[music_man]

I started really messing with audio again after a few years. my bedroom system is very compromised in setup. it is very high end too. I have tried many isolation products. which really could help here. they were ho-hum mostly. I just knew this system could do way more. so I was at Walmart a few days ago and saw something promising. they are from walmarts "mainstays" brand and drink coasters. they are a thin layer of cork on each side and a compressed cardboard in the middle. they are like 3" in diameter and about 1/5" tall. now I don't really think tweaks make much difference in a well setup system. in a poorly setup system they can perhaps do a lot. anyways, the difference was literally night and day. I mean this was not like I might think it may be,dbt bs or whatever. it was freaking night and day. the things are $3.75 for four in the kitchen accessories isle. as usual ymmv. I may have just lucked out for my room,table etc. the only issue I have is having $4 drink coasters under diamond dac iv,p01,hev90 etc lol. hey, whatever works!

 

[squallkiercosa]

A picture worth a thousand words. I use cork behind my subwoofer but mostly for decorative purposes.

 

[music_man]

it is a drink coaster!. unless you mean a pic of my bedroom which I am not posting funny you mention sub. the sub in my bedroom is so poorly placed as well. what worked for that by trial and error... a piece of acoustic ceiling tile on the floor with a 1/2" piece of maple over it and then the sub. it is a rel. under my speakers I figured out to use cabinet gripper roll that is yellow/orange! yes, I will not take a pic because this is quite embarrassing lol.

 

[TheAttorney]

Are these the ones?

Found by searching for "cork coaster" on the Walmart website. Says they're just over 4 inches diameter and only available instore. Doesn't help me much, as I live in the UK

.
 
How well do they cope with spiked feet? I happen to be looking for spike protectors.

 

[music_man]

yeah those are them. I measure them about 3". their descriptions are not always perfect. I have an amp that weighs 70 pounds sitting on them with spiked feet. it put a dent in them but they did not go through the top cork. I think because the cardboard underneath is hard enough. I don't know if they will improve everyone's sound but I think they do the job of a spike protector like you want. I don't know how you would get them in the uk. however you probably could get rubber coasters which make good spike protectors and shouldn't harm your sound. of course with a lot of weight on a wood floor they might stick. you could just look at the spike cones for audio but those are way more money too. I am now interested in some glass coasters Walmart has. at first I thought they looked like, well drink coasters. they are not as bad looking as those air con rubber/cork blocks though and not as bad looking as myrtlewood either. however if these sound great to me I bet those air con blocks are possibly even better.

 

[music_man]

well, I guess this was not of much interest. I offer, go to homedepot and type in "door stop". lots of stuff. I have not tested any of it but a couple products look familiar at half the price.

 

[marone]

I buy cheap flip flops and choose for spongy heels. I cut them up and use them as neoprene footers.

 

[AladdinSane]

You might also consider old (or new) mouse pads either cut up or whole depending on your device dimensions. Available everywhere and very cheap.

 

[marone]

Yep - used as facing for small bookshelf speakers they make a good front and tweeter surround. Tend to laminate, though. The nylon separates from the foam.

 

[music_man]

i know this is old. today finally i took some stillpoints #6 footers off my reference system and tried them in my bedroom system. in the reference system they are like the finishing touch. maybe 1% of the sound quality. mind you with their feet these are a grand each! so in the bedroom system the sound was terrible. back to the cheap coasters. i attribute this to just the very poor setup of the system. i am just very lucky i stumbled upon the coasters so long ago. they made much more of a difference in the bedroom system than the stillpoints do in the reference system. whatever works and sounds best. that is always my motto when it comes to home audio. things can be a big surprise sometimes. it was just amusing to hear the $1,000 each stillpoints ruin the sound. of course that is due to my very poor placement of equipment and no fault of the stillpoints. it still put a grin on my face. you can always try cheap tweaks you find at walmart or home depot. you never know what will sound good to you. of course under the proper circumstances the stillpoints do have their place.  obviously you do not just go buy those if your system is on a bookshelf. the fact of what i have on a bookshelf is pretty amusing in itself though. i do the best i can.

 

[music_man]

since this was on my mind i looked around for other ideas. if you would rather isolate than couple there are rubber coasters at bed bath and beyond and walmart. they are like flat vibrapods. to me more versatile since they hardly raise the components and should not dent like vibrapods. isonodes are nothing more than $3 door handle bumpers at home depot. the ones in the metal base are akin to mini ginko's. shakti stones are free in your garden! j/k. one of the best things is very hard wood. harder than myrtle. can be had at rockler hardware. however stay away from the bench cookies there. i found those actually harm the sound. of course ymmv. unless you are getting still points you can get these things re-purposed, which they usually are anyways without paying absurd audiophile prices.
 
just found these. they are outstanding for sound quality! http://antivibration.kellettent.com/item/all-categories/washing-machine-pads/plus-pads $10-$15 for four at lowes.
other than that if you can obtain some borneo ironwood to make into pucks i feel that is the best isolation there is period. good luck getting some though.

 

[V1001]

I used these for some amps a while back. They are a lot bigger and thicker in person than they look in the photo. Can't say I noticed a difference on amps. But could maybe do some experimenting.
 
 http://www.amazon.com/Pack-Anti-Vibration-Rubber-isolation/dp/B001THXRP8?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00

 

[music_man]

yeah i know about those. kellet is much better. layers of sorbothane and abs.

 

[music_man]

 turns out the kellet shake away ke is king. I thought the cork was good but this is way more solid but gives enough to stop vibration. beat my stlll points 6! incredible what you can find if you look around. these things might be the last word now. one warning. they are very solid to put your gear on but they are like 1.5" high. if your components are in a rack that might not work. in fact I measured harder than the pagode rack with the durometer! that is strange because neoprene should be softer than maple. one correction they are neoprene not sorbothane. that is okay though they work. anyways sorbothane is just a trademark for a type of neoprene. discussed much here. 

 

[TheAttorney]

Shame the Kelletts (or anything that looks like them) aren't available in the UK, else I might try them. The Kellett website says they are 1" thick, which seems reasonable. But at 2.5" square that would be difficult to fit under some of my components, which have screw threads or other obstacles underneath. I wonder if these Kellers can be easily cut to smaller sizes?