# What's the Deal w Isolation & Couplers



## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

I been reading on a site about isolation and coupling and decoupling , spikes w/o dampeners , wooden blaocks under amps.. I have a concrete floors w large throw rugs. I use spikes under my speakers and racks with dampeners, is this or what


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Decoupling speakers from the floor is a good idea if its a wood floor however concrete it makes no difference really.
Decoupling amps and other items is a bunch of snake oil unless its a tube amp or turntable. Back in the day 30+ years ago vibration from the amps power supplies could cause interference with other components however with the advancements in technology and everything going away from analog this is moot. the only advantage these "spacers" can have is giving better airflow between components.


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## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

That's what I was thinking.. I tried all kinds of things and to my ears I couldn't tell the difference. I stuck with the spikes and dampers , the dampers because the wife didn't want spike marks in the tile.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

A set of used hockey pucks are far cheaper and will active the same thing as well


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## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

Interesting never thought of that, but since we have NO hockey stuff in my town, had the dampers.

I hear of of this stuff about wooden blocks under turntables, amps. The way I look at it, if a person actually purchased this stuff they will defend it to the bitter end...


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Particularly what they charge for them. :spend:


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

If you want to try spikes... Just put a penny under them so you don't scratch the floor. As it was said above Tube amps, and turntables are the areas you will mainly see a dif. I used to run Spikes under my speakers... I heard no dif but it did keep them in the spot I put them. You can make your own spikes out of a piecs of threaded rod and a couple of nuts... Just grind a point onto the end.


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## Wardsweb (Apr 2, 2010)

A lot has to do with what you are trying to achieve and what kind of resolution your system has. Are you trying to stop the mechanical transfer of energy from leaving a piece of gear or entering it? Are you having an issue with a piece of gear resonating and affecting it's own playback? Each problem requires a different solution. So there are different things that isolate, dampen, couple and decouple your gear. Some do a combination of a couple of these. 

Over the years I have used all of these to some degree. I spike my turntable that is susceptible to picking up external vibration. For my old turntable, I built a sand box to dampen the resonance of the motor that was being picked up as rumble by the needle. I've spiked speakers to get through carpet so they actually rested on the subfloor to tighten the bass. I use spikes with layers of dampening material on my amp stands to quell microphonic tubes. 

This list goes on and on. Bottom line they can do wonders in a system. Do your research to understand what issues you are having, what is causing them, what measures are needed to counter act and then apply the counter measure. This may take some trial and error. Different material on different surfaces give different results. It is part science and part art, as we all like our music differently.


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## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

When I read all of these claims about wooden bases, air suspension etc... I often wonder where in the world do these people live, on some earthquake fault, next to a railway or at the end of a international runway or do they have crazed kids that keep bumping into the audio equipment. It's crazy I tell ya and fits into marketing 101, sell it and they will come.


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## hyghwayman (Jan 15, 2008)

pxj said:


> I often wonder where in the world do these people live, on some earthquake fault, next to a railway or at the end of a international runway or do they have crazed kids that keep bumping into the audio equipment.


:rofl2: Enjoyed the reference to kids :T


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