Granite thickness

gbhsi1

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Mar 5, 2008
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Hi, I currently have a pair of tesco granite chopping boards underneath my speakers due to new thick carpets. I wonder if the thickness of the granite is essential to get the best out of my speakers? Do I need some granite that is much thicker than just once chopping board under each speaker? Regards, Me
 
gbhsi1:Hi,

I currently have a pair of tesco granite chopping boards underneath my speakers due to new thick carpets. I wonder if the thickness of the granite is essential to get the best out of my speakers? Do I need some granite that is much thicker than just once chopping board under each speaker?

Regards,
Me

2 each I would say is fine, although at a tenner each adding another under each speaker is not madness [just to be on the safe side]!
 
When my missus forces through the migration from living room to dining room we'll be having carpet fitted, and I'm thinking of asking the fitter to leave a gap in the underlay where I want the speaker stands to sit so I can put the granite boards under the carpet and then spike through them. That way the granite isn't visible (I can't see the missus going for that on top of the carpet).

Seems like a good idea to me but now I'm wondering what I need between the floor boards and the granite!

I'll have to work out exactly where everything's going first as well, won't be able to move the speakers once it's all in place!
 
the_lhc:

When my missus forces through the migration from living room to dining room we'll be having carpet fitted, and I'm thinking of asking the fitter to leave a gap in the underlay where I want the speaker stands to sit so I can put the granite boards under the carpet and then spike through them. That way the granite isn't visible (I can't see the missus going for that on top of the carpet).

Seems like a good idea to me but now I'm wondering what I need between the floor boards and the granite!

I'll have to work out exactly where everything's going first as well, won't be able to move the speakers once it's all in place!

Crikey! Sounds like you need some consultants in!
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My speaker stands spike through the carpet, through the underlay, and into the boards below. I tried resting the stands on quite sturdy Victorian(?) blue brick garden edging stones but it doesn't seem to make any difference. The bricks are back in the garden - before the OH catches me! I'm leaving the Tesco jobbies for separates support.
 
if the spikes cant penetrate the carpet and underlay you could always screw philips headed self tappers into the carpet or underlay then place your speakers/stands into the screws, its gonna be fiddly, especially if you do it into the underlay then put the carpet back over and then try to find the screws with your spikes. It also presumes you know the exact best spot for your speakers. On a plus note tho its gonna be virtually invisible to the other half if you can do it when shes out
 
I suppose it depends how high you want your speakers off the ground.

How high is a china man?
 
bluebrazil:if the spikes cant penetrate the carpet and underlay you could always screw philips headed self tappers into the carpet or underlay then place your speakers/stands into the screws, its gonna be fiddly, especially if you do it into the underlay then put the carpet back over and then try to find the screws with your spikes. It also presumes you know the exact best spot for your speakers. On a plus note tho its gonna be virtually invisible to the other half if you can do it when shes out

Trouble is I'm trying to avoid coupling the speaker stands to the floorboards, there's a cellar underneath and the boards are a little, errm, flexible, so they act as a giant resonance box, that's why I need the granite, to decouple everything.

It works fine for church organ music as it ramps up the bottom registers of the organ to a very impressive scale but for everything else it's a little over the top!
 
40mm? That's quite a lot, don't think my underlay is going to be that thick, although I could live with a couple of discreet bulges (fnarr!) in the carpet under the stands. Once they're in place I daresay you wouldn't notice it that much.
 
Surely the carpet will form a small rise over the granite plinth unless the underlay is suitably thick?

Can you do a 'dry run' beforehand to see whether it is likely to work? Do the speakers sit directly on the stands, or do you have spikes/BluTak/squash balls/chewing gum/miniature elephants for isolation?

Interestingly(?), my floorstanding TDL RTL2 speakers stood (spiked) on bricks in the front room which is over the cellar. The sound was fine (I thought - although maybe I should go back and check) despite this. When I moved the same speakers and bricks into the living room, also on a suspended floor, the whole sound became a mess. I would certainly take the time to just try the kit out in its new ocation, even if on a temporary, ad hoc basis if at all feasible.

Of course...grannies...sucking...eggs.
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ESP2009:Surely the carpet will form a small rise over the granite plinth unless the underlay is suitably thick?

Yes I know, but as I mentioned I was intending to cut the underlay out and have the granite directly on the floorboards, for no sensible reason I can articulate I seem to feel this would be better. The idea of the whole lot balancing on a spngy underlay leads me wonder how it can ever be thought of as being "rigid".

Can you do a 'dry run' beforehand to see whether it is likely to work?

No easily, we haven't even got any carpet in there yet for one thing and I don't yet know exactly where everything will be sitting. I've thought about trying another set of speakers in there on other stands but until the Oli2's turn up I don't have another set of speakers!

Do the speakers sit directly on the stands, or do you have spikes/BluTak/squash balls/chewing gum/miniature elephants for isolation?

I took some small sticky backed rubber, err, things from the TV stand I bought that were surplus and stuck them on top of the stands, the speakers sit on those, you know the sort, smaller than a 5p piece black rubber half spheres that you peel off a backing.

I'm just not sure how I'm going to test it beforehand, I'm not moving the telly in there until everything else is in place and the position of the speakers will depend on the TV, plus there's a load of other crud in there for dining purposes which needs to come out first.
 
I can fully sympathise with you, the_lhc, for many of us listening comes down to the best compromise we can come to in all departments. When I tried the blue brick thing the other day, there was part of me praying that the sound wouldn't improve since I just knew someone would not approve! However, I do have to ask: have you asked the question? For all you know, some sturdy, well-cut granite supporting your speaker stands might be no problem for the style-conscious sensibilities of Mrs the_lhc. Spongy underlay, thick carpet, granite and good speaker stands could be the ideal combination for isolating the speakers from that evil resonating box below.

Those little rubbery thingies from the TV sound like an excellent freebie "what the hell, why not try 'em" upgrade. For me the halved squash balls work very well - better IMHO than BluTak.

Please keep us posted on developments. Hey, maybe you could try to work a granite theme into the room as a whole.
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chebby:
ESP2009:Hey, maybe you could try to work a granite theme into the room as a whole.
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Or a hole....
 

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