slab foundation and have spikes that go through the carpet and pad straight to the foundation. The results a very similar. I still have the marble but it is being used for other applications (in the backyard). Bottom line: Use spikes if you have concrete under your speakers. If not, plan a vacation! :-)

Good thread. Thanks for visiting/revisiting this topic.

I'd been quite interested in placing marble slabs under my speakers, but found it difficult to source reasonably priced marble/granite, and was also warned-off by several Audiogon members.

Members concern in general was the ringing problem, as has been mentioned here (including how to avoid it). However I was surprised and concerned to hear one member stating that the whole notion of “mass loading/active damping” was “flawed” (although he didn’t put it that way). At the time, the member and I were discussing mass loading of any equipment – sources amps or speakers.

To quote the member directly "a heavy stand... would result from mass loading... will alter the structural Q of the floor to lower frequencies, akin to placing an anvil atop a trampoline." "Once energized (inevitable, beit by footfall or passing car), it will continue to drone much longer and with a great deal of power.” This suggestion made sense to me and really put me off of the marble thing. I actually started giving serious consideration to products like the Townshend Seismic sink/stands.

I’d like to know if anyone is attaching spikes/cones to the marble, then placing the speaker stand spikes/cones on top of the marble slab – ala Mana Acoustics turntable & equipment isolation stands.