Monitor Stands - Made of Stone

@whipsaw

If you understood what I said to be an "overstatement" please know I was only sharing what others have reported after comparing the two. Unfortunately I’ve not had the opportunity, so I can’t definitely say (yet). Once the LVA gear arrives I’ll get to A/B them with a friend who own’s a pair of Townshend’s.

It’s true these two brands are marketing their products using different terminology. From what I understand there is no such thing as "decoupling". Decoupling suggests we are breaking the rules of gravity, which I find a little disingenuous. "Decoupling" was probably derived by someone in the marketing department, certainly not a scientist. Due to gravity everything is coupled to the earth. The difference between the two is a matter of speed. Townshend use the "slow" option and LVA uses the "fast" option. That is to say Townshend podiums hold on to energy longer than LVA’s cones. Springs are meant to absorb energy, dissipating it as heat, but some will always be transferred to ground. LVA’s philosophy employs brass cones which transfer energy to ground much much faster. And in audio speed is everything. Speed is resolution, imaging, realism. Ground has much greater surface area for absorption and dissipation than springs. Not to mention longevity, I’d put up a concrete floor, even a wood floor, against springs any day.

I believe Townshend’s offer a product that is efficacious and has some great engineering behind it. But after putting in many hours reading papers on thermodynamics, cymatics, and seismology, talking to representatives at both companies, reading/listening to reviews, and employing a little common sense I’ve landed in LVA’s camp.

Now I just need to find the right kind of stone for the pedestals ; ) 

I had originally thought 1/2" or 1" steel plate would be a good material but apparently any surface that you might rightly call "plate", even a very heavy one, is prone to ringing.

A plate, on a towel, on your speaker won’t ring, but it MIGHT show you very quickly if you could use that approach or not.

The effect, when it’s needed, is not subtle.

If you try it and it helps, you won't want to go back. :)  On the  other hand, if it does nothing... take it off. :) This isn't like buying exotic fuses. 😂

From what I understand there is no such thing as "decoupling". Decoupling suggests we are breaking the rules of gravity, which I find a little disingenuous. "Decoupling" was probably derived by someone in the marketing department, certainly not a scientist.

@69zoso69

With all due respect, it sounds as though your understanding is identical to that of Robert, of LVA. Ironically, I consider some of his claims to be disingenuous, as they are based on a straw man argument, namely that those who use the words "decouple", or "isolation", believe that it can be achieved absolutely. I doubt that there is anyone who uses those words within the context of audio components who is suggesting that. In other words, we can all agree that there is no such thing as perfect isolation, nor 100% decoupling.

But approaches such as those used by Townsend and Isoacoustics, etc., are clearly efficacious, even if they don’t completely decouple, or isolate components. There are reasons why some high-class speaker manufacturers (e.g. Marten, Wolf von Langa) include. or recommend them for use with their products.

I can’t personally speak to the relative merits of LVA products, as I haven’t heard them. They may well be excellent, and in (at least) some systems superior to the above mentioned products. But let’s be clear about something: Robert has (marketing) incentive to denigrate competing designs, and the way that he has gone about doing that on various forums reflects very poorly on him. It is one thing to argue that one’s products are superior to those of one’s competitors, and to explain why that is the case. But it is very different to argue disingenuously, as he has, and to play semantic games in an effort to denigrate competitors.

Your arguments relating to speed are interesting, but you fail to mention that coupling works both ways, and so vibrations can and do travel back up from the floor to the speaker. Even if you are correct about the LVA spikes being "faster" than the Townshend spring products, the latter come very close to to decoupling, or isolating the speakers from the floor, meaning that far less vibration will travel back up from the floor.

You have apparently done more research on the topic than I, but I know enough to be confident in my criticisms of Robert. I exposed some of his dubious tactics on this thread, if anyone is interested:

coupling/decoupling

Finally, it is not my intention to derail this thread, and I am glad that you are so happy with the solution that you have chosen.

I'm surprised by the news that Townshend is hard to buy from. My dealings with John at the company have been the opposite---very efficient processing of my orders, and prompt shipping, not a single problem.

In general I believe we should:

• MInimize the contact surface
• Maximize stability by using wider, deeper footings

You want the speaker to be locked into the 3D space it exists in with no motion, you want to avoid radiating sound through the floor by leaving a large surface of speaker in direct contact with it, or floating on a carpet.