opinion on Auralex Mopads?
 

These rate well in reviews, vs putting monitors directly on your desk. But what about generic foam pads? Other than the adjustable angle, is there some other magic in these?

I've used auralex in my studio, for years. Don't know why the auralex foam is so good, but, they beat the pants off anything else I tried.

I would have thought foam is foam for something like this, but I guess I'm wrong.

It's dense enough that heavy monitors don't squish it flat over time. My JBLs weigh about 30 pounds each and my desk is pretty flimsy and resonant. The Mopads do a very effective job of decoupling them and the difference is very apparent. Haven't tried it with conventional foam so I don't know if that answers your question. They're not expensive so what the hey...

I have an old pair of short speaker stands -- small enough to fit on the desk -- that look something like this:

Wood Technology WC-10.5 - Black Satin Finish 10 1/2" Speaker Stands with Curved Base

What do you think? Get the foam instead?

Get the Mopads. I'd expect speaker cabinet vibration will be transmitted right down into your desk with those stands, turning it into another sound emitter.

Irrational to keep resisting, I know. The pads are probably one of the cheapest pieces of equipment you could buy. Still, it's too bad there don't seem to be any discounts on 'em -- even eBay is the same price or worse.

for myself, all the corners of my sound booth(really a fairly rectangular room) are panelled in auralex, from the apex of the corner out to about 16 inches and ceiling to floor. The room has a very slight amount of ambience, with no high spots detectable by an FFT(i.e. a flat response curve). The ambience works well with the music videos I've recorded and edited.

I ordered a set. Too frustrating to try for a cheaper solution, which wouldn't be any cheaper in the end.

Do they use the same kind of foam for everything -- Mopads and wall panels alike?