Stack of paper reams as speaker isolation stands?

[Percussionista]

I've got my Stealth-8's on my 5-foot wide heavy-duty desk, and they are "temporarily" now propped up by 4 reams of paper each (hence, 8" off the desk, good ear height). I've been able to move the 8's a little further from the back wall to remove some of the bad effects of having the back ports too close to the wall, and extended the front of the desk with a large 1/4" acrylic panel so I could sit further back too. Anyway....

I was browsing through the latest Sweetwater catalog and came upon some ISO Acoustics ISO-L8R series isolation stands that help decouple one's speakers from what they are sitting on (same idea as spikes for carpeted floors). I checked and they get excellent reviews including from a sound engineer that was sure they were going to be snake oil.

Along the way it seemed like other methods for decoupling might be having a sand-filled stand (which works presumably by absorbing the bass energies, the sand being both heavy and loose). So I'm wondering... does my paper stack (8 reams) which is quite heavy also work the same way - given there are now 2000 independent pieces of paper stacked under each speaker? I realize the paper reams are a bit "unorthodox" and perhaps "unsightly" so I am leaning towards getting the large versions of these ISO-L8Rs. I do want the bass to be tighter still avoiding upper-bass schmeer, etc.

(Of course, the paper reams are quite a bit less expensive as a solution, though I'm not sure they really do the job. Perhaps I need to get reams of textured rather than smooth paper to make them even more "loosely" coupled, though those reams would be slightly taller and raise the speakers more ;-))

[garbulky]

It all depends on the quality of paper. I find the paper with the highest brightness rating makes a difference in the treble.....And don't go getting those rejects from wally world. Premium Dunder Mifflin only.

[Boomzilla]

Paper as speaker stands? Why not? Secure, functional, and at hand if you need the paper. Go for it!

I'm a pragmatist when it comes to speaker stands. I've even used inverted waste baskets before (not kidding). I found a few "audiofool" grade stands at yard sales in various heights and use those now.

Just use what works.

[Gary Cook]

I have used something like the Emotiva Pro wedges previously.

Cheers

Gary

[Percussionista]

Feb 25, 2014 15:23:25 GMT -5 Boomzilla said:

Paper as speaker stands? Why not?.... Just use what works.

Boom... you have asked the right questions. It's not just what can I use to raise the speakers to a certain height.

What I'm really trying to find out is ... do these reams of paper act as isolation stands in the manner of spikes and their ilk? I don't have anything else to compare them to that are supposed to be isolation stands. If all the reams do is raise the Stealth-8's, but still couples them to the desk, then I want something else underneath- like those ISO Acoustics ISO-L8Rs ($150/pair).

[Boomzilla]

The functionality of "physical diodes" (cones, spikes, etc.) that isolate vibration from one side only are questionable at best, IMHO. I don't worry about it.

[lionear]

Yes, I think they will work. Paper doesn't resonate and it's pretty good at damping. I've heard people putting their turntables on top of phone books. The binding on one side will prevent the pages from sliding out. You'll get the best sound from the Santa Monica A-M phone book published in May 1978. They're going for about $10,000 now on underground web sites. I'm told the first edition of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist is a close second. (Just kidding.)

But if something is too heavy, then the weight will compress the paper and make it more "solid" and it won't be as good at damping.

There are other options, too. You can rest them on tennis balls, a bike tyre inner tube sandwiched between two boards, Sorbothane pucks, shelves made of different materials, etc. There are many types of cones to choose from. I tried Black Diamond Racing cones once - they had a lot of good effects but ultimately, I took them out because the con's outweighed the pro's.

I think the key is not to spend a lot of money on any vibration control equipment unless you have a long time to try it out and can return it without penalty. There's no guarantee that any device will work in your system, or suit your tastes.

I think the only people who have truly come up with a proper isolation system is Goldmund. But they reserve that for their "full" products, not accessories. A friend of mine bought some Goldmund Cones (when they were available) - but they were not a magic bullet. They looked like regular metal cones, with some sort of RTV type material on the inside, and didn't work any better or worse than other cones.