couple or de-couple

[nats]

what are some of the reasons to couple or de-couple speakers from the floor?

 

[DIYer]

Decouple so that the speaker cabinet resonance does not get transferred to the floor / structure and muddy up the sound.

 

[Zing]

I can't think of even one reason to couple your speakers to the floor. However, to de-couple them would offer multiple benefits since you're not transferring any energy or resonances.

 

[nats]

floor is concrete with a particle board with a bottom of plastic eggshell type on top of the slab with carpet over that,should that be fine?

 

[Zing]

What kind of speaker are we discussing?

 

[nats]

def tech mytos 1 towers,they sit on a glass plate/foot with 4 steel round tabs under. i dont have any reason to think i need improvement,just read a lot of talk about decoupling.

 

[DIYer]

floor is concrete with a particle board with a bottom of plastic eggshell type on top of the slab with carpet over that,should that be fine?

IOW, it's a concrete floor with particle board sub-floor below the carpet? You still want to decouple the speakers.

 

[nats]

what type of materials would work?

 

[Zing]

If it's these speakers, I really don't think there are any gains to be had by adding some material between their base and the carpet.

 

[DIYer]

what type of materials would work?

Dense foam like these. They're not cheap but there is a cheaper method which is what I did. I went to a sporting goods store and bought a bag of these, then layered them to about 1.5 to 2" thick with contact cement. Then I cut them with utility knife to the size I want.

 

[yromj]

If it's these speakers, I really don't think there are any gains to be had by adding some material between their base and the carpet.

:text-+1:

The rubber feet (assuming that's what I see in the pic) would decouple the speaker from the floor. If they have spikes, then replace them w/ rubber feet and you'll be golden.

John

 

[Rope]

def tech mytos 1 towers,they sit on a glass plate/foot with 4 steel round tabs under. i dont have any reason to think i need improvement,just read a lot of talk about decoupling.

Rope

 

[nats]

thanks all

 

[Flint]

I like to use the firm rubber mats, like yago mats or those temporary work mats shaped like jigzaw puzzle pieces they sell at construction supply stores (Home Depot, etc)

 

[Alien]

I took some pieces of those pads designed for furniture moving and put them under mine. These are the exact ones I used...there's a bijillion different designs for these things but only one I've found with a type of rubberized polymer backing (I think) instead of plastic.

http://images.orgill.com/200x200/5739065.jpg

 

[Botch]

The rubber feet (assuming that's what I see in the pic) would decouple the speaker from the floor. If they have spikes, then replace them w/ rubber feet and you'll be golden.

John

My Monitor Audios have a similar base. I didn't use the spikes, nor did I screw in the rubber feet, I just set the flat plastic base directly on the carpeting.
My studio monitors (Tannoys) I've set on "woven" rubber mats that are sold as shelf lining, very cheep and about 3/32" thick.

 

[malsackj]

one good question is does the floor have any movement. I was at a dance studio and the spring loaded floor for dance or gymnastics would not be very good because coupling the speaker to that floor would add a resonance to the speakers output. Good thing the speakers we placed on the Dance floor were 150 pounds and did not move very much. Yours might be a different story.

 

[yromj]

If the speakers were decoupled from the floor, the floor's stability wouldn't matter.

John