Granite Speaker Bases- Worth Their Weight

I moved into a new house right before Covid locked us down in March. I also managed to pick up a used pair of Vandersteen 5As from a friend nearby. The new “listening room” (cleverly disguised to look like a living room) would benefit from having a single set of speakers instead of the outboard 2WQ subwoofers from my old house. Jonny Ruttan from Audio Connection in Verona, NJ came by last month to fully dial in the speakers to the room. They sounded great right out of the box with my own set-up, but John and his tech really got them singing. They noticed, however, that the wood floor in my room was giving a little bit of a trampoline effect to the speakers, especially in deep bass. He pointed out that Vandersteen has developed a pair of very expensive granite bases for the Model Seven and Kento speakers. He had been skeptical about how much they would do for those already-great speakers, but was blown away after using a pair under his Kento demo pair at a show in the store. Vandersteen charges $10,000 a pair for his, but John suggested taking to the Internet to try to source a couple of 3” granite slabs to put under the 5As.

I ended up buy a pair of granite test plates from a local industrial tool store in tool grade (the lowest grade), size 24”x18”x3”. They are around $160 each, plus freight. They weigh a ton... well, actually sounds 180lbs each, but may as well be a ton when you try to move them.

Once into place, though, with the speakers on top of them (spikes and cups) and leveled and aimed correctly, I was really astounded. I anticipated the lower bass to tighten up and gain definition, which it did. More than that, though, the attack and clarity improved dramatically. Snare drums have snap to them, and definition is added to just about every instrument and voice. It’s like turning a focus knob. It’s amazing how much better the speaker works when it is so solidly grounded. Three natural “give” off the wood floor, no matter how small, ever-so-slightly smeared the sound image a bit. These slabs tightened that right up.

Prior to installing the granite, I had made a significant cable upgrade to AQ Robin Hood Zero/Bass biwire. The granite at less than a quarter of the price has a much larger effect on the overall sound. They look great, too, in a charcoal black/grey color.

To those with systems on wood floors, these are worth their weight!

 

Congrats on a great DIY outcome also kudo's to your dealer for sending you that route and not trying to sell you bases! I've heard great things about Audio Connection so no surprise. And great looking setup and nice room! BTW 180 lbs IS a ton I hope you got some help lifting those!

 

Does the floor slope away from the fireplace?

 

Hey Drew, the new digs look great. I'll bet the sound is even better

 

No not really. I think that it’s just a lens distortion. But, each speaker is separately leveled and has a different amount of adjustment washers so that the tilt aims the tweeters properly. We used rulers, a laser level and digital room analysis equipment and microphones.

 

Thanks! Sounds great.

 

Never liked the sound of granite under any piece of audio gear. Sandstone is cheaper and much better sounding.