PreSonus has developed a unique solution for unnecessary vibration sounds: they called them ISPD-4 isolation pads. These are foam pads for the purpose by isolating speaker vibrations from your supporting surface, thus considerably reducing—if not cancelling—unwanted vibrations. As a result, they improve sound clarity. These isolation pads come in pairs. Moreover, you can easily divide them into halves; this depends on your personal configuration and the size of your monitor speakers. They are universal, so you don’t have to worry about perfect fitment. All in all, they’re pretty straight forward, simple, and effective.
The Problem
Clarifying your sound is very important when you’re mixing and mastering the final touches of your production. It’s essential to have a good pair of headphones—or, even better, a great set of studio monitors. Sometimes we find ourselves placing our studio monitors over our mixing desk or on solid stands. This means that we place our speakers directly in contact with solid wood, metal, or plastic. Consequently, this sometimes can get tricky. The reason is that the vibrations and resonant energy that loudspeakers or studio monitors emit can trigger unnecessary sounds or as some say sound contamination.
ISPD-4: the Solution
As mentioned in the introduction, the solution is getting some ISPD.4 by PreSonus, which are a magnificent example of soundproofing. Here are some specifications if you need them. For example, the exact dimensions of the pads are (WxDxH): 10.4” (265 mm) x 13” (330 mm) x 1.6” (40 mm). You can find them in several online music and equipment shops. Moreover, they’re not that expensive given their added value.
The manufacturers suggest have an important suggestion, though. If you can still perceive unwanted sounds—or as we said before, sound contamination during your mixing—after placing your monitor speakers on these pads, you need to search for other elements in your room or studio that might be causing acoustic contamination. There are vast simple tricks out there that you can find and apply to get rid of unwanted noise in a room. Regardless, it is also important (probably the most important) to consider designing your room or studio with acoustic panels.
