Thinking out of the box and saving money.

[Jasonovich]

Whilst I admire J's ingenuity in repurposing 'stools' into speaker stands, I'm left feeling it's being done for aesthetic or practical purposes, and not to realise any sonic improvements.
If I'm reading this right, the 2"thick stands are stuck to the 2" thick tabletop and the speakers stuck to the stands. Given the similarities of the mounting surfaces, why not stick the speakers direct to the worktop ? !!!
( If you think I am sceptical about proper speaker stands improving performance, I'm sorry to disappoint you but my Mission 750LEs have been blu-tacked to sand-filled Atacama N70s from new in 1999, and sound just fine ).

Geoff you are absolutely correct the whole purpose wasn't done for sonic purposes but aesthetically it sat better with my eyes and practical purposes, it raised the speakers to the optimum hearing level or close to it.
Tha Adams have 4 predrilled holes at the base, I suppose I could have bolted them on to the desktop. I just don't have the heart to deface the lovely polished oak surface.
Gluing the foot stools was a compromise, if I get tired of them, I can always sandpaper the glue off the surface.
Between the stool and the speakers, I have ball bearing absorbers, which is supposed to help with vibration.
Never underestimate the power of the BlueTAK 😁👍

 

[Geoff P.]

So they were ugly too then?
Is that what you mean by their 'restrained monolithic stance'?😆

I own the SE24 and as my speakers are 240mm deep, I could probably do with your N70s.

They just seem less fussy than the multi-tubular efforts of Atacama and others - perhaps the battleship engineering appeals to me as an ex-engineer !

Sorry to disappoint, Gray but at 200mm deep my top plate is only 5mm longer than yours, but substantially narrower at 138mm - they just happen to suit my Missions perfectly.

It must be a coincidence, but last week I went in the loft and pulled out a 60 yr old Imperial 66 office typewriter, bought before we had a PC.
18 kg of cast iron and steel - more Battleship Engineering !
It's a fantastic testament to British engineering, and criminally undervalued, in my opinion.
I might just keep it as an ornament !

 

[Stuart83]

These are things some do automatically it's a way of thinking applied to all kinds.
I've always repurposed things and do my own DIY and building being a builder for yrs a while back, but it started way way before that.
I think nothing of building a shed out of old pallets or going through junk to find something suitable to repair something else.
I can't think how much I've saved over the yrs doing my own things like fitting doors recently or building my own gaming steering wheel cockpit out of offcuts from the local Maxwell's diy.
Using those stools is a good idea and cheaper which is usually the cheif reason.

 

[Jasonovich]

These are things some do automatically it's a way of thinking applied to all kinds.
I've always repurposed things and do my own DIY and building being a builder for yrs a while back, but it started way way before that.
I think nothing of building a shed out of old pallets or going through junk to find something suitable to repair something else.
I can't think how much I've saved over the yrs doing my own things like fitting doors recently or building my own gaming steering wheel cockpit out of offcuts from the local Maxwell's diy.
Using those stools is a good idea and cheaper which is usually the cheif reason.

Yep I've been there, I have so much junk in my garage, my wife always tells me to throw away. I have pallets, cut wood, bits and bobs from other projects. The MDF floor boards I still have from tiling the floors. The old corner bath and panels are taking up large amount of space in the garage. We plan to sell the house in a couple of years, so I seriously need to think about unloading and clearing out the stuff from the garage.

Below is all my DIY, marble flooring, bathroom fittings, rewiring and rerouting of the electric wiring, alumium skirting, panelling and specially fitted shutters. The only thing I didn't do was the plumbing for the waste and central heating. Better left for the professionals, I didn't want to risk smashing up the marble tiling to fix burst pipes.
The ensuite before the work, the style and decor was stuck in the eighties and after watching a number of Youtube DIY videos, I decided I'm going to have a crack at it.

 

[Rodolfo]

As I considered options in the last few weeks, I've bookmarked a couple of stools at amazon.com for bookmarked small subwoofers I'm considering adding.

 

[Jasonovich]

I'm not sure replacing speaker shoe pads for spikes with round wooden plates actually save you money but less likely to get your fingers pierced and arguably it sits much better on the eyes.
You can buy them on EBay or Amazon for £2- £3.

 

[Gray]

I'm not sure replacing speaker shoe pads for spikes with round wooden plates actually save you money but less likely to get your fingers pierced and arguably it sits much better on the eyes.
You can buy them on EBay or Amazon for £2- £3.
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Better still, put all loose change in a big pot - then buy yourself a nice wall-to-wall carpet (and don't tell me a partner won't allow it).

Nothing less for me.
(Absolutely detest those bare floors in sound rooms).

 

[Jasonovich]

Better still, put all loose change in a big pot - then buy yourself a nice wall-to-wall carpet (and don't tell me a partner won't allow it).

Nothing less for me.
(Absolutely detest those bare floors in sound rooms).

