paving slabs under speakers

It seems (and i am certainly no expert) that the bass has become more defined i.e. the speakers (cabinet) seem to be resonating more and the higher freq's have become more pronounced, i guess you could say a cleaner (e.g. those little background noises in some recordings have become more upfront - the system seems more revealing). I think I like the slightly different sound the more I listen to it.

However, have nothing to compare it to!

 

Uncle Ants,
Agreed

 

You have what it sounded like before to compare it to. leave it like this for a day or two, then switch back. Its easier that way to see which you prefer with a variety of different music. You could use the same procedure with a variety of different materials and positions - bubble wrap is an option, sorbothane might be another ... doorstops , superballs or even spikes .

The thing is whilst we can have all sorts of theoretical discussions I suspect that the interactions here are complex enough that without some serious measurement equipment noone really knows what is going on exactly. To make it even more interesting I suspect results are going to vary depending on the stands and speakers, the construction of the floor and the size and shape of the void.

Frank. I see what you mean regarding treating the floor as a room next door, except of course no one hard couples their speakers to the partition wall with spikes, unlike the way they often do with floors. I would have thought sitting your speakers to what is in effect a large resonant box (as many of us have to) would have a different effect than a room next door ... but that is just a guess.

 

How I was looking at it was the joists are fixed to the walls in the same way wall studs are fixed to floors so there are similarities in the 'box' structure just 90' apart. I could only assume pretty much based on the almost infinite variables alluded to in the other post that any modelling software would only ever be an educated guess. That said some architectural acoustics modelling software is very sophisticated nowadays so someone probably knows(just not me
F

 

What makes me wonder was something on a much smaller scale. I have little clockwork music box, wind it and play and its very quiet - stand it on a box or a board and its much much louder, but it must be on it not near it. To be expected I guess, like the soundbox of a string instrument. I just imagine a trad suspended wooden floor with floorboards to be similar but on a larger scale and presumably lower frequencies... I'm no acoustic engineer so I don't know what it contributes, I'm just pretty sure it must. De coupling (well to some extent anyway) my speakers from the floor had a very definite effect ... allbeit the opposite of what I actually expected.