I mentioned this in the “electronics upgrade to open the midrange” thread but its so simple and made such a difference I think its worth highlighting.
For those that use blue tac (or similar) to seat stand mounted speakers, try reseating them from time to time. My speakers are Neat MFS and recommended by Neat to be seated with blue tac; I recently peeled off the blue tac, re-rolled it and reseated the speakers. The difference it made was incredible, more solidity to low frequencies, cleaner mid range and opened up the soundstage - not subtle, a significant difference.
It’s probably been 3 to 4 years since the speakers were off the stands and the blue tac was squashed paper thin. It’s amazing how you adjust to changes over time, not noticing them as they occur but reaching a point where you know something’s not right. I have been chasing lost sound quality for a while now, cable dressing, speaker positioning, does something need servicing etc. and I blamed it on the fragility of Naim system set up. Now I’m just enjoying the music again.
I positioned the blue tac differently too, placing it more to the corners of the top plate rather than directly on top of the legs but I have no idea if that has anything to do with the results.
If your speakers have been sitting on blue tac for an extended period, try reseating them. It takes 5 minutes, costs nothing and in my case resulted in a sound quality improvement I would have gladly paid for.
My blue tac has been in place for 19 years. Made a big difference when I used it in place of spikes.
Might try some fresh stuff, don’t want to damage the speaker veneer though.
Blimey, I used a lot of it 19 years ago. Anyone know how to remove the residue without damaging speakers.! Or should I just leave it.IMG_20200609_122820955|375x500
Upward facing spikes is always my preference. Yes, it gouges the veneer but the best stands come with them and even for speakers costing $20K, who spends time looking at the bottom of the speaker? It gives the best decoupling.
Position speaker square on the stands over the spikes. Then take a deep breath and give them a shove downward so the spikes bite into the veneer. Job done. Four (or three depending on the stand) small holes in the bottom of the speaker looks far better also after 10 years than whatever blu-tac or slowly vulcanising rubber will do to veneer.
Neat customer service is top notch and I would imagine if there was a problem with the veneer, Bob would see you right. After 15 + years though, it might be a big ask…
I was just about to say similar. I use “Atacama” pads, self adhesive side to the stand. I find them better than blu tac which as the OP points out hardens over time.
I’m not suggesting for a moment that blu tac is the best solution, just sharing what I discovered when reseating my speakers, which happened to be on blu tac. I know many people use it so thought it worth mentioning.
I tried cheap rubber feet years ago and in my case with my speakers, none sounded as good as blu tac. I never tried any “upmarket” products and I haven’t experimented since so fully accept there may be better options out there.
But, if you do use blu tac and you haven’t lifted your speakers from their stands in quite some time, try it.
I’ve often thought about changing my white tac for proper feet, but I’ve never got round to it until today.
Seeing this thread reminded me I had some spare self-adhesive PU feet in the man drawer. So today I ditched the tac and put the feet in.
I was surprised how thin and spread out the white tac had gotten over the years. But fortunately the oily residue hadn’t penetrated the piano black gloss of my speakers.
)