We have a nice rug Gray 😂View attachment 5625

 

[Gray]

We have a nice rug Gray 😂View attachment 5625

....about 3mm thick.
Just as well you've got the cat, that's all I can say 👍

 

[Jasonovich]

....about 3mm thick.
Just as well you've got the cat, that's all I can say 👍

 

[Stuart83]

🤣

 

[Gray]

My cat doesn't trouble me any more:

 

[Jasonovich]

My cat doesn't trouble me any more:
View attachment 5643

Ooooooh
Nice speakers 🙀🙀🙀

 

[JDL]

Some speakers include this sort of thing.
But these are the perfect hardness to go between speakers and stand (sticky side down on stand)
Cheaper? and probably no worse than Blutak:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adhesive-Bumpers-Dampening-Furniture-Diameter/dp/B076NCQPB4/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3IHGKAOLSLS22&keywords=door%2Bbuffers&qid=1700177283&sprefix=door%2Bbuffers%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-5&th=1

I bought those exact pads off eBay for exactly the same reason.

 

[Jasonovich]

I bought those exact pads off eBay for exactly the same reason.

You've just given me an idea!
Those silicones you mentioned, I suspect if these are placed under the wooden mats will serve as an effective damping for the speakers. As they're miniscule in size it shouldn't effect the overall stability of the speakers. I might explore that.

 

[JDL]

You've just given me an idea!
Those silicones you mentioned, I suspect if these are placed under the wooden mats will serve as an effective damping for the speakers. As they're miniscule in size it shouldn't effect the overall stability of the speakers. I might explore that.

View attachment 5652

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Good idea Jason. Another thing that's good about these tiny pads is that the non sticky side is very grippy on shiny surfaces so they offer very good protection against things sliding.

 

[gasolin]

75 pounds https://www.thomann.de/gb/isoacoustics_iso_puck_mini_set.htm

79 pounds https://www.thomann.de/gb/isoacoustics_iso_130.htm

Try Ludic No Rumble Pads 1 set (4) 10 euros https://www.ludic-audio.com/product/rumble-pads-4pcs-set/

 

[CherryG0d]

I was in a similar boat, eyeing those pricey Iso-Acoustics stands, but the fear of feline-induced chaos held me back. Learned my lesson with some Gorilla stands that didn't quite pass the 'Cat Test.' However, all wasn't lost! They found a cozy spot with my Dali bookshelf speakers in the bedroom.

 

[KatrinDeezer]

Was eyeing those Iso-Acoustics Isolation Stands for my Adam speakers, but the potential wobble and cat test scares kept me hesitant. Had a similar 'uh-oh' moment with Gorilla stands, but they found a cozy spot with my Dali bookshelf speakers. Then, Amazon surprised me with these £25 recycled solid wood footstalls.

 

[Jasonovich]

Was eyeing those Iso-Acoustics Isolation Stands for my Adam speakers, but the potential wobble and cat test scares kept me hesitant. Had a similar 'uh-oh' moment with Gorilla stands, but they found a cozy spot with my Dali bookshelf speakers. Then, Amazon surprised me with these £25 recycled solid wood footstalls.

That's a nice medley of my account, we must both live in a parallel universe 🙀

 

[Jasonovich]

I was in a similar boat, eyeing those pricey Iso-Acoustics stands, but the fear of feline-induced chaos held me back. Learned my lesson with some Gorilla stands that didn't quite pass the 'Cat Test.' However, all wasn't lost! They found a cozy spot with my Dali bookshelf speakers in the bedroom.

Well well Cherry-Deezer it's groundhog day!

 

[Fandango Andy]

I was looking to get for my Adam speakers a pair of Iso-Acoustics Isolation Stands, I think these would have cost me approx. £150.

I had in my mind to make a purchase but held off; some of the commenters on the vender site mentioned these wobble a lot, and I'm thinking if the cat jumps on them I'm screwed.
This was all on the back off my previous purchase, a pair of gorilla stands, again this failed the 'Cat Test' but all wasn't lost, I was able to make good use of them, these had found the perfect home with the Dali bookshelf speakers in the bedroom.

I was on Amazon ordering some stuff, when I came across these inexpensive foot stalls costing £25 for a pair. I immediately thought, these are made from recycled solid wood, they're not very high and look sturdy. I can use these for the Adams. The foot stools arrive today and I wasn't disappointed. I used professional wood adhesive to glue these on to the desktop. It set in and solid as a rock.

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Happy to share.
I was wondering if any of you managed to tweak your music setup using non hifi related product that had a purpose for something else?View attachment 5562

Just seen this old post. I have a desktop setup too. I also looked at isolation stands for my speakers. In the end I went for some special bespoke isolation feet, aka squash balls cut in half!

 

[Jasonovich]

Just seen this old post. I have a desktop setup too. I also looked at isolation stands for my speakers. In the end I went for some special bespoke isolation feet, aka squash balls cut in half!

Why didn't you turn them the other way?

 

[Fandango Andy]

Why didn't you turn them the other way?

Easier to position this way.