Blu-tac under speakers on stands yes/no

[ID.]

Something like this...

With blobs of Blu-Tack under that

At least that's what I do. More to stop my toddler pulling the speakers off the cabinet than anything.

 

[Al ears]

Something like this...

 

With blobs of Blu-Tack under that

At least that's what I do. More to stop my toddler pulling the speakers off the cabinet than anything.

 

Same here, blutac is for security only not isolation.

 

[Al ears]

The best way to support speakers is like this...

I take it those Elacs have recesses for those spikes to sit in and they aren't just resting on the speakers base.

 

[davedotco]

The best way to support speakers is like this...

I take it those Elacs have recesses for those spikes to sit in and they aren't just resting on the speakers base.

Well, not on the slghtly earlier versions that I put out for review. The 3 enormous spikes are designed to lift the speaker well clear of the stand's top plate, the base of the speaker is flat, so they get scratched to hell.

In addition to the spikes, there are 2 threaded rods that screw into the base of the speaker, pass through the base and secured by loosely fitted lock nuts designed to stop the speaker falling off the stand.

Smashing speakers by the way...*good*

 

[Al ears]

The best way to support speakers is like this...

I take it those Elacs have recesses for those spikes to sit in and they aren't just resting on the speakers base.

Aha, that's what I wondered. They looked a bit precarious stuck on those spikes. ;-)

Well, not on the slghtly earlier versions that I put out for review. The 3 enormous spikes are designed to lift the speaker well clear of the stand's top plate, the base of the speaker is flat, so they get scratched to hell.

In addition to the spikes, there are 2 threaded rods that screw into the base of the speaker, pass through the base and secured by loosely fitted lock nuts designed to stop the speaker falling off the stand.

Smashing speakers by the way...*good*

 

[davedotco]

Back in the day when squeezing the last ounce of performance from speakers was considered rather more important than it is now, we would use top spikes, often very pointy, sharp ones.

The speaker was placed upside down on the floor and the reversed stand 'offered' to the upturned bass of the speaker. This was done with great care so that with the stands properly alligned, pressed down, then removed, only 4 tiny spike holes could be seen.

Then we would drive tiny, 3/8in countersunk screws into the spike holes so that they were flush (or better) with the bass of the speaker, then assemble the right way up, with the top spikes nestling into the cross of the screw. Then the spikes adjusted for zero movement.

 

[Al ears]

Back in the day when squeezing the last ounce of performance from speakers was considered rather more important than it is now, we would use top spikes, often very pointy, sharp ones.

The speaker was placed upside down on the floor and the reversed stand 'offered' to the upturned bass of the speaker. This was done with great care so that with the stands properly alligned, pressed down, then removed, only 4 tiny spike holes could be seen.

Then we would drive tiny, 3/8in countersunk screws into the spike holes so that they were flush (or better) with the bass of the speaker, then assemble the right way up, with the top spikes nestling into the cross of the screw. Then the spikes adjusted for zero movement.

Ah, I remember the old days. They were the ones when I was shunned by society for inverting my Heybrook HB1's because they sounded better to me upside down.

We are far to conventional and non- experimental now.

 

[insider9]

Back in the day when squeezing the last ounce of performance from speakers was considered rather more important than it is now, we would use top spikes, often very pointy, sharp ones.

The speaker was placed upside down on the floor and the reversed stand 'offered' to the upturned bass of the speaker. This was done with great care so that with the stands properly alligned, pressed down, then removed, only 4 tiny spike holes could be seen.

Then we would drive tiny, 3/8in countersunk screws into the spike holes so that they were flush (or better) with the bass of the speaker, then assemble the right way up, with the top spikes nestling into the cross of the screw. Then the spikes adjusted for zero movement.

Ah, I remember the old days. They were the ones when I was shunned by society for inverting my Heybrook HB1's because they sounded better to me upside down.

We are far to conventional and non- experimental now.  

Interesting, what were the benefits?

 

[Al ears]

Back in the day when squeezing the last ounce of performance from speakers was considered rather more important than it is now, we would use top spikes, often very pointy, sharp ones.

The speaker was placed upside down on the floor and the reversed stand 'offered' to the upturned bass of the speaker. This was done with great care so that with the stands properly alligned, pressed down, then removed, only 4 tiny spike holes could be seen.

Then we would drive tiny, 3/8in countersunk screws into the spike holes so that they were flush (or better) with the bass of the speaker, then assemble the right way up, with the top spikes nestling into the cross of the screw. Then the spikes adjusted for zero movement.

Ah, I remember the old days. They were the ones when I was shunned by society for inverting my Heybrook HB1's because they sounded better to me upside down.

We are far to conventional and non- experimental now.

Interesting, what were the benefits?

