Can I Live With A Hardwood Floor?


Hi All,
I could certainly use some advice on this matter. I have Quad 2905 ESL's in my attic and my attic has hardwood floors. I recently moved into this residence never having experienced hardwood floors previously. My speakers are on cones and isolated with Herbie's titanium gliders. I've been able to position the speakers so that they are given enough room to operate effectively but those hardwood floors are brutal at times. My thought leads me to the only obvious solution, 12 feet by 12 feet carpeting. Are there more cost effective ways of approaching this?
Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks as always!
128x128goofyfoot
Thanks Terry. Room treatments sound practical but the Richard Gray does also. I have a great amp, ASR Emitter II Exclusive and that runs on a battery so nothing to worry about there. 
My stereo certainly sounds good at night as to be expected. I just finished listening and can say that even having laid down blankets made a significant improvement. Any advice on wall panels?
SAC in Thailand has some isolation transformers that won’t break the bank. They are balanced transformers like the BPT series or the Equi=Tech and also have the added capacity of variable step up or step down transformer to change voltages. I discovered them when looking to possibly purchase some equipment from Europe.
The rug doesn’t have to be natural fibers but thickness is desirable.

If you’re thinking about conditioning, consider an isolation transformer. Plitron makes a good one - I use four of them - they were among the first to design in North America and build to the highest specification in China. The build quality is German, or better. But they tend to growl while they are doing their job, so a utility room is a good place to site them, certainly not in the music room.

Wall treatment could be Persian rugs, but a cheaper alternative might be strips of wood. I have experienced very good results, both acoustic and aesthetic, from strips of wood affixed vertically to the walls: 1", 2", 3", 2", 1", etc. with 1" or 2" spacing. Some knowledgeable architect specified it for a conversation room at the University library, and one could not hear a private conversation from a few feet away. They used black walnut - well, they would, wouldn’t they?

Another possibility is random lengths 1" to 4" of 2x2’s, 2x4’s or 4x4’s. Cut some (or all) with angled ends, and arrange aesthetically on a plywood backing. Then place the arrangement by trial and error, starting with the point on the wall midway between the 2905 and the listening position.

Different coloured woods could make that very attractive. I’ve seen pictures of that, but never experienced it, so can’t speak from experience. But it should work very well indeed. I’m considering something of the kind for a too-lively kitchen.

Good luck!
dentdog, I can't find anything online that states the price tag on the SAC products. I do occasionally find Richard Gray products on the used market and am wondering if that wouldn't be a cost effective approach? Richard Gray makes good equipment, though it is expensive once one moves up the product chain.