To couple, or not to couple, that is the question


There seems to be a fundamental difference of opinion between those who would couple their speakers to the floor (e.g., with spikes), and those who would decouple them (e.g., with springs). I’ve gone both ways, but have found that I prefer the latter; I’ve currently got Sorbothane feet attached to my tower speakers, so that they wobble or "float"—much like the Townshend Platforms videos show for that similar, but more expensive, approach. My ears are the final arbiters of my listening experience, so they rule my choices. But my mind likes to have a theoretical explanation to account for my subjective preferences.

That’s where the question comes in. A very knowledgable audiophile friend insists that what I prefer is precisely the opposite of what is best: that ideally, the speaker enclosure should be as rigid and immovable as possible so that the moving cones of the drivers can both most efficiently and most accurately create a sound front free of the inevitable colorations that would come from fighting against a moving cabinet. He says that transients will be muddied by the motion of the cabinet set up by the motion of the speaker cones. And this makes perfect sense to me in terms of my physical intuitions. It’s perhaps analogous to the desirability of having a rigid frame in a high-performance vehicle, which allows the engineers to design the suspension without having to worry too much about the complex interactions with a flexing chassis.

Am I just deluded, then, in preferring a non-rigid interface between speaker and floor? Or does it depend on the kind of floor? (I get that most advice seems to favor decoupling from a suspended wood floor, and coupling to a slab; my floor is hardwood, but not exactly "suspended" as the underflooring structure is very rigid.) Or are there trade offs here, as there usually are in such options: do I gain something (but what, and how?) even as I lose something else (i.e., clean transients, especially in bass tones)?

The ears will win this contest, but I like to have my mind on board if possible. So thanks for any input you may have on this question.

128x128snilf

Showing 2 responses by snilf

Thanks folks. But my question was more theoretical than practical: as far as practice goes, I’m sure my system sounds better with the speakers decoupled on Sorbothane feet. But the theoretical question remains: WHY? It would seem, as my "expert" friend argues, that a rigid structure for the drivers would be better. It makes intuitive sense that the motion of the speaker cones will necessarily move the entire speaker enclosure on that "floating" platform, even if in only very tiny amounts. This—again, it would seem—should "smear" transients, especially at lower frequencies, which should result in a subjective experience of reduced clarity, locational specificity, and so forth.

Only Eric has addressed this, and he only very briefly. That having woofers closer to the floor would be better is consistent with my intuition here: the moment of inertia on a tall tower (49"), if the woofer(s) are mounted high, will be greater, and thus the movement imparted to the enclosure will be greater. As it happens, my speakers employ the "D’Appolito" array: two 6.5" woofers, one above and one below a dome tweeter, all three of them at the top of the tower. And yet, the speakers DO NOT sound smeared or compromised when standing on rubber. Why not?

Millercarbon! So good to have you back! 

This is sufficient "theory" to satisfy my curious mind. That is, it's a clear and reasonable explanation of how and why decoupling may work the acoustic wonders it does work, as far as my ears tell me.

In fact, it's because of your advocacy for Townshend podiums a year ago or so that I was led to try decoupling, albeit cheaply with Sorbothane. But I'm willing to believe I could improve things even more by at least going to Nobsound springs. Someday, perhaps.

Again, welcome back. We've missed your wit and wisdom on this forum.