speaker height

[Phobic]

I've just done a very nice upgrade!

we were talking before about speaker isolation, I've just had these very cheap isolation platforms arrive.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SVRLQRA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I picked them in part because they raise the height of my speakers by 7cm, I'm a tall guy and I knew that the speakers sounded a lot better if I slouch down in my chair.

boy what a difference it's made!

I've had to improvise some temporary weight distribution as without it things are a bit unstable. I'm going to order a couple of wooden/granite/marble chopping boards to raise the height another 3cms. I don't think I need it to be honest as the vertical off axis performance sounds pretty good as it is, but hey it's pretty cheap to do and will look better than my current "solution".

so very impressed with the result!

 

[Moomintroll]

Have you adjusted the height in SO? Both the height of speaker from floor and the height of your ears at listening position.

’troll

 

[Phobic]

1st thing I did

 

[Paulssurround]

I've just done a very nice upgrade!

we were talking before about speaker isolation, I've just had these very cheap isolation platforms arrive.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SVRLQRA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I picked them in part because they raise the height of my speakers by 7cm, I'm a tall guy and I knew that the speakers sounded a lot better if I slouch down in my chair.

boy what a difference it's made!

I've had to improvise some temporary weight distribution as without it things are a bit unstable. I'm going to order a couple of wooden/granite/marble chopping boards to raise the height another 3cms. I don't think I need it to be honest as the vertical off axis performance sounds pretty good as it is, but hey it's pretty cheap to do and will look better than my current "solution".

so very impressed with the result!

That is a great find.

Glad to hear you  are hearing an improvement in sound quality with the isolation platforms

I use these under my Akubariks and Akudoriks:

https://auralex.com/subdude-ht/

Can you describe the difference in sound quality with the isolation platforms?

 

[Seriousjon]

That is a great find.

Glad to hear you  are hearing an improvement in sound quality with the isolation platforms

I use these under my Akubariks and Akudoriks:

https://auralex.com/subdude-ht/

Can you describe the difference in sound quality with the isolation platforms?

I bought a pair of these (just because of their name really) and use them under my pair of 226's - they make a huge difference in tightness of the very low end

 

[Eldarboy]

I have added IsoAcoustic Gaias to my speakers and am very pleased with the results. They place the speakers 2.5cms higher, so I went into SO and made that change (thanks Paul). Sadly, the results were horrid. There was a weakening of the bass and everything else became muddied. I returned to the 2.5 cm reading (I did it as a ratio of a meter, of course) and am back to a splendid sound again.

 

[Paulssurround]

I bought a pair of these (just because of their name really) and use them under my pair of 226's - they make a huge difference in tightness of the very low end

I started out with an Aurelex SubDude under my REL subwoofer, back when I had Ninkas.

‘I liked it so much, I decided to put them under my Akubariks, which also has a downward firing low frequency Isobarik bass.

 

[Phobic]

That is a great find.

Glad to hear you  are hearing an improvement in sound quality with the isolation platforms

I use these under my Akubariks and Akudoriks:

https://auralex.com/subdude-ht/

Can you describe the difference in sound quality with the isolation platforms?

I need to listen to them more, however at the moment it's the change in height which is dominating things I think. The sound is much fuller, I've not yet found anywhere that has an on axis measurements for the Akubariks, but I suspect previously that the tweeter and super tweeter don't have a wide enough vertical off-axis response to be able to handle how tall I am.

I'd say the lower end is richer somehow too.

got to spend more time with them to try to pinpoint exactly what's altered I think. Will report back once I've better figured things out.

I'd originally ordered a pair of subdude-ht's but there was trouble sourcing them in the UK, it was going to take 6-8 weeks. but after stumbling on these that were taller I thought it was a great way to kill 2 birds.

I have added IsoAcoustic Gaias to my speakers and am very pleased with the results. They place the speakers 2.5cms higher, so I went into SO and made that change (thanks Paul). Sadly, the results were horrid. There was a weakening of the bass and everything else became muddied. I returned to the 2.5 cm reading (I did it as a ratio of a meter, of course) and am back to a splendid sound again.

I'm still planing on moving to Gaias in the future, just need to figure out an acceptable way to increase the height of the speakers when I do. Something for me to do once the new listening room is up and running as i'll be changing the seating as well.

what kind of floor do you have? I've seen before what you describe with people who have concrete flooring.

 

[Nopiano]

I have added IsoAcoustic Gaias to my speakers and am very pleased with the results. They place the speakers 2.5cms higher, so I went into SO and made that change (thanks Paul). Sadly, the results were horrid. There was a weakening of the bass and everything else became muddied. I returned to the 2.5 cm reading (I did it as a ratio of a meter, of course) and am back to a splendid sound again.

Crumbs, I never thought 0.025 of a metre would alter a speaker that much.  Just to make sure I’m clear, you’re saying the better results were with fitting the Gaias whilst retaining the previous height setting in SO?  But adjusting SO to reflect the increased height weakened the bass.  

 

[Eldarboy]

Crumbs, I never thought 0.025 of a metre would alter a speaker that much.  Just to make sure I’m clear, you’re saying the better results were with fitting the Gaias whilst retaining the previous height setting in SO?  But adjusting SO to reflect the increased height weakened the bass.  