In my listening room and to my ears it calmed the high treble to a point that I found acceptable for piano work, something that is always a test piece for me, then again it could have been down to the height of the only stands I had available at that time. ;-)

It's just a reference point I use. My wife is a pianist, her great grandmother was a concert pianist, so if a speaker cannot do justification to a piano it's out because if it doesn't it will not be true to anything else. Personal opinion only you understand.

It might do Motorhead very well indeed, if that's your reference point.

 

[insider9]

Back in the day when squeezing the last ounce of performance from speakers was considered rather more important than it is now, we would use top spikes, often very pointy, sharp ones.

The speaker was placed upside down on the floor and the reversed stand 'offered' to the upturned bass of the speaker. This was done with great care so that with the stands properly alligned, pressed down, then removed, only 4 tiny spike holes could be seen.

Then we would drive tiny, 3/8in countersunk screws into the spike holes so that they were flush (or better) with the bass of the speaker, then assemble the right way up, with the top spikes nestling into the cross of the screw. Then the spikes adjusted for zero movement.

Ah, I remember the old days. They were the ones when I was shunned by society for inverting my Heybrook HB1's because they sounded better to me upside down.

We are far to conventional and non- experimental now.  

Interesting, what were the benefits?

In my listening room and to my ears it calmed the high treble to a point that I found acceptable for piano work, something that is always a test piece for me, then again it could have been down to the height of the only stands I had available at that time.  ;-)

It's just a reference point I use. My wife is a pianist, her great grandmother was a concert pianist, so if a speaker cannot do justification to a piano it's out because if it doesn't it will not be true to anything else. Personal opinion only you understand.

It might do Motorhead very well indeed, if that's your reference point.

Thank you Al Ears! I will try upside down and sideways positioning tomorrow see if there are audible differences if not improvements.

 

[Al ears]

Back in the day when squeezing the last ounce of performance from speakers was considered rather more important than it is now, we would use top spikes, often very pointy, sharp ones.

The speaker was placed upside down on the floor and the reversed stand 'offered' to the upturned bass of the speaker. This was done with great care so that with the stands properly alligned, pressed down, then removed, only 4 tiny spike holes could be seen.

Then we would drive tiny, 3/8in countersunk screws into the spike holes so that they were flush (or better) with the bass of the speaker, then assemble the right way up, with the top spikes nestling into the cross of the screw. Then the spikes adjusted for zero movement.

Ah, I remember the old days. They were the ones when I was shunned by society for inverting my Heybrook HB1's because they sounded better to me upside down.

We are far to conventional and non- experimental now.

Interesting, what were the benefits?

In my listening room and to my ears it calmed the high treble to a point that I found acceptable for piano work, something that is always a test piece for me, then again it could have been down to the height of the only stands I had available at that time. ;-)

It's just a reference point I use. My wife is a pianist, her great grandmother was a concert pianist, so if a speaker cannot do justification to a piano it's out because if it doesn't it will not be true to anything else. Personal opinion only you understand.

It might do Motorhead very well indeed, if that's your reference point.

Thank you Al Ears! I will try upside down and sideways positioning tomorrow see if there are audible differences if not improvements.

Seriously, please do it's a wonderfully cheap way of taming speakers deemed to be 'too bright'.

The old addage that a tweeter has to be at ear-height when you are seated is often completely wrong.

I would not recommend it with a pair of Tannoy Westminsters but with a small standmounter why not, you might be surprised. ;-)

 

[Gazzip]

I had the EB2s sat on top of 16" Apollo stands with BluTac for the two years I owned them, and when I came to sell them, the BluTac had set so strong that when you lifted the speakers it lifted the stands too. Proper rock solid. After a lot of twisting and pulling, the BluTac literally tore the paint off the stands' top plates, thankfully leaving the speakers' bases undamaged.

I, for one, am very happy to hear speakers were undamaged ;-)

*biggrin*

 

[Gazzip]

It is crucial to buy the blu tac from the most expensive retailer, it is another scientifically proven fact that you get what you pay for in the hifi world.

It's also worth remembering that blu tac is directional, using it upside down will have detrimental effects on your 3D sounstaging and transparency.

Hi,

I use bogeys. They are are in good supply, and provide a better sounstage, although vocals can sound quite nasal.

They have the added benefit of being biodegradable, so kinder to the environment.

They are though, difficult to position when flicking them from my settee onto the speaker stands, 3 metres away.

Regards,

Shadders.

Okay, so I have tried this tonight and have bogeys all over the wall behind my speakers. In addition, and upon replacing my 58Kg speakers on to their stands, the bogeys that made it to their specified DZ have now oozed all over the carpet. What do I do now?

