OT: Primacoustic Recoil Stabilizers

[DanS]

Been humming & hawing about these for about 2 years, and finally picked a pair up for my Adams this week.

What these things do is decouple your near fields from the stand they're on, and prevent the speaker from 'recoiling' when you're pumping your mixes thru them. The idea is that if your speakers aren't moving, your soundstage & imaging is more focused, and the bass is going to be tighter.

 

I didn't exactly do an A/B comparison, but put on Metheny & Haden's The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress without the Recoils, then installed them and listened to the same track again.

Well I was impressed, the bass was less boomy and more focused, and the rest of the mix seemed less smeared and tighter. There was little elements & harmonics I'd never picked up on before from Metheny's guitar as well.

 

For anyone thinking they need a monitor upgrade, you might borrow a pair of these to see if your mixes improve first.

Granted for what these things are, foam, .25" aluminum sheet, and rubber, they're not exactly cheap ($100/ea), but less expensive than a new set of monitors.

 

Check 'em out.

[NewImprov]

I got a set of Auralex MoPads a few years ago, and I like what they did to my monitoring environment. I had some pretty serious problems with my mixes leaving the room too bass heavy before I got the MoPads. Now, I still have the same problem, but it is much less severe. The recoil stabilizer looks pretty cool, but for $40, I'm happy with my MoPads.

[Tom Fiala]

+1 on the primacoustics. While I don't fully know how to put into words the difference, there really is something going on there, more than just a placebo effect! Makes my ADAM p11a's sound even better.

[Mark Schmieder]

I've got the Auralex MoPads myself, and they made a HUGE difference. I also like their flexibility of positioning and angling.

 

The Primacoustic Recoil stabilizers got a great writeup in Mix Magazine and SOS recently, but I personally have eyes on their special-purpose kick drum mic stand, which is easier to position than most, and also better decouples than other solutions.

 

I guess there's a whole series of these stabiliziers now for different purposes. Glad the monitor pads are working out for you. They're about twice as expensive as the MoPads, so hopefully they're twice as good. :-) If so, I might consider them as an upgrade in the future.

[Dave Bryce]

I have both MoPads and the Recoils. The Recoils are definitely worth the extra $, IMO.

 

dB

[Mark Schmieder]

Hey, good feedback. Thanks, Dave.

[KenElevenShadows]

I got a set of Auralex MoPads a few years ago, and I like what they did to my monitoring environment. I had some pretty serious problems with my mixes leaving the room too bass heavy before I got the MoPads. Now, I still have the same problem, but it is much less severe. The recoil stabilizer looks pretty cool, but for $40, I'm happy with my MoPads.

 

I replaced my MoPads with the Recoil Stabilizers for my ADAM monitors, and I don't think the MoPads hold a candle to the Recoil Stabilizers for improving the sound. The Recoil Stabilizers created tighter bass with deeper bass response, better imaging, and a generally more focused sound, and was a stunning difference from the MoPads. It was like a monitor upgrade. I love them.

[Mark Schmieder]

You guys have almost convinced me -- especially as the buyer of my KRK Rokits needs them anyway, so the timing would be good (I'm picking up my new JBL LSR2025's on Monday).

 

I'm wondering if it makes more sense to get the sub first though? On the other hand, I think the MoPads made more of a difference with my Rokit 6's than the Rokit 10 subwoofer did.