Monitor speaker desk stands?

Alnico

I just got some studio monitors to use on my desk, should they be isolated from the desk on stands?
I won't worry Alan Parsons anytime soon but I thought I'd at least try to do things right.
They'll be used for listening to music on my laptop, amplifying the GT100 and whatever recording I learn to do this year.

There's these type which are just foam pads,

These which look like something out of the flintstones

or the type which @BRISTOL86 has on his desk with the pointy-feet thing. What are they fella? Any good?

Any suggestions?

If it's relevant, I've got Alesis Elevate 5 MKII speakers.

spark240

The foamy things will be fine I reckon...I have some like that..

BRISTOL86

They’re iso acoustics stands mate. A bit of an extravagance that I probably don’t need but I found a second hand pair!

Alnico

spark240 said:

The foamy things will be fine I reckon...I have some like that..

Do they stand still on them or are they prone to boogie? 

BRISTOL86 said:

They’re iso acoustics stands mate. A bit of an extravagance that I probably don’t need but I found a second hand pair!

Thanks man,

I'll keep an eye out but the foam would be easier to afford right now. 
They look awesome though! 

I'll do some man cave pics when it's all finished in a few days. 

blobb

4 house bricks under each speaker

Rocker

@Alnico my friend, IMHO small speakers will work fine simply placed on your desk.  You can always take a square of bubblewrap, fold it several times until it is about the size of your speaker base and put the sandwich under the speaker.  Do the same for the other speaker.  Hi-Fi guys use spikes or Ceraballs to isolate their speaker from stands or the floor.  A cheap alternative to Ceraballs is: http://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/accessories-reviews/ceraball-on-the-cheap-ab-systems-abs-02/ ; My guess is that the bubblewrap suggestion or simply the speakers sitting on the desk will be fine.

blobb

ideally, you want the monitors at head height and not impacted by vibrations traveling through the desk. House bricks have MASS which eliminates vibrations and they are cheap/free. Stick some blue-tak under each corner (or three points). But, as Rocker says, desk mounted is not going to spoil the sound. I've got mine on the desk, could do with raising them a bit though. I'm sure there will be some high end audiophile bricks, probably vintage and/or lawsuit, out there.

BRISTOL86

I’ve no doubt that I didn’t need them but hey, what’s life without the occasional indulgence?  

ToneControl

use dense foam wedges from Auralex

These are the best thing I have found


https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/232468606711?chn=ps&adgroupid=46781198765&rlsatarget=pla-378868103267&abcId=1129946&adtype=pla&merchantid=7283454&poi=&googleloc=1006963&device=c&campaignid=974199509&crdt=0

spark240

Auralex are expensive for home studio ....and no they dont jump around, My HS7's are solid

Alnico

Thanks Guys,

I appreciate the suggestions from @Rocker and @blobb and I can see how they work so I'll get the speakers to the right height first and see how it sounds.
I do like the foam pads and if they don't boogie about then for £16 I think they'll be quite good.

@tone1 ......The Auralex ones you posted and the Adam Hall ones I posted and @spark240 has, both have the same feature to them. There's a piece of foam you can remove to sit the speaker at an angle but that looks like it's angled downwards.
Is that so it can sit higher on a shelf and then you take that out to make it point downwards towards you or do I have it wrong and you turn it around to sit the other way and angle it upwards from a low point such as a desktop....or both?

blobb

Just for fun:

http://ethanwiner.com/speaker_isolation.htm

Jalapeno

another foam wedge fan here ...

steamabacus

Another MoPads user.

They work really well and are stiffer than you might imagine so no wobble. The design with the angled cut-out section means you can position one or two pieces in different ways to get a variety of angles to best suit your setup.

Bod

I'm using MoPads on top of these to get them to the correct height on my desk.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0721TPBZW/

spark240

Alnico said:

Thanks Guys,

I appreciate the suggestions from @Rocker and @blobb and I can see how they work so I'll get the speakers to the right height first and see how it sounds.
I do like the foam pads and if they don't boogie about then for £16 I think they'll be quite good.

@tone1 ......The Auralex ones you posted and the Adam Hall ones I posted and @spark240 has, both have the same feature to them. There's a piece of foam you can remove to sit the speaker at an angle but that looks like it's angled downwards.
Is that so it can sit higher on a shelf and then you take that out to make it point downwards towards you or do I have it wrong and you turn it around to sit the other way and angle it upwards from a low point such as a desktop....or both?

Mine sit with the curved edge at the back, so they are sitting flat using all the foam, just raised the monitors off the shelf 50mm

Alnico

spark240 said:

Alnico said:

Thanks Guys,

I appreciate the suggestions from @Rocker and @blobb and I can see how they work so I'll get the speakers to the right height first and see how it sounds.
I do like the foam pads and if they don't boogie about then for £16 I think they'll be quite good.

@tone1 ......The Auralex ones you posted and the Adam Hall ones I posted and @spark240 has, both have the same feature to them. There's a piece of foam you can remove to sit the speaker at an angle but that looks like it's angled downwards.
Is that so it can sit higher on a shelf and then you take that out to make it point downwards towards you or do I have it wrong and you turn it around to sit the other way and angle it upwards from a low point such as a desktop....or both?

Mine sit with the curved edge at the back, so they are sitting flat using all the foam, just raised the monitors off the shelf 50mm

Excellent, thanks.

John_A

I've got some of these cause I'm a cheapskate

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ammoon-Monitor-Speaker-Isolation-Acoustic/dp/B073VMBZSS/ref=sr_1_5?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1516871673&sr=1-5&keywords=isolation+pads

stringsthings

I bought a pair of those flintstones type and one broke over time. 

I imagine a more sturdy version would work if you've got the room.

I went back to using several pieces of wood, and tried to get them at ear level.

Was pretty happy with that.  Might give those foam pads a try.

Clarky

I use these

ISO-L8R155-1.jpg

I noticed immediately that I had more clarity in the low end
I'm guessing that it's because the monitors are less able to resonate on the desk top

also, the adjustable height / tilt is useful so that you can line up the height of the tweeters with your ears

Alnico

Clarky said:

I use these

ISO-L8R155-1.jpg

I noticed immediately that I had more clarity in the low end
I'm guessing that it's because the monitors are less able to resonate on the desk top

also, the adjustable height / tilt is useful so that you can line up the height of the tweeters with your ears

Thanks man.
They look ace.