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Huge difference in sound : Spikes vs. Vibrapods

I have a pair of Martin Logan prodigy speakers which after reading a few discussions about coupling and decoupling, I put of Vibrapods. So I have decoupled the speakers from my tile floor.
Several questions now:
With this setup I das this tingling feeling in my stomach once in a while, which you get from a powerful bass, when the sound really drops low, like with a baritone singer. Should you be able to *bodily* feel the bass once in while or is this what is called a boomy bass?
When I put my speakers on spikes, I immediately had the impression that the speakers could not go as deep as they used to go before.
This gut feeling was completely gone. (I do not experience this all the time of course, only at certain, very low passages with a double bass e.g.) and I had the idea that the base is lacking almost a halve octave. Is somehow has lost its punch a bit
So when you read my short description here, do you feel that my bass sounded to boomy with the Vibrapods and that the less authoritative bass with the spikes is the right sound.
O personally seem to prefer the bass with my speakers on pods.
tekunda
garys
65 posts
 
I've had a similar experience with my floorstanders, a pair of custom-made dynamic speakers with Dynaudio drivers. When they sat directly on the floor, there was some irritating grungy boominess in the mid-bass. Using Vibrapods eliminated that boominess and tightened the mid-bass, but it also brought out the deep bass and created that "bodily" feel you describe. I have an old house with hardwood floors (covered by rugs). The floor does seem to move a bit with the deep bass--not the goal for a purist, but the floor movement is reasonably well damped and does give a warm feel. At times I wish the deep bass were tighter, but on most of the music I listen to, it works pretty well.

On the other hand, I have a pair of Biro L/1's (excellent bookshelf speakers but limited in deep bass) on 24" speaker stands with spiked feet. Between the speakers and the stands, I've used both Vibrapods and spikes. Here, the Vibrapods do nothing to enhance the bass, but instead tend to muddy it.
classicjazz
153 posts
 
If you have a chance try and catch an acoustic event, be it orchestra or jazz. I like to listen to small jazz ensembles and listen for the acoustic double bass line. Live music helps to set my mental benchmark. I believe in realistic i.e. not overdamped bass. As for your dilemma, on the one hand I prefer spikes so that the speaker is coupled to the floor rather than allowed to resonate on top of a soft cushion like a Vibrapod. Then again, the tile floor is an outlier- I've never put a system into a tile room before, what with all the potential for reflections. Maybe you can use cables from your test to make up for the lost 1/2 octave.
tekunda OP
127 posts
 
Although my English will never be perfect, I know I can do better.
Since a few days I have an issue with my wireless keyboard. Sometimes I will press a certain key and it will write a different letter than it is supposed to write.
So I will have to get a new keyboard soon and take more time to go over my posts again.
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
Tek thank you for posting this experience. My speakers are extremely dynamic, & that "gut-punching bass" is something that I'm so used to that when I hear a rig lacking those dynamics I really miss the effect; it seems to have so little PRaT.
My floor is tile on concrete, similar to yours. When I spiked my speakers I was very pleased with the result. However I also have a good assortment of Vibrapods & have wanted to try some #5's under my speakers, so thanks for the motivation! The fact that it was very difficult to perfectly align those spikes under my 125 pound speakers & then get them back into the correct placement has certainly dissuaded me from further experimentation, but it's something that I know I definitely need to try out, for curiousity's sake if nothing else.
When you hear a live band then those dynamics are obvious; this is many times what is lacking in a reproduced playback. Trust your ears above ANY measurements - go for what you like the best, it's that simple.
larryken
537 posts
 
TEK:
Your English skills are better than many natives....I own Martin Logan SL-3's and experimented with Vibrapods and DH Labs ceramic cones (jumbo)with their pads....I got a tighter, cleaner bass response with the cones...what I liked best....my speakers sit on a wood floor attached over poured concrete.
Your posts are great....keep them coning.
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