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Maple Gibraltar (Natural Maple) |
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The Gibraltar is our very best stand for monitor speakers and smaller
floorstanders. Each 12" x 12" solid maple Gibraltar base has 3˝ times
the mass of our Bedrock stands. This, combined with its unique double plinth
design, is an especially dramatic performance upgrade in listening
rooms with concrete or engineered wood floors. The Gibraltar raises
speakers 10" off the floor, allowing them to fire over obstructions in the
soundstage (like coffee tables) while still utilizing the sonic benefit of
low-mounting the woofer. They will make your monitor speakers sound better than any other speaker stand—at any
price. Each Gibraltar directly couples to the floor via four threaded 2" brass footers. Two brass rear support posts and
an adjustable, four pound brass footer locks each speaker to its stand.
On The Floor Mounting Concept
Only low, on-the-floor mounting can make smallish speakers sound so huge, warm and transparent. Optimized tiltback
positioning, combined with super-solid maple base and heavy vibration-draining brass feet, yields amazing transients and
details. Percussion and piano attacks gain startling potency. Ditto for bass power and articulation—enough to cross those
subwoofers off
your wish list. Surprisingly, the soundstage image floats well above the floor. Here's the physics:
• The highly rigid maple/brass mounting drains sound-muddying vibrations out of the cabinet into the floor far more
effectively and cleanly than any tall stand. The improvement in warmth and midrange detail over hollow metal stands is
striking.
• Mounting the woofer close to the floor eliminates the sound-thinning mid and upper bass suckout caused by high-mounted
woofers (the famous Allison effect). It also provides a 3 db acoustic boundary reinforcement from the lowest bass upwards.
• The direct, rigid coupling to the floor lets the speaker drive the floor at bottom octave frequencies,
thereby greatly increasing the bass radiating area.
• Lastly, the adjustable tiltback allows you to time align perfectly the leading edge attacks of the tweeter and woofer,
by ear. The higher the tiltback, the higher the image floats off the floor.
Ordering Tips
• We recommend all potential Gibraltar customers try a simple experiment to hear the benefits of low mounting:
listen to one of your favorite tracks with the speakers sitting on the floor in front of their current stands, tilted
back with a wood or metal block under the front with the tweeter aimed slightly above your ear. If your floor is carpeted,
lay down a heavy plank or cutting board first. Then put the speakers back on their stands and listen to the same track
again. This preview lets you hear about a third of the bass improvement you'll get from Gibraltars, but none of the treble
and midrange improvements.
• We custom-mount the speaker rear support posts for all time-correcting stands to ensure optimal performance for the
specific speaker being used. Please be sure to include your speaker cabinet dimensions in the space provided above when
ordering.
• When specifying speaker dimensions, be sure to provided the width of the rear, bottom edge of the speaker cabinet.
Please also make us aware of any tapering, bevels or other distinctive design elements of the cabinet shape that might
affect the placement or functionality of the Bedrock rear speaker support posts.
• For best performance on uncarpeted floors, choose our standard footer option.
• To avoid leaving dings on expensive hardwood floors, use our radiused footer options.
• On carpet, it is essential for the points of the Gibraltar's footers to penetrate the rug and contact the solid floor
underneath.
• For high pile carpet with padding (more than 1/2" deep), you need thick carpet footers to penetrate to the floor.
• For thin commercial wall-to-wall carpet (less than 1/2"), thin carpet footers will sound slightly better than the thick
carpet version.
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The Veil is Lifted |
| I have owned a mid-priced set of Klipsch floor speakers for years and have been I thought very happy with the sound. In my new setup in my townhouse the left speaker fires immediately into a large leather sofa so my goal initially was simply to raise it up sufficiently for the sound to clear the obstacle. With some back and forth with Mapleshade, we decided on the Gibraltars as the best option. I balked at the cost but eventually came around and ordered them with radiused footers for my hardwood floors and the radiused rear support option. The stands came and I immediately set up the speakers hoping that my investment was warranted, and quite frankly was more than a bit skeptical that a stand could make that much difference. To say I was blown away is gross understatement. Not only did the sound clear the sofa but it was so crystal clear and sharp it was as if I had purchased an entirely new sound system. All muddiness was gone, each instrument had a clarity I had never experienced before and the stereo effect was so enhanced I just sat in the sweet spot absolutely dazzled. I have a very large classical CD collection and have been listening to full orchestral pieces, chamber music, solo instruments and vocals I have listened to dozens of times and each one is as if I am hearing it for the first time. I cant stop listening. My one caveat would be that this setup is not for anyone with small kids or cats since the speakers balance on one triple point brass footer in the front. Movement of this fore and aft allows for minute, but very perceptible, adjustments of the sound. So if you have been vacillating about such a pricey purchase and wondering if the hype is warranted I would say that ignorance is not bliss because when you hear the difference these stands make you will wonder why you didnt do this sooner. |
| - Dave, PA |
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