Speaker stand spikes - necessary?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Porkpie, Nov 8, 2018.

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  1. I use oak coned feet for my speakers. I have a concrete tiled floor. I would be interested in what you think.
     
  2. missan

    missan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockholm
    No, You wouldn´t. :)
     
  3. Go on then. I can take it
     
  4. missan

    missan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockholm
    I was just kidding.
     
  5. I was hoping so. :wave:
     
  6. Thomas_A

    Thomas_A Forum Resident

    Location:
    Uppsala, Sweden
    Well as mentioned above you will get resonances since oak is hard and not soft. Whether it is audible or not is another matter, but if you want to lower these resonances, soft feet is better. The graphs in the previous link I gave indicates what you will get with hard vs soft feet.
     
    Fishoutofwater likes this.
  7. Porkpie

    Porkpie Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    So as I understand it, my speaker stands are coupled with the wooden floor but the blu-tac between the speakers and the stands they sit on, are isolating the speakers as it's a pliable material and can move with vibrations. Is this correct?
     
  8. missan

    missan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockholm
    If I look at my own speakers, I think I know how how they should be suspended, but I haven´t done that. They are resting on a number of layers of wool felt, maybe 25mm thick in total. Not what I consider optimal, but good enough I think. Maybe one day I fix them how I really want them to be, but it´s not a big deal for me.
     
    Fishoutofwater likes this.
  9. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    The sharp end of a spike not only gives a smaller better contact point but also reduces the ground born vibrations that travel up stands etc.
     
    F1nut likes this.
  10. Thomas_A

    Thomas_A Forum Resident

    Location:
    Uppsala, Sweden
    Blu-tac partly isolate and partly damp. Soft feet isolate. If you look at the link I provided you see a graph of vibrations when the speakers sits on spikes vs hanging with bungees. Which would yoy prefer?
     
    Porkpie likes this.
  11. Thomas_A

    Thomas_A Forum Resident

    Location:
    Uppsala, Sweden
    So where does the energy go?
     
  12. Claude Benshaul

    Claude Benshaul Forum Resident

    I guess it will either travel to the ground, reflect back to the speaker or dissipate as heat. Unless of course it will magically disappear. There is a lot of magic involved in HiFi audio.
     
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  13. Thomas_A

    Thomas_A Forum Resident

    Location:
    Uppsala, Sweden
    With spikes you have basically three effects:

    1. The hard coupling will make the resonance of the speaker-floor interface in the audible region (bass). So when the driver moves you will get a reaction movement of the cabinet that is multiplied in the resonance region.
    2. If you have a springy floor, the speaker will transfer the energy to the floor that in turn will act as a second speaker and add coloration.
    3. A springy floor will move due to acoustic sound waves in the room and also make the speakers move in addition to the resonance in 1.
     
  14. Juan Matus

    Juan Matus Reformed Audiophile

    Reminds me of this

    [​IMG]
     
  15. Linto

    Linto Mayor of Simpleton

    [​IMG]

    Mana stainless steel spikes, THE spike, I only use these, either on carpets or on Linn Skeets on hard floors
     
    F1nut likes this.
  16. Porkpie

    Porkpie Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    I asked the question 4 pages ago and am still none the wiser as it seems there are opposing schools of thought on whether to isolate or couple (I remember the same debates when looking into what to do with my amp and TT - I ended up putting them on Ikea bamboo boards on top of rubber semi-circle feet). I’m definitely not going to drill holes in the floor by using the spikes under the speakers and the use of rubber cups seems like it would produce the same effect as placing them flat on a carpet. So for now I’m leaving the stands flat on the floor to see how it sounds but if I need to tighten/clean up the bass, I’ll explore with the spikes sitting in cups.
     
  17. Roycer

    Roycer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wyoming
    You can always build a wood platform larger then the bottom of stand and attach them to it.and spike or rubber the platform ...your choice to know how it sounds..
     
  18. Thomas_A

    Thomas_A Forum Resident

    Location:
    Uppsala, Sweden
    Well, the "debate" regarding hard coupling (spikes) and soft feet has been going on for since internet started. The physics have always been there, and both explained and measured. So the results look lite this, now from the site I cited before (similar results have found many times before):

    [​IMG]



    The vibrations are less if speakers are "free floating " (blue line) or use decoupling feet (green line). Hard coupling with spikes (purple) gives resonances that are genrellay unwanted. Second thing is - what is audible and what do your prefer?

    So I don't really get what is your confusion? Try hard and soft feet between the stand and speakers (or just use blu tac as now). Then just listen to the sound; hear differences? What is better? Use that you like best. Leave the stand as is on the floor.
     
  19. jeffmackwood

    jeffmackwood Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ottawa
    Like the furniture on the hardwood floors in my home, I place my speakers on floor-protecting felt pads. I have no issues with doing so.

    Likewise in my basement HT, where (most of) the Koss speaker stacks and subwoofers sit directly on the concrete slab floor. But in that case it's not to protect the concrete; rather I've found that it eliminates any propensity for "buzzing" where a particular point of contact may be intermittent due to any slight irregularities in the flooring and/or speaker base(s). I have no issues in doing so.

    In my main HT the Koss stereo system speakers within the room sit on top of two Velo subs, separated by Auralex MoPAD Isolation Pads. This works very well.

    In my family room HT, the bookshelf-sitting speakers are also on Auralex MoPAD Isolation Pads. This works very well.

    Jeff
     
  20. Riotvan

    Riotvan Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    I use felt pads under the stands to protect the floor and sorbothane to decouple the speakers from the stands. The subwoofer is also on a stand and is also decoupled, i do have suspended wooden floors but i would apply the same solution if it were concrete. Most objections to spikes came from my neighbors whether the floor be concrete or suspended.
     
  21. Thomas_A

    Thomas_A Forum Resident

    Location:
    Uppsala, Sweden
    Reducing structure borne vibrations to neighbours is another reason to use decoupling. The effect may however be small but sometimes significant. As e.g. putting washing machines on soft decoupling feels.
     
    Riotvan likes this.
  22. Riotvan

    Riotvan Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Yep a good relationship with your neighbors is never a bad thing.
     
  23. ayrehead

    ayrehead Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mid South
    Good fences make good neighbors. :D
     
    Porkpie likes this.
  24. Warren Jarrett

    Warren Jarrett Audio Note (UK) dealer in SoCal/LA-OC In Memoriam

    Location:
    Fullerton, CA
    For a carpeted floor, spikes that pierce the carpet and make contact with the floor underneath is essential. Wobbling speakers (even not enough to be detectable with our eyes, when a speaker is trying to generate bass, is not good. But for a hard floor, no, just being stable on the floor (no wobble like uneven table legs) is just fine, no need for spikes.
     
    Porkpie likes this.
  25. Thomas_A

    Thomas_A Forum Resident

    Location:
    Uppsala, Sweden
    I agree that moving is not good, but what is clear is that spikes does not prevent them from moving, on the contrary they move more, as seen from the graphs above.
     
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