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Floorstanders over Suspended Hardwood-Help Please

I have a pair of Silverline Sonatas that weigh in at about 120 pounds each. When I lived in my previous home, I used a set of four points under each speaker over a thick carpet and an equally think pad. I recently moved and these speakers will now be in a room with suspended hardwood floors. There is a berber carpet over a portion of the room and under where the speakers will be placed. With their weight, the Silverlines will drive the points right through the berber and couple with the hardwood. Bad.

I need to find a solution and have thought of three possibilities:
1) Find a very thick pad to place under the berber and use the points like before.
2) Use discs under the points directly atop the berber. Stable?
3) Get some 1-2” slabs of marble, using iso-pads between the marble and the carpet and points/discs between the speakers and the marble.

I have tried using slabs under other floorstanders over carpet and always found them to be less than rock solid in the vertical plane.

Do any of these approaches seem best, or are there others to consider. Please keep in mind that I do NOT want to spend several hundred dollars on platforms such as Sistrum, etc.
motdathird
stehno
1,453 posts
 
Depending on which mfg'ers points (points is trademarked by Star Sound for their Audio Points) you are using, any alternative strategy will most likely seriously compromise the sonic benefits of such Points(TM).

Not to mention the other alternatives will also look less aesthetically pleasing.

Therefore, why not carefully place the speakers into final position and simply do not worry about it. (For initial placement, do not use points).

Someday you will discover 6 or 8 very small dimples in the hardwood and you may wish to repair before you sell the house. Then again, nobody may ever notice.

FYI, 3 Points(TM) per speaker may sound better than 4.

-IMO
brianmgrarcom
1,317 posts
 
You have work cut out for you, setting them on carpet using 'coasters' will not give you the best performance. Try contacting www.mapleshaderecords.com and see about having their Conepoints made so they could screw into your speakers. Buggtussel (http://www.buggtussel.com/) also makes some nice brass feet, though expensive, that may work out. I do not recommend coasters on carpet.
motdathird OP
77 posts
 
My floors are 1/2" X 2" oak strips over 3/4" plywood, over joists, over a crawl space. Stehno's final comment might be best if living with floor dimples can be tolerated. Maybe my definition of suspended was misplaced.

I have a set of eight stainless steel Soler Points that are threaded to screw into the speakers.
ben_campbell
1,169 posts
 
I have a hardwood floor-my speakers aren't as heavy as yours but I use a ceramic tile under each speaker-these also help with acoustic feedback back into your system.
You can pick tiles which match your decor although I didn't.
motdathird OP
77 posts
 
I am not sure that I could find a ceramic tile to fit under all of these speakers. Doubling or tripling up on the tiles would seem to add yet another stability issue. I can see where this might work well if the speaker's footprint would fit on one tile.

BTW, I am getting VERY good soundstaging in terms of depth and height. Also excellent imaging and staging BETWEEEN the speakers. But, I am not getting much outside the speakers. Will getting them up on points help with htis or is it more matter of distance between the speakers or toe-in? They did much better in my other house. Maybe it is the room.
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