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Floor standing speaker isolation advice needed.

I have an older pair of KEF Reference Model Twos that currently sit on their brass(?) feet on the floor. The floor is tile but not solid cement underneath. I bought two .5" thick granite tiles for underneath the speakers and am wondering if I need to do anything else like put the spikes on the brass feet, add sorbothane under the granite tiles and/or under the brass feet or something else I should be considering? Things sound good on the top end but seem a bit subdued/muddy in the bass region. The KEFs are being driven by a Parasound Halo A23 and I’ve got a HSU VTF-3 MK 2 helping out the bass, mostly for movie duty.


Thanks for any advice.
asahitoro
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Speaking of Cliffs shouldn’t you be standing on one somewhere?

Cheers!
jriggy's avatar
jriggy
566 posts
 
Anyone (geoffkait?) think the IsoAcoustics Modular Aluminum Series stands will translate the same Performance as their smaller stands and footer devices???
Im thinking of trying them under Harbeth 40.2 (that I want lower than traditional stands for this speaker). The 40’s like the bottom to ‘resonate’ just like the rest of the cabinet and are getting good reports gently resting on top of the extended tenons on the TonTrager stands, so I’m wondering if the ‘rubber cups’ on the IsoAcoustics will kill some of the resonance that is making these speakers sing a bit more.  I know, Tough specific question here without trying... and no trial with the Modular Aluminum Series. Drat. 
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
I’m high on mass-on-spring isolation devices which have become ubiquitous. In the beginning there was Bright Star, Vibraplane, Townsend and yours truly. It’s like walking a tightrope or a razor blade trying to balance all the variables - internal damping, spring rate, number of directions of isolation and load capacity and of course cost. I eschew getting rubber but I suppose a little bit can’t hurt much, and too much slows things down too much. For myself I forego all rubber and almost all internal damping, preferring very hard cones, high carbon springs, high mass and extremely stiff boards.
cd318
2,636 posts
 
@jriggy Whilst you may see improvement by trying out different stands with the Hatbeths don't forget that they are probably the most advanced speakers ever built when it comes to controlling resonances.

Everything from driver material, driver mounting, and panel resonances has been meticulously considered by the designer. In fact the designer, Alan Shaw once said that you could place them on a stack of telephone directories if you so wished and they would still sound good.

I'm sure he's right. I just wish all speakers were designed and built with such care.
jriggy's avatar
jriggy
566 posts
 
@cd318, thanks for the reminder. While  choosing my stand solution and height, I have the speakers up on wood frame w/ granite platform amp stands. There were sorbothane ‘half-ball’ pads Gibbon under the granite—bad!
So I replaced with hardwood blocks—much better!
Then one step farther, was raising the speakers off the amp stand surface with 1 & 1/2 inch wood blocks at corners only—even better! Letting the bottom of the M40’s breath freely, like the TonTrager stands achieve, does seem to benefit... so with this finding, your reminders, and geoffkait’s comments on rubber (which is where my concern was), I think I’ll forego the IsoAcoustics Modular stands for these particular speakers. 
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