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Speaker isolation or absorbtion - what is best?

I have Verity Audio Parsifal Encores on a carpeted concret floor in my basement, using the stock brass spikes. I am reading up on possible improvements through isolation/vibration control/absorbition.

There appear to be two schools of thought. "Isolation" decouples the speaker from the external environment, leaving the energy of the cabinet with no where to go, but prevents distortion caused by energy transmitted from the cabinet to the environment (e.g. a vibrating floor). My spikes on concrete are an example of isolation.

By contrast, absorbtion "drains" the vibration energy from the cabinets, thereby reducing its harmful effect on the speaker performance. Stillpoints and symposium are examples of absorbtion based approaches. This appear to me very opposite philosophies of how to go about improving speaker performance.

Three questions. First, is my understanding correct? Second, in my environment (carpeted concrete), which way should I go to get the best out of my parsifals. Third, what specific products (platforms, cones, spikes etc) have you used succesfully with the parsifals to achieve optimal isolation or absorbtion (on a carpeted concrete floor!)?
edorr

Showing 1 response by larryi

larryi
4,273 posts
 
The only way to really know what will work best is to experiment. This is a matter of "tuning" so a change will alter the sound, but, there is no way to know if you will like or dislike the alteration.

As a broad generalization, the Symposium shelf under the speaker approach (I do that myself) works best when the speaker is over a suspended wooden floor. That is because transferring energy to floor causes the floor to act as a sounding board that muddies the sound. I have the flat bottom of my speakers sitting on a large Svelte Shelf with nothing between the shelf and the speaker (maximum transfer of energy from the cabinet into the shelf).

A shelf under your speaker could also change the tuning of your speaker by absorbing energy from the cabinet, but, I would bet the overall change in sound would not be that dramatic because you probably do not need to suppress the floor acting as a sounding board. Still, the only way to know is to experiment.
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