Since Barry asked for some clarity about my post.....
My focus was on the effect of airborne vibrations. I think TWL appreciated my intent. But I'm not sure that I can totally agree with (or perhaps appreciate) all of the discussion since my post.
TWL discusses amplitude. This is one of the few times that word has been raised, that I can recall, even though I have felt for some time that it was the purposefully missing link in these discussions about vibrational control devises. I applaude him for this. However, at the same time, for that exact reason, I must wonder about the effectiveness of providing a "drain" path as a method of reducing the effect of airborne vibrations.
From my point of view the major effect of airborne vibrations has already taken place before these vibrations can even be drained. You might be able to reduce a resonance frequency in one of the TT systems components, at least in theory, but would its amplitude be sufficient to cause further damage without the reduction? And, since all matter resonates at some frequency, I might be as concerned that the "damping" or "draining" materiel used might start resonating itself and thereby feed back vibrations into the devise we are trying to protect. FWIW I just don't think there is a universal solution to vibration control. I favor a combination of isolation and drain path within the system supports (not the underlying floor), just makes sense to me.
Re the comments on the sub on the floor. I think the amplitude of any vib's which can pass thru the concrete would be so low as to have no effect on the type of coupling the speaker has with the floor. A case could be made for stiff coupling, especially if it is sitting on carpet. However, with this heavy a sub and its frequency band width I'm not sure how any specific coupling would affect its sound. But, FWIW, I would probably put it on spikes or cones, just to feel better. :-)
Barry, question for you...
In another post you advocated placing a speaker in a "sand box" - I'm not familar with your product, but I have this impression of a tall speaker sitting on a plinth in a sand box waiting for some minor displacement to cause a compression in the sand along one of the plinth edges and the speaker tipping over. What am I missing?
