Best spikes position under loudspeaker

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
could you explain sumply for me ?
Originally Posted by chrisb
Well, a widely spaced tripod is certainly inherently stable - provided the center of mass is reasonably low and evenly distributed, and the feet may still need adjustment for level / plumbness, but "better" ?
That's about as simple as it can get. If you don't understand it, ditch the spikes and use normal plastic feet that won't destroy your floor. Obviously, they won't give the illusion of improved sound, but each to their own in this relativist world.
 
I bought these from PE, part number 240-698
They are adjustable and have a flat part to avoid damage to floor. I'm making a slightly wider plinth/base to secure these to.
e3d7a35e174c268ba031857e660eee1f.jpg
 
Last edited:
ok, so what is the best position to have more full bass ?
1 - 2 or 3 ?

Do you really think that spikes are going to give you more full bass? If so, then you need to be asking some scammer like Mapleshade or Cardas, not people with a clue.

You may get some change in room mode excitement by changing elevation, but it doesn't matter if you use a spike or a board or a brick to get there.
 
Spikes might improve bass definition or it might make bass too 'lean'. It depends on the circumstances and deaign, drivers used etc. You can also try adding mass on top of the cabinet.

If hou want 'more bass' from a design you could try using 'precision ports' or similar flared ports
 
With floorstanders i generally source a couple of nice marble/granite/slate slabs , either sold as kitchen chopping boards or as garden paving slabs .
I mount the speakers on them decoupled with blobs of blu-tac ( audiophile grade obviously:D )
Provides an attractive and stable support regardless of the floor surface , causes no damage and way cheaper than most spike sets.
 
Best would be to decouple the speakers from the floor as much as possible, eg by putting them on a layer of foam. It is a bad idea to deflect vibrations from your speaker into the floor, like you do with spikes. In other words, dissipate, don't propagate.

Good line of thought but all wrong. Think "cones" instead of speakers. You want the cones to move accurately relative to the cosmos (or least relative to your head). And that requires that their baskets (and box) be firmly defined in space.

Any speaker motion is parasitic and should be inhibited, not sprung.

Advocates for electrostatic speakers will intuit another important advantage for their systems in this analysis (ahem, ahem).

B.
 
Last edited:
Going back to the original question I would say Diagram 1 is best as it is likely to be the most stable as the centre of gravity is likely to be closer to the mid point of the spikes making this arrangement safer.
On a practical note I have found that 3 point location can clean up the sound of many speakers.
I have experimented with 3 coins under speakers with good results on many systems regardless of cost. Try it! It only costs pennies / cents or whatever currency you have to hand!
 
If you have a look at some of the 'pro-audio' sites, there's plenty of examples of speaker isolation platforms designed to absorb bass energy, not transmit it into the floor, etc - trying to reduce resonances, bass energy, vibrations, etc by coupling the speaker to another mass (floor, wall, etc) doesn't work very well in practice - the whole 'spikes' idea under speakers seems to have become some sort of 'gospel' in diy circles and it certainly needs revision

For an example, have a look at the speaker bases on the 'Acoustic Fields' website - they call them a 'Speaker Carbon Platform' and is actually a low frequency (bass) filter and isolation device - not cheap, but very effective.

I think there's a BBC paper/study done on this, amongst others, but it's a few years ago now

On the other hand, if your speakers weigh 110kg (if I got that right?), you possibly just need isolation platforms and you can build those yourself using vibration control support/mounts, etc
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.