 

[shadders]

It is crucial to buy the blu tac from the most expensive retailer, it is another scientifically proven fact that you get what you pay for in the hifi world.

It's also worth remembering that blu tac is directional, using it upside down will have detrimental effects on your 3D sounstaging and transparency.

Hi,

I use bogeys. They are are in good supply, and provide a better sounstage, although vocals can sound quite nasal.

They have the added benefit of being biodegradable, so kinder to the environment.

They are though, difficult to position when flicking them from my settee onto the speaker stands, 3 metres away.

Regards,

Shadders.

Okay, so I have tried this tonight and have bogeys all over the wall behind my speakers. In addition, and upon replacing my 58Kg speakers on to their stands, the bogeys that made it to their specified DZ have now oozed all over the carpet. What do I do now?

Hi,

Yes, that is one of the problems.

The solution is to get a powerful and hot hair dryer, and dry them out. Once this has been accomplished, you need a 1/4" chisel, making sure it is sharp, and with a Mallet chip those blighters off the carpet. (the technical term is carpet crunching)

Under no circumstances should you remoisten them, as they will integrate into the pile much more, and chiselling them later will take away more of your carpet pile.

For the back wall, just paint over them, and say to visitors it is localised wood chip.

Regards,

Shadders.

 

[Gazzip]

It is crucial to buy the blu tac from the most expensive retailer, it is another scientifically proven fact that you get what you pay for in the hifi world.

It's also worth remembering that blu tac is directional, using it upside down will have detrimental effects on your 3D sounstaging and transparency.

Hi,

I use bogeys. They are are in good supply, and provide a better sounstage, although vocals can sound quite nasal.

They have the added benefit of being biodegradable, so kinder to the environment.

They are though, difficult to position when flicking them from my settee onto the speaker stands, 3 metres away.

Regards,

Shadders.

Okay, so I have tried this tonight and have bogeys all over the wall behind my speakers. In addition, and upon replacing my 58Kg speakers on to their stands, the bogeys that made it to their specified DZ have now oozed all over the carpet. What do I do now?

Hi,

Yes, that is one of the problems.

The solution is to get a powerful and hot hair dryer, and dry them out. Once this has been accomplished, you need a 1/4" chisel, making sure it is sharp, and with a Mallet chip those blighters off the carpet. (the technical term is carpet crunching)

Under no circumstances should you remoisten them, as they will integrate into the pile much more, and chiselling them later will take away more of your carpet pile.

For the back wall, just paint over them, and say to visitors it is localised wood chip.

Regards,

Shadders.

Retch...*bad*

 

[davedotco]

Back in the day when squeezing the last ounce of performance from speakers was considered rather more important than it is now, we would use top spikes, often very pointy, sharp ones.

The speaker was placed upside down on the floor and the reversed stand 'offered' to the upturned bass of the speaker. This was done with great care so that with the stands properly alligned, pressed down, then removed, only 4 tiny spike holes could be seen.

Then we would drive tiny, 3/8in countersunk screws into the spike holes so that they were flush (or better) with the bass of the speaker, then assemble the right way up, with the top spikes nestling into the cross of the screw. Then the spikes adjusted for zero movement.

Ah, I remember the old days. They were the ones when I was shunned by society for inverting my Heybrook HB1's because they sounded better to me upside down.

We are far to conventional and non- experimental now.

Interesting, what were the benefits?

In my listening room and to my ears it calmed the high treble to a point that I found acceptable for piano work, something that is always a test piece for me, then again it could have been down to the height of the only stands I had available at that time. ;-)

It's just a reference point I use. My wife is a pianist, her great grandmother was a concert pianist, so if a speaker cannot do justification to a piano it's out because if it doesn't it will not be true to anything else. Personal opinion only you understand.

It might do Motorhead very well indeed, if that's your reference point.

Thank you Al Ears! I will try upside down and sideways positioning tomorrow see if there are audible differences if not improvements.

Seriously, please do it's a wonderfully cheap way of taming speakers deemed to be 'too bright'.

Of course in some cases it may make the speakers brighter. It works like this.

When you invert speakers, two things change, firstly and most obviously, the height of the tweeter but more importantly, the polar response, to be precise the horizontal dispersion, will also be inverted.

In most 2 way speakers, the forward response is, in effect angled downwards, due primarily to the time alignment of the drive units. See here.

Hence inverting the speaker could make it brighter by ensuring the critical frequencies around and just above the crossover are 'tilted' upwards, so not getting lost in the carpet.

Slightly off topic, but the HB1 came to fame in the early 80s and became a very 'in' speaker. Naturally, and just to be different, I had a pair of HB2s, which I found to be superior.

 

[Al ears]

One of those I never owned those HB2's, I went from the HB1 to the HB3 when I got a place of my own. Now they were underated.