Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Spikes for M22s

I just got M22s for front, but realized that space only allows me to place them on the floor. But because of the firing angle, I'd like to have them angle slightly up. Folks at Axiom say it is fine to place them on the floor. I was wondering if I could put spikes for the front part so that they angle upwards. Has anyone done this, or put spikes at all on the m22s?

Ravi, there's nothing wrong with putting a "bookshelf" speaker right on the floor. As you say, it would be best to tilt them slightly backwards so that the tweeters point roughly at your ear level. I experimented a little with floor placement when I first got my M22s and got good results. Pads of paper were simply wedged under the front to tilt them. One point is that for smoother response the distance of the woofer cones from the floor and each of the two nearest walls should be different. If their distance from the floor is about one foot,the distance to the walls could be three feet and five feet or some other unequal distances.

Oh my, there's two Ravi's on this board now!

We're building an empire!!!

Watch out John Smith, here we come

In reply to:

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One point is that for smoother response the distance of the woofer cones from the floor and each of the two nearest walls should be different.

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John,

I know you often mention that rule. Care to comment on the reasoning behind?

John,

While your reasoning for the "unequal distances" rule may be scientifically sound (pun intended), can you tell me with confidence that for any given room there is a perceivable benefit to that arrangement?

In other words, is it more often than not the case that an "unequal distance" arrangement will undoubtedly improve the perceived overall sound from the speaker?


I think there are far too many variables that affect a speaker's perceived sound for you to be able to justify recommending one arrangement as ideal.

Masa and Peter, this involves room boundary reinforcement and cancellation(not standing waves)which was discussed a little while ago from the standpoint of the reinforcement in low bass a sub gets in the corner. This involves cancellation a bit farther up the spectrum in the upper bass/lower midrange around 200hz. Roy Allison is noted for his research in this area as much as 30 years ago and the suckout of as much as 11db which can occur around 150-200hz when a speaker is placed equidistant from three near boundaries is occasionally termed the "Allison Effect". Some of the Audio articles I previously listed in the sub discussion also go into this, especially the ones by Allison and Ferstler.

Peter, I don't know how noticeable the improvement might be(there wouldn't be any at all if the speakers happen to be at unequal or long distances by chance). I'm sure you remember that I previously cautioned you that you and wife's ears had to be similarly positioned for best results.

I just got my axioms and they are awesome. They are improving by the hour. My wife was a tad disappointed in the begining, mainly because her reference is Martin Logan. I had to some tweaking with the receiver and placement and they sound much better.
Anyway, I've realized that I cannot place them on the floor. They sound way better at a height partly because there is a huge center table in between the speakers and the couch. They are sitting on bar stools now. I am looking to buy some stands and went and bought 31" stands from Circuit City. They are very unstable. I spoke with Axiom folks and they say I should not go more than 24" height. I also think the taller the stand, the more unstable it becomes. Unfortunately, I will also need a stand with a relatively small foot print. Any ideas on such stands? Are there any I can pour sand into to increase weight? Once I am done, I will post the picture of my peculiar living room setup. I am sure it is acoustically atrocious...

Ravi

Samsung HLN617W
Harman kardon AVR-525
Panasonic CP-72
Motorola 5100 HD cable (without DVI)

The M22s (or any other bookshelf speaker for that matter) should not be placed flat on the floor. Generally, you want the tweeters at approximately ear-level for proper dispersion.

As for stands you might consider one of these from Parts Express.

Take a look at the Atacama Nexus stands too:

http://www.audioadvisor.com/store/productdetail.asp?sku=ATANEXUS10&product_name=Nexus%20Speaker%20Stand%20Pair

They come in various heights and are extremely stable (especially if you fill the main posts with shot).