Interfacing Speakers & Stands

In my secondary system, I use Chicago stands which have threaded steel spikes to couple stand to the floor and speaker to stand. That is how they were meant to be used, and it sounds great.

In the last issue of Hi Fi+ they reviewed the Guru speaker from Sweden. The designer of that speaker disliked spikes and claimed the spikes amplified resonances and usually one peak resonance. Guru used some sort of soft squidgy feet.

Do you have the resources to try different methods and devices? Each, will have proponents and detractors. Find out what works best for you. The differences can be quite staggering.

My favorite method for securing monitors to stands is with artist's kneaded erasers.

Kneaded erasers do a great job of anchoring the speakers to metal stands and unlike Blu-Tac which many people use, won't ruin the wood finish of the speakers or leave any sign they've been used.

I've used these with ProAc Tablette 50 Signatures and ProAc Response 1SCs, and even after 2 to 3 years of bonding left no mark when they were removed.

The trick is that the erasers have a fine powder that are part of the eraser matrix which prevents the eraser from becoming gooey.

On occasion I had bumped the speaker and they never lifted from the stand. Instead, the stand and speaker moved as a unit.

Kneaded erasers come in small pads that can be pulled apart and rolled like Play-Doh into little small snot balls. Place one of these balls at each corner of the stand then place the speaker on the stand and push down slightly to compress the erasers and form the bond.

http://www.dickblick.com/products/design-kneaded-rubber-eraser/

http://www.amazon.com/Design-Kneaded-Rubber-Charcoal-SAN70531/dp/B00006IFAJ

A pretty good tweak for only a buck!

Generally the tweeter should be at ear level and stands should provide a solid, sturdy platform for best sound.

Other than that, system/speaker and speaker/room interactions are way more important.

I've used Herbies fat dots between the speaker and stand. They are very reasonably priced and come with a trial period.

The variation in speaker construction probably precludes any universal best method. I have used Blutak but have not been happy with it. I have gone back to being a dealer after a long lapse and I have been investigating the things that have come along since I left. I have been using Star Sound Audio Points under my speakers and find it does pretty much what their website say they do. There are many other similar products that I haven't tried but these work. An alternative approach is to use ball bearings and saucers to decouple the speakers from the stands, the opposite approach from the points which couple them. This approach has been recommended by Barry Diament and others. I am going to try this myself as I have some on order that do this. The main thing is to keep your system consistent throughout. That is, don't couple some parts of it and decouple others. In one method you are trying to drain vibration out of the system as quickly as possible, in the other you are trying to suppress it at each level. As to fill material, I have tried lead shot, sand and kitty litter and have not been completely happy with any of them. I am currently awaiting delivery of two products designed specifically for the purpose, Micro Bearing from Star Sound and Atabits from Atacama. I will post what I found out. I know the Micro Bearings work because my rack system is filled with them but have never added them to an existing stand.