#432699 - 09/27/03 02:17 PM
What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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RockNRoll
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Registered: 09/30/01
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Hi there,
I've heard of something called "Mo Pads" that were specifically marketed for placing your monitors on. But are there any other items that could come in handy to effectively do the same job? Would any kind of rubber material suffice, e.g. a rubber based mouse pad for the smaller 5" monitors? Thanks for the tips!
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#432700 - 09/27/03 02:45 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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AudioMaverick
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MoPAD Monitor Isolation Pads -- Auralex.com
You can also suspend them or stand them on conical pads, so sound won't travle though easily (used to be used for turntables).
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#432701 - 09/27/03 05:52 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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ptuzer
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The company that designed our studio used a material called Closed Cell Foam Rubber. It is available at most widow & door installation companies. It comes is lots of different sizes and thickness.
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#432702 - 09/27/03 09:00 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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Philip O'Keefe
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I use a pair of MoPads with my ADAM S3-A's, and I've been happy with them. At around $30 (here in the USA), they're not all that expensive, and you can angle the speakers a variety of ways, depending on how you set them up - so they're probably more flexible / adjustable than other potential solutions.
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#432703 - 09/28/03 03:01 AM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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Matt.Hepworth
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I also use Mo-Pads.
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#432704 - 09/28/03 07:23 AM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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jdunn
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Nordost Pulsar Points
I haven't bought these yet, but these guys make great stuff. The best cables in the world. I highly recommend their Moonglow digital cable, and I want to try the Silver Shadow. It's even more expensive! The Blue Heaven speaker cable is said to be nice too, and.......
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#432705 - 09/28/03 01:22 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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miroslav
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I was able to get my hands on a free piece of beautifull 1 & 1/2" thick white marble...had it cut into several squares (also free!), sized for my monitors.
(I have enough to do a 5.1 setup down the road.)
Then I got some dense foam...it's basically the kind used for sleeping bag mats (1/4" thick) and cut it into the same size squares.
I then made a foam/marble/foam sandwich and placed that under my Mackie 824's.
Works like a charm!
Of course...getting the marble for free made it a sweet deal, otherwise it would have been way to expensive....so I only paid like $10 at Wallymart for the sleeping mat foam sheet! 
You can kinda' see them in these studio pics in this thread:
Studio Pics
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#432706 - 09/28/03 01:37 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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Roger Foote
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Miroslav
You could pour some concrete squares if you couldn't get the marble easily. Probably any other high density stone would also work...
Where I live (in the mountains) there are some old abandoned marble quarries, I think I will scrounge around, maybe there are some remnants laying around...
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#432707 - 09/28/03 10:10 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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Uh Clem
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Originally posted by RockNRoll:
Hi there,
I've heard of something called "Mo Pads" that were specifically marketed for placing your monitors on. But are there any other items that could come in handy to effectively do the same job? Would any kind of rubber material suffice, e.g. a rubber based mouse pad for the smaller 5" monitors? Thanks for the tips!
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#432708 - 09/29/03 01:45 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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RockNRoll
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Thanks for the advice! I checked if they had a distributor here in Hong Kong and luckily they do. Thanks again!
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#432709 - 09/29/03 02:04 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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blairl
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Your local HVAC supply should have some vibration isolation pads that they use to mount condensers on roof tops. These will work as well.
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#432710 - 09/30/03 04:40 AM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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d gauss
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i use oblong marbles. look like marbles that got run over by a steam roller. 45 under each speaker. cost 2 dollars for a bag of hundreds. enough to outfit the entire city... 
-d. gauss
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#432711 - 09/30/03 09:32 AM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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FatBoy
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what´s exactly the advantage of decoupeling monitors?
peace
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#432712 - 09/30/03 11:12 AM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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miroslav
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Well...if you don't, the object they are sitting on top of can add to or cancel certain frequencies because there is an interaction between the monitors and that object.
Like if you have them on top of a table, or the meter bridge or equipment racks...all these things could be made to vibrate if the monitors sit directly on top of them. Usually it's the LF that is most noticeable.
Decoupling allows you to hear mostly the monitors.
Of course...even when you decouple...all those object can/will still interact as the sound from the monitors hits them...but not as bad as when the monitors are in direct contact.
Maybe someone can give a more mathematical/analytical explanation…but that’s kinda’ it in a nutshell. 
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miroslav - miroslavmusic.com"Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important."
