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Atabites?

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lesmor
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Having recently bought 3 Atacama SL stands for my Home cinema I wonder about the merits of mass loading the stands , either using the proprietary Atabites , Sand or Shot blast.


Or is it again just another "Emperors New Clothes" concept like many others and I will have spent £56.00 ( 2 X £28.00 ) for little or no benefit?

The_Lhc
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Re: Atabites?

No, it increases the mass of the stands, making them more stable, and less prone to vibration. I filled my Partington Dreadnoughts with sand and it solidified the sound even more than just putting the speakers on the sand had in the first place.

Atabites will do the same thing, I think they're more for stands that have transparent tubes in them, so they look better than sand. 

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Scissor_digits
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Re: Atabites?

I have Dynadio DM 2/7's sitting on Atacama Nexus 600's. I haven't filled the stands with sand or Atabites but have used Atacama's own gel pads which seems to isolate the speakers completely

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professorhat
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Re: Atabites?

I use Atabites in my Nexus 6 stands - I wouldn't have thought they present any sonic benefits over sand though (as stated, they just add mass and make the stands more stable). I went for Atabites though as they're a lot easier to handle than sand and I didn't really relish the prospect of getting sand all over the place as I experimented with how much I wanted to fill the stands (settled on 3/4s full eventually).

Are you sure you need two tubs? One tub was enough for both my stands.

 

lesmor
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Re: Atabites?
professorhat:

I use Atabites in my Nexus 6 stands - I wouldn't have thought they present any sonic benefits over sand though (as stated, they just add mass and make the stands more stable). I went for Atabites though as they're a lot easier to handle than sand and I didn't really relish the prospect of getting sand all over the place as I experimented with how much I wanted to fill the stands (settled on 3/4s full eventually).


Are you sure you need two tubs? One tub was enough for both my stands.


 



I think one tub does 2 stands , I have 3 so perhaps a bit of waste with 2 tubs, of course I dont have to compltely fill them but maths says that they would only be filled 1/3

lesmor
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Re: Atabites?
Scissor_digits:
I have Dynadio DM 2/7's sitting on Atacama Nexus 600's. I haven't filled the stands with sand or Atabites but have used Atacama's own gel pads which seems to isolate the speakers completely


Good post , was considering this as well something like Auralex Speakerdudes on the stands would bring the tweeter up to ear height , Having seen them though way overpriced and not as dense as I expected


Gel pads  are not that expensive , of course Blu Tack seems to be popular , also sicky pads


Thanks for your feedback

The_Lhc
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Re: Atabites?
lesmor:
I think one tub does 2 stands , I have 3 so perhaps a bit of waste with 2 tubs, of course I dont have to compltely fill them but maths says that they would only be filled 1/3

Ahem, 2/3rds full... 

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lesmor
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Re: Atabites?
the_lhc:

lesmor:
I think one tub does 2 stands , I have 3 so perhaps a bit of waste with 2 tubs, of course I dont have to completely fill them but maths says that they would only be filled 1/3


Ahem, 2/3rds full... 



Mmmmmmmmmmm thinks naw Surprise


One tub /3 1/3

Scissor_digits
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Re: Atabites?

The gel pads are a tad easier to send through the post as well.

I started off with Blu Tack but I'm happy I gave the gel pads a try, well worth the small outlay.

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The_Lhc
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Re: Atabites?
lesmor:

the_lhc:
lesmor:
I think one tub does 2 stands , I have 3 so perhaps a bit of waste with 2 tubs, of course I dont have to completely fill them but maths says that they would only be filled 1/3

Ahem, 2/3rds full... 

Mmmmmmmmmmm thinks naw Surprise

One tub /3 1/3

No, as you said yourself, one tub does TWO stands, therefore 3 stands can be filled 2/3rds, if it was 1/3 then one tub would only fill one stand. 

 

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Gwyndy
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Re: Atabites?

Do it in stages and have a listen to the system, I have atabites my stands, and I also have some in my Ruark floorstanders, found that my Ruark's when empty sounded a bit bass light, but that if I added too much atabites to the Ruark's it made the bass appear to slow down, sorry about the non-technical language.I didn't find it a problem with my stands,but as I have 100cm stands, they aren't full to the brim.

potboyslim
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Re: Atabites?

About 2/3's full, but go to B&Q etc ang get kiln dried sand, costs about £4 for a big bag, and will fill about 20 stands.  Cheap and works!

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ESP2009
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Re: Atabites?

I'll second that.  For added entertainment value, tell them what you want the sand for. Wink

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mains cables r us
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Re: Atabites?

I agree, kiln dried sand is the best, used it in my floor standers and tightened the bass up considerably, getting some new speakers tomorrow now so don't need the sand and don't need the speakersSmile