To Spike or Not To Spike (1 Viewer)

[kumar]

Folks, in your experineces, does spiking the speakers produce better sound?
Ofcourse, I want to pick your brains before I spike through my carpet
What are the advantages of spiking?

 

[alan halvorson]

There is no sound advantage to spiking - don't bother with it, unless you need to stabilize your speakers. I'm certain, though, that someone will pipe in with some contrary experience.

 

[Cees Alons]

Kumar,

Speakers standing on a carpet can still move. That means that the box will have a tendency to move contrary to the cone movement. This is especially important for lower frequencies, it will diminish the effective output of the speaker at those frequencies.

You will understand that this effect is rather small, and if the boxes are heavy, the effect will be even smaller. Nevertheless....

So spikes will fix the boxes better to the underground and if your floor under the carpet happens to be wood, it will, as a by-result, also transfer some of the lower frequency's vibrations to the floor. So you may "feel" them!

It probbly won't hardly damage your carpet. I would hesitate to put spikes on beautiful parquet floors, though!


Cees

 

[kumar]

Sometimes, when I play my bass little louder.... I see my plants on the other side of the speakers (atleast (15 ft away) rattle/shake/vibrate...
Would spiking reduce such things or will it increase?

 

[Cees Alons]

It probably won't change much of that, if anything at all. But because spikes are supposed to improve the bass pressure in your room a tiny bit, I don't think it will diminish the effect.

Cees

 

[CarlosM]

is ther any point (audibly) to using spikes on strictly hardwood floors?

 

[Cees Alons]

Hardly. But if the speakers don't have feet otherwise and/or are a bit unstable (e.g. on an uneven floor), it may still be useful. Generally, however, the floor might get slightly damaged in a way you won't appreciate.

Cees

 

[Chu Gai]

None. If you're looking to improve the sound of your existing system, then you should focus on speaker placement with regards to where you'll be doing the majority of your listening. Experimentation with things like toe-in, distanc from side and rear walls, if carefully and systematically done, will lead to greater enjoyment. In fact, it might be that your present set-up is indeed not the best.

Once you've gotten them to where they sound/perform best, spiking might be an option to consider simply to anchor them in place and prevent movement. You may want to consider the followinglink for a series of articles on speaker placement and related matters.

 

[Chuck Schilling]

IMHO speaker spikes are pretty close to useless. My NHT ST-4's came with them, but balance just as well on the carpet without the spikes as with them (the ST-4's come with beams that attach to the bottom of the speaker and the spikes are to be screwed into the ends of the beams). Bottom line is that speaker spikes won't make a tippy floor stander any less tippy and, in fact, might actually make things worse on a hard surface.

 

[Eric Eash]

i use them, and i think they do make my speakers sturdier on my thick carpet. i didn't notice any improvement with sound. i've heard people say they make a difference when used with electronics. also, i have a huge diy subwoofer that i put spikes on. when it comes to subwoofers or main speakers with subwoofers in them, i highly recommend them. also, i have adjustable ones for my main speakers, and was able to get them perfectly level which helps sturdiness. i have a big dog, so i need them to resist tipovers.

eric

 

[Michael S]

kumar--I will go out on a limb and suggest that in my case (speakers weighing 140 pounds and 54 inches tall) that spiking (A) improves stability although makes them very difficult to scoot an inch or two one way or another before determining their final resting positions; (B) does help with the bass response since they contain 1800 watt subwoofers and (C) the holes through the carpet and carpet pad into the plywood beneath will not show later when the speakers are moved whereas speaker feet will leave permanent dents in the carpet/carpet pad when they are moved.

Michael S.