Why do heavy, well-braced Magicos and Giant Wilsons benefit from MPOD & Stillpoint Footers?

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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My speakers were designed to work best on casters. Speaker positioning of 7 ft behemoths with a touch of the finger guided by a gentle hand. Gotta love it.
 

DaveC

Industry Expert
Nov 16, 2014
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My speakers have come with their own suspension system ever since I took over design.

Here's what I wrote about coupling/decoupling on What's Best Forum years ago:

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...ing-with-particular-reference-to-loudspeakers

Wow, nice diagrams, nice job! :)

Your analysis of viscoelastic materials is good, and explains why sometimes it's just not a great solution, even with components, and why sometimes products like Sorbothane can suck the life out of the music. But sometimes viscos work well, not sure why exactly...

The IsoAcoustics stands work particularly well imo, possibly because they allow horizontal movement, but the restorative force is VERY weak, so there may be little relation between force and response vs typical visco materials... or a much larger hysterisis loop. In nay case, I really don't notice any downsides in a bunch of different applications.
 

BruceD

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Dec 13, 2013
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My speakers were designed to work best on casters. Speaker positioning of 7 ft behemoths with a touch of the finger guided by a gentle hand. Gotta love it.

Ha! Way to go Jack! super Hi End Speakers on Casters --that probably have some lateral ( or bi directional) movement when excited by the Transducer sonics--and still sound GREAT:D

So much for the stringent Spikes lock'em down at all costs theory-ha!

Secretly when I had my Rockport floor standers they sounded their best on Aurios--go figure:rolleyes:?

Horses for courses

BruceD
 

caesar

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May 30, 2010
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I know that it is a fun part of the hobby for many to experiment with tweaks, and I'm also well aware that many manufacturers are in the business of up-selling.

But shouldn't the next wave of innovation in speaker design be to make sure that woofers, midranges, and tweeters sit still and not vibrate? I know guys are proud that some cabinets do not vibrate, but the drivers inside those inert cabinets do???
 

caesar

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May 30, 2010
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I can already imagine an owner of the new $700K WAMM posting that his speaker didn't sound "quite right" until he put the most expensive stillpoints underneath them. :)
 

andromedaaudio

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Jan 23, 2011
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Nobody seems to mention finite element , much better then spikes(imo) /very well made , what is very important is that a device is proper loaded to work optimally , below is a list of which device to use and how much to load it to function optimally , just scroll down
Heavy speakers are much easier to couple to the ground in my expirience ( if they dont have a ringing cabinet in the first place) , mine stand solid as a rock on a wooden floor (concrete underneath )

The cera technology is based on direct coupling for effective transfer of sound
interfering resonance. fast resonance transfer is provided by extreme hard
high-tech ceramic balls. combined with precision machined materials like stainless
steel or aluminum the optimum balance between damping and deflection is
achieved. the resulting vacuum effect draws off unwanted resonance directly
where it evolves.
the clear advantage: no resonance build-up, no overdamping, no loss of deflection.
the cera technology improves the sound wherever sound-impairing resonance
restricts the musicality.

http://www.moremusic.nl/finite_elemente/Brochure_accessoires.pdf

Ps i dont see this (loading optimum) mentioned with either MPOD/Qpod or stillpoints ultras , had a quick look at the websites
 
Last edited:

FrantzM

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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I know that it is a fun part of the hobby for many to experiment with tweaks, and I'm also well aware that many manufacturers are in the business of up-selling.

But shouldn't the next wave of innovation in speaker design be to make sure that woofers, midranges, and tweeters sit still and not vibrate? I know guys are proud that some cabinets do not vibrate, but the drivers inside those inert cabinets do???

How would these make any sound if they don't vibrate? :p
 

Elberoth

Member Sponsor
Dec 15, 2012
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Poland
Nobody seems to mention finite element , much better then spikes(imo) /very well made , what is very important is that a device is proper loaded to work optimally , below is a list of which device to use and how much to load it to function optimally , just scroll down
Heavy speakers are much easier to couple to the ground in my expirience ( if they dont have a ringing cabinet in the first place) , mine stand solid as a rock on a wooden floor (concrete underneath )

The cera technology is based on direct coupling for effective transfer of sound
interfering resonance. fast resonance transfer is provided by extreme hard
high-tech ceramic balls. combined with precision machined materials like stainless
steel or aluminum the optimum balance between damping and deflection is
achieved. the resulting vacuum effect draws off unwanted resonance directly
where it evolves.
the clear advantage: no resonance build-up, no overdamping, no loss of deflection.
the cera technology improves the sound wherever sound-impairing resonance
restricts the musicality.

http://www.moremusic.nl/finite_elemente/Brochure_accessoires.pdf

Ps i dont see this (loading optimum) mentioned with either MPOD/Qpod or stillpoints ultras , had a quick look at the websites

I have a bunch of Finite Elemente couplers (they come in 3 sizes), but as with still points, they are very system dependent.
 

microstrip

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May 30, 2010
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How would these make any sound if they don't vibrate? :p

I think Caesar is addressing the loudspeaker chassis and magnet structure. Many loudspeaker manufacturers already optimize this aspect.
 

DaveC

Industry Expert
Nov 16, 2014
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I think the issue with coupling is, the speaker drives the floor. Even if it's concrete. This makes the floor audible, it "sings along" with the music. You might like it or you might not, but at the end of the day it's just sound effects.

caesar, some drivers do have audible baskets/magnet structures, steel is always an issue, but it can be dealt with by damping, and the magnet structure can be shaped to minimize diffraction issues. I use a couple different materials on my midrange drivers for this.
 
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Kingrex

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2019
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I have 2 thoughts on this.
1: Mpods could be throught of as any other premium upgrade accessory. Do you want the stock tweeter, or the S tweeter. No one complains Karma give you this choice for a $4K or so uptick in price.

2: Every floor is different. Concrete, wood Ibeams, Wood solids, shiplap sub, Plywood sub, surface material soft or hard or engineered, levels of structure loading the floor, joist and beams. I don't see building a 1 size fits all. So we have to try different solutions.

Now it would be nice if a manufacturer offered stock options where the dealer could have a set of each and the owner determines what works best, then buys the add on. But I have just suggested an option thay Magico is offering. An option to the stock feet to better match the feet to the surface in your home.
 

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