Re: Monitor Decoupling - Clarification Please!

Hi, I have been reading many threads (on this site and others) and have gotten confused. Maybe someone here could clear something up for me. I have recently built stands for my new KRK RP8's. They are constructed as follows: From bottom up - 4 sharpened bolts (carpet spikes) - 2 12" X 12" sheets 3/4" Plywood glued and screwed - PVC closet flange - 4" PVC (sand filled) - PVC closet flange - 2 12" x 12" sheets 3/4" Plywood glued and screwed Now, when it comes to placing the monitors on top of the stands I currently don't have anything between the speaker and the stand. If I am to have a Mass-Spring-Mass configuration, should I not then have something between them? Or alternately, between the stand and the floor? Any advice would be great! Cheers, Andrew

Andrew, Invite two friends over and have them lift your speakers 1/4 inch while you listen. If you hear no difference then you don't need to decouple the speakers. --Ethan

See, the problem is, when I invite my friends over they want to chat and talk and blah blah blah…..and their voices interfere with my listening! They keep saying “These speakers are heavy!......are you going to feed us??... what does that thingy do?” So what you’re saying is I should use my ears? Awwwww c’mon….that’s not very tech savy. :D Well one thing I do know is that the new monitors and proper stands have made a tremendous improvement already. I am going to be treating the room with bass traps and broadband absorbers in the next few weeks so perhaps then I will be able to hear a difference between mopad and no-mopad. Right now I can’t. But that could because I’m in a room that is 9’6” W x 10’ L x 8’ H with no acoustic treatment (Yikes). I think the difference between decoupling or not decoupling gets lost within the other problems my room probably has going on. I’m trying to follow as many “rules” acoustically as I can. Anyways, I guess I’ll have to feed my friends when I invite them back in a few weeks huh? Cheers, Andrew

If you do hear a difference, make sure your friends don't mind holding the loudspeakers while you mix. :lol: Of course, if they start complaining of arm and/or back pain after the first or second day (ingrates!), there are a couple of commercial products I know of that can replace your friends (neither of which will demand pizza and beer for their trouble): Auralex - MoPads Primacoustic - Recoil Stabilizer There may be others as well. More low-tech, you could try using mouse pads or even mineral fiber insulation (preferably wrapped in something). For these options, you may need to experiment with different thicknesses to figure out what's going to work best. There is an "optimum" thickness for this sort of thing - i.e., not too thick; not too thin - that will depend on the material. HTH. Best regards,