Yes, to your question. I have hardwood flooring, so "suspended" I guess would be the Linn terminology. I plan on doing a better A/B comparison to the two settings at some point today when there is complete silence in the house. My initial listening showed the adjustments to the 0.05 from 0.025 to be horrible. I was amazed. If I kept the proper setting, it would likely mean adjusting all else, and maybe it would produce a better sound, however, I am not in a position to spend the time to do so for now. When I have nothing else to do, I will do so and report back then. For now, the influx of essays and reports from students, and their flow of emails asking me questions about what has clearly been posted but they never read the posts, is stealing my focus. This, of course, leads into the fact that while I am saving $300 per month in petrol costs to not have to drive in to work, I am spending $600 per month at the liquor store. :nuts:

 

[Nopiano]

Yes, to your question. I have hardwood flooring, so "suspended" I guess would be the Linn terminology. I plan on doing a better A/B comparison to the two settings at some point today when there is complete silence in the house. My initial listening showed the adjustments to the 0.05 from 0.025 to be horrible. I was amazed. If I kept the proper setting, it would likely mean adjusting all else, and maybe it would produce a better sound, however, I am not in a position to spend the time to do so for now. When I have nothing else to do, I will do so and report back then. For now, the influx of essays and reports from students, and their flow of emails asking me questions about what has clearly been posted but they never read the posts, is stealing my focus. This, of course, leads into the fact that while I am saving $300 per month in petrol costs to not have to drive in to work, I am spending $600 per month at the liquor store. :nuts:

Thank you, and please don’t feel obligated to experiment for my benefit.  With no students to worry about I can do my own trial, especially as I have my speakers set at 0.1m even though they’re only 4cm off the floor.  That’s because for some reason I thought 0.1 was the finest resolution of that setting, though quite why I’m not sure!  

Go easy on the liquor, at least until Election Day! ;-)

 

[Phobic]

Yes, to your question. I have hardwood flooring, so "suspended" I guess would be the Linn terminology. I plan on doing a better A/B comparison to the two settings at some point today when there is complete silence in the house. My initial listening showed the adjustments to the 0.05 from 0.025 to be horrible. I was amazed. If I kept the proper setting, it would likely mean adjusting all else, and maybe it would produce a better sound, however, I am not in a position to spend the time to do so for now. 

Just 1 thought when you do have time to check things out.

You've just put feet on which should tighten up the bass, I wonder if playing around a little with the other SO settings might help address the problem you have when changing the height. in particular I'd start by looking at the optimisation preference as the bass profile of your speakers has changed with the feet.

It might just be that moving back to the old height coincidentally helps, maybe changing the other settings at the right height might yield an even better result. 

 

[Paulssurround]

I need to listen to them more, however at the moment it's the change in height which is dominating things I think. The sound is much fuller, I've not yet found anywhere that has an on axis measurements for the Akubariks, but I suspect previously that the tweeter and super tweeter don't have a wide enough vertical off-axis response to be able to handle how tall I am.

I'd say the lower end is richer somehow too.

got to spend more time with them to try to pinpoint exactly what's altered I think. Will report back once I've better figured things out.

I'd originally ordered a pair of subdude-ht's but there was trouble sourcing them in the UK, it was going to take 6-8 weeks. but after stumbling on these that were taller I thought it was a great way to kill 2 birds.

I'm still planing on moving to Gaias in the future, just need to figure out an acceptable way to increase the height of the speakers when I do. Something for me to do once the new listening room is up and running as i'll be changing the seating as well.

Thank you for your feedback on your new platforms

It is surprising how difficult it is getting to order and receive some consumer goods, as their are waiting lists for all sorts of products. Try buying bicycles or bicycle parts these days and the wait can be enormous. My bicycle dealer has already sold out of all their moderately priced 2021 electric bikes in a Medium frame size until next April.  I have to book bicycle repairs weeks in advance now, and they are having real trouble sourcing the parts for repairs.

I just installed some new Gaia II’s in my system the other day, which raised the height, and then made adjustments to the height in SO.

‘The Gaia’s definitely improved the mids, highs and bass substantially, but I think very little of that improvement had to do with the increased height. Having the 3K array at the right height is an important factor for sound quality, but it would not explain the improvements to lower mids and bass. The ability of the Gaia’s to reduce vibrations in the speaker cabinets seem to be the most likely reason.

 

[akamatsu]

The ability of the Gaia’s to reduce vibrations in the speaker cabinets seem to be the most likely reason.

They might reduce vibrations in the speaker cabinets over what you had before. You probably went from wobbly to less wobbly. Decoupling speakers will increase speaker cabinet vibration over coupling.

 

[Eldarboy]

Just 1 thought when you do have time to check things out.

You've just put feet on which should tighten up the bass, I wonder if playing around a little with the other SO settings might help address the problem you have when changing the height. in particular I'd start by looking at the optimisation preference as the bass profile of your speakers has changed with the feet.

It might just be that moving back to the old height coincidentally helps, maybe changing the other settings at the right height might yield an even better result. 

Yes. I did mention that. As it stands, everything sounds damn good, so I spend my time listening to the music rather than listening to the stereo

Ultimately, that is everyone’s goal: to maximize the SQ of their system so they no longer listen to the stereo, and this is a bad habit that I believe many of us fall prey to. I remember the days when simply getting new equipment was enough: put it place and not think about it for ten years, all the while grooving you the music.

Now that I have maximized my components, and found a pleasing SO setting, I am going to unlearn stereo listening, and relearn music listening

 

[Johannes]

My goodness, what did you do wrong with your system to put something like this under the speakers? Sorry this can't sound good or be the right way.

 

[Phobic]

I've got a very springy wooden floor, there's a long list of people with suspended floor who've tried decoupling and found it to work.

I'm tall, not sure why it's puzzling that raising the 3k array to the right height would make things sound better?

 

[Paulssurround]

I've got a very springy wooden floor, there's a long list of people with suspended floor who've tried decoupling and found it to work.

I'm tall, not sure why it's puzzling that raise the 3k array to the right height would make things sound better?

“If it sounds better, it is better”.   Ivor Teifenbrun

 

[Johannes]

“If it sounds better, it is better”.   Ivor Teifenbrun

Yes, but only if you do not build on mistakes.