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

"How about for monitors on stands? Between the stand & floor or between stand & speaker?"
Follow and apply the logic of isolation. Anything touching anything else sets the whole thing ringing. Isolation works by minimizing the amount of stuff ringing. Springs under the stand leaves the speaker/stand to ring. Springs under the speaker isolates from the stand minimizing the amount of stuff subject to ringing. So that’s the way to go. 

sorbathane feet are okay but they still don't stop the vibration from coming back into the speaker and smearing the sound, the best speaker isolation product out there is the Townshend podiums, they isolate down to three Hertz and also stop the Earth vibration which is constant from shaking your speakers as well, they're not cheap but best upgrade I've ever done to my system, sounded like I changed the electronics to more expensive gear, well worth it, will never take them out from under my speakers ever, I've got the monitor audio platinum 200 ll.

Over the years, I have tried multiple types of spikes (including Audiopoints) into the concrete floor beneath my 175 lb main speakers (inc. stands), and also under my two 160 lb subs (inc. stands).  About a year or two ago, I removed the spikes and tried using damped springs beneath the speakers and subs, and I found the springs to be an improvement.  Most recently, I have switched to using Herbie's Giant Fat Gliders both for convenience and stability, and I have not perceived any sonic detriment compared to using the springs.   

After looking at this thread, I put the springs back under my speakers just for fun and found that I actually like the sound of the Herbie's Giant Fat Gliders better, I know...blasphemy, right?   What would Max Townshend say?  Springs, sorbothane, silicone, or Herbie's dBNeutralizer  all provide some type of elastic damping and isolation.  To me, the Herbie's products resulted in slightly fuller sounding body and better bass/dynamics, while the spring supported speakers sounded slightly thinner.  The difference was noticeable but not substantial, and not as apparent as changing from spikes to springs.  Maybe the differences I heard were the result of vibrational feedback or some slight distortion, but to me it doesn't really matter because it sounded better.  FWIW, both the springs and the Herbie's products sat directly on commercial grade carpet over a dense commercial grade foam pad, over a concrete slab on grade.  With either solution, over time the carpet and mat became quite compressed at the contact points.  YMMV