Raising speakers a couple of inches

My Auralex risers arrived today and make a distinct improvement on the sound, most especially the bass. I love finding great tips like this here, thanks!

For my desktop PSB Alpha PS1 speakers I bought a pair of black yoga blocks. Also a very nice sonic improvement and a much better height on the desk for listening clarity.

All in all I spent $71 on the lot and am very happy with these purchases.

 

IsoAcoustics stands are awesome, way better than foam or any other speaker support I've tried. They can tilt too.

Stillpoints are crazy $, can't afford these sorts of luxury items...

 

I tried 3 Stillpoints Ultraminis and a bamboo cutting board under my DAC. The results were extremely impressive. I had been using Herbie's Tenderfeet under the DAC and this combination blew the Herbie's out of the water.

Of course, Stillpoints is mega bucks. I couldn't afford to do this under my whole system. I will say that the Tenderfeet produced good results at a nice price.

 

Pic?

 

These are the yoga blocks I bought for the desktop speakers, I chose them for how Black they were, I didn't want a Charcoal Gray as many others appear to be.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CM6BJV4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

For my KEF LS50 speakers I purchased these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00266HBSU?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
I'm only using the main support angled down slightly. Adding the optional angle support proved to be too severe for where I have the Speakers located.

This video on YouTube compares the Auralex Mopads with the IsoAcoustic Stands in a studio environment. If you listen through headphones or good speakers the differences are clear (though I'm not a fan of his various musical selections!). In this case the IsoAcoustic stands win out to my ears.

 

Thanks! Although I was hoping to see your actual speaker setup.

 

I used bench dog bench cookies, but now that swimming season is over I also decided to try a pool noodle.
You can take scissors to a noodle and either cut disks, wedges, or split it lengthwise. Works well. I know they break down over time outdoors, not sure how long they will last. But the noodle is better for angling the speakers than the bench cookies. Also a very cheap solution.

 

I have used my kids building block to angle my speakers from atop tall bookshelves. They are cylinder wood pieces about 2" wide and 2" tall. They do the job because the weight of the speakers keeps them in place (about 14lbs) and makes the sound great.
I don't think my kids know they are missing 4 of their small cylinder blocks.

 

Since my initial post I've also placed my PSB desktop subwoofer on the extra Auralex foam leveler pieces I didn't need for my LS-50s. Incredible difference, went from sloppy to precise bass, which was perfect as I was watching footage of the rooftop concert from "Let It Be"; we all know that's some great bass coming from McCartney on those tunes.

 

I love laminated bamboo cutting boards under my audio gear, found them nearly a decade or so before Roy Gregory started to preach the benefits. I was promoting it over the ubiquitous hard rock maple that so many on A'Gon were gravitating towards. Laminated bamboo is 18% denser than hard rock maple. Wish I had the means to afford Stillpoints.

 

IsoAcousics, found on monitor bridges everywhere, or should be at least.



http://www.isoacoustics.com/index.php

 

A pair of those large Dynaudios and stands are my everyday work monitors. They are excellent.

 

Nice, BM12A's? I'm a Dyn fan, used to have 5's, still have a set of Contour's for home use, sold a pair of C2's.

 

Yep, we have 12a's in one room, and 5a mkII's in the other room. I really like them both. Honestly, aside from extension, there isn't much to choose between the two. If I only had money for the 5a's I wouldn't be disappointed.

Coincidentally, I also have Dynaudio in my VW GTI and it has the same signature sound, in many respects.

No Dynaudio at home, however.

 

Wow, you were well ahead of your time. 3 years ago I didn't think wood had any vibration-damping ability.

The thing about bamboo is that it works while being cheap. I don't understand why it is not widely used. People tend to go for MDF over bamboo.

 

Yes, bamboo being a fast growing grass makes it green, cheap, and eco friendlier than any wood product.

It is also incredibly strong with both a linear fiber structure and an organically complex cellular structure, again greater than woods.

Stripped and laminated with a bonding resin, and made into board product, it becomes an even more complex, non resonant platform material.

I've always found it an attractive material to have in my home and to live with. the heating and bonding process tend to caramelize it and leave its appearance, that of old growth teak.

The fact that Ikea and others are making cutting boards out of it plays very nicely and economically into an audio DIY vibration control scenario for us.

Correction: I said previously that bamboo was denser than hard rock maple, it has actually 18% greater torsional stiffness. My bad.

I also grow a Chinese mountain variety of snow bamboo in my gardens, it is semi evergreen in Michigan and grows sometimes fifteen feet tall in a single year. It's beautiful and resilient and I regularly harvest it for many garden uses.