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speaker/stand, couple or isolate?

I've read a lot about floor standing speaker interaction with the floor and whether or not isolation or coupling might be the right approach depending on the type of floor, e.g., concrete, suspending wood floor, etc. I suspect the same rules apply to the speaker and the stand as a unit but what is the common wisdom about how should standmount speakers be placed on the stand, especially the larger/heavier speakers on 4 leg sand/rice filled heavy stands where tip over is not much of a concern. Thanks.
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kalali OP
1,977 posts
 
Thanks. I agree that applies to the speaker and the stand as a unit but I'm asking about the interface between the speaker and the stand. I know some folks use some material like blue tac to "couple" the speaker to the stand but I suspect that's mostly used to reduce the likelihood of accidental tip over. I'll experiment with blue tac as well as some soft vibration absorbing pads and see if I hear a difference.
kalali's avatar
kalali OP
1,977 posts
 
I experimented with putting a small amount of Blue Tack on the corners between the speakers and the stands and then switched to using the 2"x2"x1" square pads made-up with a layer of cork sandwiched between two layers of rubber. The speaker/stands are on spikes on top of Herbies cone/spike decoupling gliders. The floor is suspended hardwood above full basement. I use these rubber/cork pads under a subwoofer in my other system and electronics with good results.
Obviously an A/B test in realtime was not an option but I played the same tracks at the same volume using those configurations. All I could tell was if I listened closely, the bass notes seemed, and I underscore seemed, a tad better defined. In my case, the speakers weigh roughly 30 lbs. each and the stands weigh about the same filled with rice. The difference might be more noticeable when using smaller/lighter speakers.
Anyway, I think its something worth experimenting with standmount speakers but I wouldn’t expect as dramatic as a difference when compared with how the speaker/stand interacts with the floor, at least this was true in my situation.
Thank you all for your input.

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