What to put SL2s on?

Absolutely no suggestion that there was criticism. Just trying to explain there is more to them than a piece of metal for spikes to sit on.
Mine sit on carpet (and I lifted a corner just to compare the figures that JimDog gives, 7mm rubber crumb underlay, 10mm 80/20 wool carpet) so the felt is not applied. I have Graham Audio LS5/9 on Something Solid XF stands, about 26 Kg combined weight. Spiked to the concrete floor the stands ring like bells, with the mounts they do not. Works for me, though I think the thickness JimDog quotes might be a bit much.

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With holes around the spikes and very long spikes as posted above, it should work.
Or heavy granite slabs as in Noquarter picture. But personally I didn’t liked the sound of speakers direct on granite. A bit cold.
But yes, this thick carpet is a problem.

To be clear, in those photos I was just experimenting with the spikes directly on the granite. In the end I used the discs that came with the speakers,which are about 1 inch diameter,between the spikes and granite. They have a dimple in the middle and are .125" thick,a lot like Naim chips, but a little smaller.

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So the granite formed a flat and solid platform on the (thin) carpet.
What were the discs made of, and how did they change the sound?

Yes the granite provides a solid flat base,very stable on carpet. I think the disks were made of brass,they came with the speakers. I did not do any serious AB testing with or without the disks,the Taksims are great speakers,very easy to drive with no crossovers in them. The only reason I got rid of them is I moved to an apartment,they are big,and I also have XD 600’s…

Thank you - the instructions on the box are significantly different to the notes on the Chord site.
And the Cymbiosis blog gives the same information from another POV.

I worry just using these 4 discs on my carpet without any kind of flat base to stand them on might not form a very stable basis for the speakers.

But I’d love to try them between the glass and the speakers, or between the concrete floor and the speaker spikes.

Need to work out whether this is a sensible use of funds relative to other options.

(And work out whether I’m moving house or not too, which could change the equations).

Can you say what system you are using the Silent Mounts with?

When i moved from a house to an apartment i combined a 2 channel room upstairs (photos i already posted) with my basement 7.2 home theater room. I still have 4 of the granite slabs, my XD’S also sat on slabs in the basement.

Interesting designs - thanks Adam.

True, my thick carpet is a problem for hifi - but actually the system and the SL2s sound excellent already.

If I stay here I’ll probably hack slits into the carpet and cut out circles in the underlay - and if I go I’ll organize a solid floor for a hifi site.

I already have made holes for 2 racks and 2 sets of speakers in this carpet, so there are already 24 spike holes in the carpet and underlay.

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Thanks Jazz. Can you tell me what your system is driving your SL2s?
cheers
Jim

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I’ll probably give the longer spikes a try, when I can find the time between full time job and homeschooling 3 kids.

Looking at Adams post regarding the sub-tables it probably wouldn’t take much to knock something together.

8x Fraim Chips
2x Block of heavy MDF or something similar cut slighter bigger than the base of the SL2.
8x Spikes.
1x Someone handy with a shed.

Just a thought.

Exactly what I thought. To get the required quality finish you’d need the sub-table’s MDF properly veneered to match your SL2 veneer.

It made me wonder why they never went into production since it looks like Naim thought the idea had promise. Of course, we will never know.

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Good idea for a carpenter or perhaps an engineer.
Would love to see how that worked out.

But I’m not likely to try to build a base for it myself, nor commission a carpenter to make one.

At the moment the options for me are:

  • try longer spikes onto the concrete floor
  • try a different thicker and heavier platform on top of the carpet
  • try Silent Mounts or Fraim Chips or similar
  • try some kind of ready made isolation platform or device
  • some combination of the above - e.g. a 30mm thick glass slab plus Silent Mounts?

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That’s a lovely system.

did you always drive the SL2s actively?

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Does it also improves on a carpet-free floor? my SL2 is not on a carpet…worth to invest?

I initially no!
Then demoed an active system.
Loved the scale and been active since

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see above
and see the SL2 manual
and see Richard Dane’s SL2 installation guide on the forum FAQ

basically the standard advice is to rest the spikes on a concrete floor if you have one

if you use a carpet, make small cuts so the spikes pass through it

wooden floors are another story

perhaps with Fraim chips under the spikes

and not to use any kind of isolation device unless you have trialed it and are sure you like what it does in your room

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