@mijostyn
"When correct implementation of zero stiffness on loudspeakers is
administered, there is no question of the superiority of this
engineering practice on the voicing of the loudspeaker." (rixthetrick)
rixthetrick,
What is zero stiffness? That is a term I have never heard before. How
is superior when it comes to "voicing" a loudspeaker.
My father would have asked me if I'd bothered to look it up, before he'd answer such a complex question.
Zero stiffness:
http://www2.eng.cam.ac.uk/~sdg/preprint/OnZeroStiffness.pdf
As others have already mentioned, the effects of correctly implementing vibration isolation, is audibly heard. Correctly done, it's immediately recognized. And I don't need to prove it, you can do it for yourself, for really cheap. However, you need to know something about what you're doing.
For example the springs in your car/truck/motorcycle are rated specifically for that device. It smooths out the ride, it doesn't completely make it linear. Zero Stiffness is an ideal.
If you have electrostatic speakers (with their own limitations) or dipole speakers (with their own limitations) this is not likely (I would guess) to have nearly as much impact as an enclosure that is ported or sealed.
In most cases, I believe it's not the inertia of the small moving mass of the cone and voice coil that creates the most stored energy in a loudspeaker cabinet. I believe it is the sudden high and low pressure created by the drivers moving air within the cabinet (even a ported cabinet should see this pressure difference) that will deform the walls of the cabinet. It's not just pushing or pulling against the walls, it's doing both at a frequency that excites the cabinet.
Lewm mentioned transmission line woofers, I can see your logic, and it makes sense. Have you tried isolation anyway?