DIY speaker isolation base for a wood floor


A definite sonic improvement in tightening up the bass. 
1. Start with 4 aluminum cones. I used some old Mod Squad Tip Toes.
2. 16x16 slab of granite.
3. 1/8 cork.
4. 1/2 inch neoprene rubber.
5. 1/8 cork.
6. Top with another 16x16 slab of granite.
7. Enclosed with a wood cradle to hide the mechanism.
  The granite is from scraps from a shop and was cheap. The added 1/4 inch of neoprene to 1/2 inch thickness did help. Let me hear your thoughts.
128x128blueranger

"There is no such thing as decoupling in audio. That’s just a talking point from those who are dampening (1). Once you put your speakers in a room all the physics of that room and the speaker becomes one and the same (2)."

1: We are not dampening (to make wet ;-), we are damping (reducing the physical vibrations is a solid material). Those who contend hi-fi components are themselves musical instruments (a silly contention ;-) and should be left to resonate, are against damping. Those of use who don’t consider components music makers but rather music reproducers, are for it.

2: We need to make a distinction between the physical mass of a pair of loudspeakers from the acoustic sound they propagate with a room. Those speakers are ACOUSTICALLY inseparable from the room (the room is to the speakers as the speaker enclosures are to rear output of their drivers). That does not mean the speakers cannot be PHYSICALLY isolated from the surface of the room upon which they sit. Whether or not you want to separate them is another matter.

@blueranger, GK’s springs are ridiculously-low priced compared with all similar products (the Townshend Audio Seismic line, for instance), and a great way to find out if you prefer decoupling to coupling (spikes, cones) of your speakers. But remember, as Geoff has correctly stated here numerous times, spikes and cones provide isolation down to a not-very-low frequency (around 10Hz), and coupling below that frequency. And that frequency is not a single number, but rather the corner frequency of a 1st order (6dB/octave) low pass filter.

So bdp24 thinks that you can place something in a room without it touching anything. Nice trick lol.

mg

Hi Blue

Springs are a great tool when voicing your system. Once you start using them you might find other materials that you like the sound of better than aluminum, rubber and granite.

Steve's invention of the Tip Toe was also revolutionary and was the beginning of the audio cone. I prefer the sound of Brass and Zinc and even mild steel as being more tuneful especially use with wood materials.

michaelgreenaudio1,005 posts12-20-2019 6:14am

So bdp24 thinks that you can place something in a room without it touching anything. Nice trick lol.

mg


>>>>Ah, magnetic levitation! Now you’re talking, Michael. 
michaelgreenaudio
Springs are a great tool when voicing your system. Once you start using them you might find other materials that you like the sound of better than aluminum, rubber and granite.

>>>>>Agree. Springs are a great tool. That’s because they’re great isolators. Use them under amps, use them under power supplies, use them under speakers, use em under subwoofers, use em under CD players. The more springs you use the lower the system mass. The more springs you use the more you can hear!

Hey, how ‘bout little mag lev isolators for cables and power cords?! 🤗