SPEAKERS ON CEMENT. SPIKES OR ISOLATION? Personal experiences wanted
- Thread starter jadedavid
- Start date
I've got it bad alright, Kev! (sort of like a crack habit I suppose.) And I had forgotten about those bamboo cutting boards. Last time I was in Ikea I looked all over for them and no luck. Haven't mustered the courage to go back since; its sort of like a "field trip experience" to wind through the aisles and I'm a little short on that kind of patience. Although I seem to have plenty of patience to spend hours tweaking vtf and azimuth. Thanks for the link and I'll try to order a few on line.
Dizzie
Well-known member
I have not experimented with the more elaborate (and more expensive) options of platforms. I have padded carpet over concrete. I have found that in every case, spikes beat no-spikes definitively. The spikes must penetrate the carpet and contact the cement otherwise they aren't spikes. They are just pointy things.
Mick Wolfe
New member
I'm in near total agreement with Dizzie on this one. Just about every speaker I've tried in my listening room benefits from being spiked through the carpet to the concrete. The one and only exception have been my Ohm 1000's... which do their best work with their plinths simply sitting on the carpet.
Jim Smith
Member
Sorry - can't accept the "hi-fi sound" (IMO, etc....) of spikes - ever - no matter what the surface - or the components - may be.
:badnews:
:badnews:
Dizzie
Well-known member
If tighter, better-defined bass and clearer, more detailed mid-range are Hi-Fi then I say the higher the fier the better.
Shadowfax
Well-known member
I have thick carpet over wooden floors. I found good improvement with a few pairs of speakers by placing a granite slap between carpet and spikes. Cleaned up boomy bass tremendously.
Jim Smith
Member
OK
kevinkwann
New member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2014
- Messages
- 106
+1
I don't mind the bigger, looser bass that results from planting my speakers directly on the floor w/o spikes, but I can't stand the chesty, boxy character it invariably adds to male vocals.
RedSectorA
New member
For your information a friend of mine cut one of those thicker Ikea boards and they are hollow inside, so I think that you would be better off with the thinner ones. Been using them for a while now to great effect.
Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk
Mick Wolfe
New member
I completely agree with you in regard to spiking source components, amps, etc. Also my experience spiking speakers directly to a suspended wood floor was a sonic disaster as well. Decoupling is more in order here. That said, spiking floor standing speakers or stand mounts to a few tons of concrete has always yielded a positive and "more lifelike" presentation.....not "hi-fi sound" in my experience. I'm afraid we're going to have to agree to disagree on this one.
Jim Smith
Member
OK. Just my opinion/observation - not stated as fact - after successfully voicing over 800 systems.
So we can agree to disagree.
Along those lines, there's no need to disagree further in this thread.
Jim Smith
Member
Sorry I missed replying to this note.
Rather than getting into disagreements, here are links to two of the QUARTER NOTES newsletters (there are 18, with #19 coming out soon). These newsletters are provided to Get Better Sound owners as part of their purchase.
The first one is more concerned with ACK, but it has some info that you might find of use. The second issue is more directly concerned with the question at hand.
Sorry for the delay!
ACK issue, plus some spike info:
http://www.getbettersound.com/quarternotesv2i1.html
Question about the Best Coupling to the Floor:
http://www.getbettersound.com/quarternotesv3i2.html
Bobolaclune
New member
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2014
- Messages
- 362
I think generic recommendations like this need to be taken within the context of the system at hand and the specific speakers being discussed. I can definitively say that the use of Herbie footers under speakers are that are not dense in terms of weight distribution is asking for trouble. My 20.7's at nearly 7 feet high are a disaster on the Herbie's since the amount of sway as the footers sit on carpet is nothing short of alarming. Those with small children , pets or klutzy people around, need not apply. Under something like my Q3's, no issues at all.
Coming to the wider issue of coupling vs decoupling, there may be a solution no-one has yet discussed. I use Track Audio feet from the UK which are beautifully machined, have deep spikes to penetrate any carpet pile and more to the point, are available in both coupled and de-coupled versions. To those of you agnostic on the issue of coupling speakers via spikes to let's say, a concrete sub-floor - the Track feet allow you to pretty much have your lunch and eat it too. I use the Decoupled versions under my 20.7's on a carpet-over-concrete base and am quite happy with the results. For those of you on wooden floors, the Track feet come with a SS insert which slides quite smoothly over a wooden surface(but not over carpet) . Can't recommend the product highly enough.
Roy Gregory did a review of them where he talks about the two versions available. There are also simple deep spikes available .
http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/track_audio_spike_kits.htm
Coming to the wider issue of coupling vs decoupling, there may be a solution no-one has yet discussed. I use Track Audio feet from the UK which are beautifully machined, have deep spikes to penetrate any carpet pile and more to the point, are available in both coupled and de-coupled versions. To those of you agnostic on the issue of coupling speakers via spikes to let's say, a concrete sub-floor - the Track feet allow you to pretty much have your lunch and eat it too. I use the Decoupled versions under my 20.7's on a carpet-over-concrete base and am quite happy with the results. For those of you on wooden floors, the Track feet come with a SS insert which slides quite smoothly over a wooden surface(but not over carpet) . Can't recommend the product highly enough.
Roy Gregory did a review of them where he talks about the two versions available. There are also simple deep spikes available .
http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/track_audio_spike_kits.htm
Attachments
chops
Active member
I had some custom quartz slabs cut to go under my Sonus Venere 1.5's. The stands come with very shallow cone spikes in the rear that would just "float" on the carpet. Putting the speaker stands up on these slabs solved the unstable issue. It also gets them to stand at their proper angle.
chops
Active member
CPP
Active member
I spike my stands through a 1/2" heavy wool rug onto a tile floor which sets on a 6" concert slab.