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#432713 - 09/30/03 11:41 AM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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Ethan Winer
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Miroslav,
> Maybe someone can give a more mathematical/analytical explanation <
The basic issue is that sound travels through solid materials much faster than through air. So if the loudspeakers are coupled mechanically to the floor, sound waves travel through the air and across the floor at different speeds and arrive at different times. This can cause phase cancellation when the waves combine at your ears.
Depending on the distance, frequency in question, and the difference in level between the airborne and mechanically coupled waves, you can get a small change in frequency response. However, the skewed response you can get from not decoupling your loudspeakers is insignificant compared to the far more serious response errors caused by regular waves in the air reflecting off the walls, floor, and ceiling.
--Ethan
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#432714 - 09/30/03 11:48 AM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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StoneinaPond
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However, the skewed response you can get from not decoupling your loudspeakers is insignificant compared to the far more serious response errors caused by regular waves in the air reflecting off the walls, floor, and ceiling.
While I would completely agree with you about air reflections, I would certainly dispute your use of the word "insignificant."
All of these issues are important to address in the quest for a great monitoring environment.
Decoupling has the advantage of being relatively inexpensive compared with other issues in room treatment and I would heartily recommend that if people do nothing more, they at least start there.
And Mo-Pads are great.
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Yorik
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"Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on."
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#432715 - 09/30/03 01:04 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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miroslav
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Well...since my studio floor is a thick concrete slab...I was mostly looking to decouple from my console table and side racks, which is a rather large, single wooden unit.
Before I placed the foam/marble/foam under the monitors, the wooden console/racks unit did interact more noticeably with the monitors than it does now.
Also, my floor truly becomes insignificant in the whole equation even more so, since the console/racks unit sits on thick rubber wheels, which decouple things even further.
I put the wheels on everything because I wanted it to be mobile so that I could easily get behind the unit...and the decoupling was an automatic added benefit.
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miroslav - miroslavmusic.com"Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important."
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#432716 - 09/30/03 03:13 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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Ethan Winer
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Yorik,
> I would certainly dispute your use of the word "insignificant." <
It could be. When the MoPads first came out Auralex sent me a pair to try. My studio has huge JBL speakers so I gave them to a friend who has a pair of Mackie 824s, but neither of us heard any difference at all. Even in my living room the 2-inch thick 705 fiberglass platforms I put under my main speakers and subwoofer make only a very small change. Small enough that I'm not even sure which is better, with or without. If you say decoupling makes more of a difference in your room, I have no reason to doubt that.
But to me there's no question that bass traps are far more important than loudspeaker isolation. The biggest problem in all smallish rooms is the severe peaks and dips in the low frequency response, and speaker pads won't do anything for that. They may tighten things up a little bit, but nowhere near as much as a sufficient amount of LF absorption.
--Ethan
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#432717 - 09/30/03 03:22 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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StoneinaPond
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They may tighten things up a little bit, but nowhere near as much as a sufficient amount of LF absorption.
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"Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on."
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#432718 - 10/05/03 12:28 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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Bob Maus
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But to me there's no question that bass traps are far more important than loudspeaker isolation. The biggest problem in all smallish rooms is the severe peaks and dips in the low frequency response, and speaker pads won't do anything for that. They may tighten things up a little bit, but nowhere near as much as a sufficient amount of LF absorption.
That said, I use the Mo Pads with my SA-3s and they serve the purpose well isolating the stands and the monitors. The Mo Pads are great little money maker for Auralex, just about any dense foam will do the same thing. They just look nicer. I would guess the packaging for the MPs costs more than the foam itself! lol Got mine for $19 at my local music store.
Bob
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#432719 - 10/05/03 06:42 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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Anderson Council Sound
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I have my speakers on Raxxess wood stands with the center column filled with playground sand to "decouple" the monitors. The speakers themselves (both NS-10's and KRK V8's) also sit atop foam cut from the packaging of my ADAT machines, about 1/4" thick. Is this setup adequate, or should I go spend $20 on some mo pads and toss the ADAT foam?
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#432720 - 10/05/03 11:49 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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philbo_Tangent
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My 'MoPads' are Mouse Pads...
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#432721 - 10/06/03 12:29 PM
Re: What kind of material to decouple your monitors?
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Ethan Winer
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Anderson,
> The speakers ... sit atop foam cut from the packaging of my ADAT machines, about 1/4" thick. <
Thicker might be better. Or having foam may make no difference. If you think you need isolation at all, the real issue with any material is if it's compressed too much so it becomes more solid and transmits vibration. Is your 1/4 inch foam squished down? If it's still 1/4 inch thick it's probably fine as is.
--Ethan
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