monitor isolation pads, do they work?

G

guitz

Member
do those auralex foam monitor pads really make a difference? ...if they do, I'm wondering if a freebie alternative of sticking a rubbery mousepad under the monitors would have the same effect?
 
my understanding, in short is that "air" is the goal, anti-contact, alias de-couple..disconnect.

so beings "air" and floating speakers haven't been invented yet....

we have foam and spikes and other rubber products...
spikes make tiny contact points, reducing the "contact area".
with foam of coarse like "air".....reducing the direct contact.

there's rubber feet I got with my YSM1P's and other speakers, the cheap mans spike.
The KRK RP6 Limited SE, I recently had had a solid rubber piece(like a mouse pad)..
my paradigms hifi had spikes, my surround have spikes....
the subs have rubber feet....most stands have rubber pads.

and like usual, most of all these products are based around Bass Freaks.

same as the Bass traps...the Bass.

and stands too....thats probably one of the best things, though you'
ll still need spikes or rubber feet or foam but you can also "de-couple" the speaker from the console and gain benefit of reflections (most likely).

I wouldn't spend too much on them. Kind of like MONSTER CABLES.

The auralex is cut and angled for you, so thats worth something.

A B&W article had a mention, "de-couple the speakers from the stands and keep the bass in the cabinet, like it was designed"

I'm working on a "floating anti-gravity speaker"....perfect decoupling
 
COOLCAT said:
my understanding, in short is that "air" is the goal, anti-contact, alias de-couple..disconnect.

so beings "air" and floating speakers haven't been invented yet....

we have foam and spikes and other rubber products...
spikes make tiny contact points, reducing the "contact area".
with foam of coarse like "air".....reducing the direct contact.

there's rubber feet I got with my YSM1P's and other speakers, the cheap mans spike.
The KRK RP6 Limited SE, I recently had had a solid rubber piece(like a mouse pad)..
my paradigms hifi had spikes, my surround have spikes....
the subs have rubber feet....most stands have rubber pads.

and like usual, most of all these products are based around Bass Freaks.

same as the Bass traps...the Bass.

and stands too....thats probably one of the best things, though you'
ll still need spikes or rubber feet or foam but you can also "de-couple" the speaker from the console and gain benefit of reflections (most likely).

I wouldn't spend too much on them. Kind of like MONSTER CABLES.

The auralex is cut and angled for you, so thats worth something.

A B&W article had a mention, "de-couple the speakers from the stands and keep the bass in the cabinet, like it was designed"

I'm working on a "floating anti-gravity speaker"....perfect decoupling
Click to expand...


interesting...also, I notice you said you have YSM-1 p's, happy with them?...I'm assuming those are the powered version? I've had the Yorkville passive YSM-1 for years, and I'm thinking I should go powered, 'cause I've used a lame old Sony receiver as a power amp...maybe I should keep 'em and buy a decent amp, but I wanna jump on the vogue train and go powered! lol
 
so get some foam and put under your speakers and see if you hear a difference, maybe that will help save some money. :D
A friend here also mentioned he puts four little smooth stones etc, instead of buying spikes, small stones that make smallest point of contact.

the Actives save table space and only need 2qty cables. :D

the YSM's sound good and I haven't heard anything to replace the Yorks yet.

an amp and speakers seems to have worked for many, many years.
Similarly, most people have to be told if their looking at 720P or 1080P Hi-Def TV pictures too.

The technical Bi_Amp thing is great if done right. Designers and matching, bi-amping.... Of course, their right, science and electrons...did I mention you save TABLE SPACE too!! :p

I recently saw someone posted the DYN BM5A amplifier pics.
It's obvious, from the jpg. & a pure technology and build quality a huge Krell amplifier at $12,000 or Bryston $2,000 etc...has..er...a tiny, itty bit..more under the hood than a little IC amplifier.

and my other systems, I have towers and 2 way, and 5.1's ...and they aren't active, and they can sound really good, but then my towers don't sit on a desktop...

did you know you can save table space with Actives and they only require 2qty cables for hookup?



:p
 
yeah, they work. my monitors are on stands, and the low end tightened and the overall "focus" improved when i put mopads under my asp8s. they stopped the stands from vibrating as well.

i bought another set to put under my small amps (champ, vox pathfinder, etc).


cheers,
wade
 
I use them. I didn't for about 2 years. Defineatly a noticeable difference. The low end seems tighter to me. They are cheap enough to try, imo, or just try something you have laying around to see if it's worth shelling out the money. I do suggest buying some because they are very sturdy and I defienatly feel safe with my moniters sitting them. But you could get other foam to try it out. Also, if you need your moniters higher, angled, etc, they allow you to do so very easily as well. I needed my moniters prtty much the exact height of the mopads i bought from auralex, that was my main reason but i found they do work.
 
Go to a craft store. You can buy foam rubber that's like 1/4 inch thick - a pack of a few of them for next to nothing. Very similar to mouse pad material, but cheaper (unless your mousepads are cheap). You can even double them up for a real smooth ride.
 
yeah they really do work...i had mine on my desk...so it's sorta like your monitors are in mid air...(not incontact with anything) they isolate the sound from wherever the are standing...and there 40 bucks so it's not a bad deal
 
If you have monitors on your desk, put your ear to the desktop...you'll hear tones coming from it. Then, put Mopads under your monitors and try it again...nothing. They work great IMO.
 
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