How do speaker stands function?

Snax

Snax

Snax

Soldato
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Are speaker stands used to lift the speaker higher and closer too your ear or do they provide a medium for some sort of sound dampening?

I ask because I am trying to work out how to place my speakers (bookshelf speakers). They can sit on a marble floor, a wooden table or I could buy some stands.

Is the marble floor terribly bad?
 
Snax said:
Are speaker stands used to lift the speaker higher and closer too your ear or do they provide a medium for some sort of sound dampening?

I ask because I am trying to work out how to place my speakers (bookshelf speakers). They can sit on a marble floor, a wooden table or I could buy some stands.

Is the marble floor terribly bad?
Click to expand...

They do a bit of both to be honest. They would provide a solid base to sit on, but also raising them to ear level. As long as you put them on a solid base, they could technically sit on anything.
 
and don't under estimate the amazing powers of blu-tac as a damper.

I used to have speaker stands which stood on spikes, on a wooden floor, and the speakers fixed with Blutac. No buzz from the case at all then.
 
Speaker stands provide isolation. I.e. Reduce the vibrations from travelling so much into the floor etc giving crisper sound from the cone...
I think
 
What speaker stands do is attempt to stop the vibrations produced by the speakers from being transferred to a wall/floor as they will then resonate themselves, altering the sound.

Not such a biggy if you have a nice concrete floor, but much more important if you have a suspended wooden floor. I use granite chopping boards under my stands on a suspended wooden floor. The stands have spikes that sit in cups ontop of the grantie, and they are fully welded and are about 1/2 filled with lead shots.

It works well, but being 4 pointers you can never get them completely level. 3 points are ideal as all will be perfectly in contact with the surface, but it is very hard to get a 4 pointer totally level and rigid.

I use blu-tac under each corner of the speaker to couple it to the speaker stand, better to couple it to this heavy and rigid object, then de-couple the stand + speaker combo from the rubbish bouncy castle floor.
 
I have been reading around. Am i correct in thinking that solid marble floors would allow me to place bookshelfs onto them with blu tac on the corners? The floors wont vibrate and the blu tac will help the speaker from vibrating against the floor?
 
Snax said:
I have been reading around. Am i correct in thinking that solid marble floors would allow me to place bookshelfs onto them with blu tac on the corners? The floors wont vibrate and the blu tac will help the speaker from vibrating against the floor?
Click to expand...

The blu-tac will help couple the speakers to the floor. By coupling them to a stupidly hard and rigid surface like your marble, it will reduce the transmitted vibrations produced by the speakers. So in actual fact it will try to help the speakers vibrate the floor, but with it being such a heavy rigid mass, the vibrations won't occur.

THe problem with them being at floor level is that the tweeter won't be at ear level, unless you lie on the floor, or they are standmounts. Keep them coupled to the floor and keep the tweeters at ear level. Also experiment with their separation, distance from the wall (especially important if they have rear bass ports), and also toeing them in towards the centre of the listening position. These can all affect the sound dramatically.

But one thing I would advise, is to get a thick rug to put on *** floor between the speakers and your listening position, having such a large reflective surface will play havoc with the acoustics. Same goes for the walls, so having mirrors all over won't be a good idea, but putting sofa cushions on walls will be a step to far. Maybe invest in an SPL metre and have a read up on room acoustics to see if you can do some DIY and simple mods E.g. Thick rug to help sort your room out.
 
Thanks very much. That was a very useful reply. I shall have fun playing with them later on tonight.
 
No worries, it's the end of a long day at work, and that post was the most productive thing I have done all day :D:D:D
 
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