Something changed under the speakers? Are you satisfied with the glass shelves under them?
The sound is very clear with the glass under them.
I’m still trying to work out how to move forward on that.
The main options are try some thicker glass, more like 40 x 40cm?
Try marble slab?
Difficult to source and try these things, and quite a strain to actually change them over as the speakers are very fussy to set up.
I don’t think it’s sensible to try Gaia type footers or podium as they will probably not work with the leaf spring mechanisms of the SL2s.
Butcher blocks? Aluminum slab? These two are sometimes used under speakers.
I tried granite and marble but don’t like the effect.
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As @JimDog likes the effect of the glass, I suspect the way forward for him is the use of rigid materials under the speakers; so I think toughened glass (possibly thicker maybe 18 or 20mm), ceramic tile or possibly aluminium are the most promising ways forward.
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I understood that very clear is not so positive effect. Very clear as a bit glassy, bright or very clear as clean and transparent?
Yes, but as the glass gets much thicker it should be less bright.
Do you know anyone who has had success with aluminium and at what thickness?
Are the Kharma sprung or damped in any way?
if they are then it might interact badly with the leaf spring mech in the speakers
They are damped. Can’t answer how it will interact, but a 1cm slab aluminum should better isolate from the floor for sure. And it doesn’t sound bright.
Some dealers in France use that under speakers with good results.
Only a try can tell.
With a solid concrete floor there is no need for anything beneath the SL2s. They have a leaf spring which provides all the isolation required. It’s just a matter of spiking through the carpet and underlay to the carpet beneath - cutting slits with a Stanley knife is hugely helpful here. They should not be toed in more than a couple of mm; mine are 3mm further from the wall on the outside edges.
But to do that I would have to have the spikes way out because the carpet and underlay are so thick.
I already tried it and cut holes in the carpet and underlay but the underside of the base touched the carpet and the sound turned to sludge.
And some concrete floors have a layer of screed to level them on the top that turns to dust under the spikes and makes it impossible to level the speakers.
Picture shows Linn Skeets under the Fraim and old Atacama shoes under the SL2s now replaced with Fraim chips.
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If you have already cut the carpet, could you put naim chips, or similar under the carpet/underlay and would that then give clearance with your existing spikes.
Alternatively, the old option of drilling the concrete floor inserting cross- head screws?
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@xanthe, I’ve been following this thread with interest, as I did something similar myself several years ago, albeit more rudimentary. Back in the era of the previous forum, home-made “ball nutters” were popular support upgrades, so I made my own version of these for my Sound Factory Tripod, adapted to work within the (severe) height restrictions. The cross pieces were already drilled on the top, so I bought some silicon nitride balls to sit in those holes, supporting the fibreboard shelf better than the existing neoprene squares. On top of each board I placed three ball nutters using the same balls and matching stainless steel machine screws, which in turn supported a 10mm tempered glass shelf. This assembly leaves just enough room for a standard Naim box.
I have a couple of questions, if I may.
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My selection of silicon nitride and stainless steel is based on nothing more than the belief that harder materials = smaller contact area = better isolation, but it seems that the combination of silicon nitride balls with brass cups is a key part of your concept. Would you recommend that I swap out the stainless steel machine screws for brass ones?
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These tiny ball nutters are easy to dislodge from the fibreboard shelf, and so I’ve secured them in place, initially with double sided tape, and more recently with a dab or two of gel-type superglue, which works well. Do you think this might have ill effects in terms of vibration management? If so, is there another adhesive you’d recommend?
Thanks again,
Colm
Hi @Xanthe,
I’ve been thinking of a discreet and simple solution using the ND555/NDX2/etc footers.
The idea is to insert the isolation system into those footers, like so:
What do you think about that idea?
A couple of options that would also be worth trying:
1 Using brass above and below the nitride ball.
2 Through harden (or case harden) the steel.
In the case of the steel, getting the bearing surface polished smooth enough to completely eliminate ‘micro rattle’ issues is going to be a, well, shall we say, “interesting challenge” (but by no means impossible!)
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But would you be removing the rubber Insert feet from the naim foot or is it purely adding?
Sorry not ever looked at the feet