Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Ian - Benefits of floor standing models

I have a receiver that has a variable cross over setting.
I have the MT80's and the EP175.
The manufacture of receiver told me to set the cross over at 60 hz.
Ian, do you agree with this? Or do you recommend another setting perhaps 80 Hz?
Also does spikes give you a advantage over rubber feet? If so why?
Thanks

I have a receiver that has a variable cross over setting.
I have the MT80's and the EP175.
The manufacture of receiver told me to set the cross over at 60 hz.
Ian, do you agree with this? Or do you recommend another setting perhaps 80 Hz?
Also does spikes give you a advantage over rubber feet? If so why?
Thanks

You cannot damage anything by either setting (60 or 80) -- try 'em both for a while and keep the setting you like most. There is no real perfect answer. Only your preference. Have fun with it!

Spikes will cause a clarity in the sound produced by the speakers. I am not entirely sure why, but I think made a big difference in my setup!

BBIBH probably has the answer, so I am sure he will be glad to help us!

abcd

Spikes are used in many speaker installations. They are used to decouple the speakers from the floor. Our friend Sir Isaac Newton is alive and well in many areas of audio, including the speaker arena!

Remember that a speaker is simply an electric motor. The motor movement is in and out, based on electricity applied. The outward movement produces a sound wave that radiates into the environment - your room. The backward movement also produces a sound wave that is partically trapped inside the speaker cabinet. Designers have several methods of dealing with this trapped energy, such as ports. This redirects the energy out into the room, and if designed correctly, enhances the sound. If done incorrectly, it can detract from the sound. Anyway, the energy is contained,will escape one way or another, and can cause resonances within the cabinet and environment. This is really wasted amplifier power and speaker movement if it can not be utilized.

All materials resonate (vibrate), and spikes isolate the sound energy from moving from the speaker to the floor. The contact point is very small, and most resonant frequencies can not navigate through that contact point. If allowed to travel to the surroundings via vibrations, the surrounding materials can also vibrate. This domino effect can cause similar enhancements and detractions to the sound as our example of the speaker cabinet.

Similar concepts are in place when using spikes or isolation methods under turntables and other equipment.

Regards,

BBIBH

Technically the 60 Hz setting is the correct one to use as per the recommendation of the receiver manufacturer. However this does not take into consideration your particular room acoustics and for that reason I would at least give the 80 Hz a try and see what you think. The key with either the spikes or the rubber feet is to keep the front baffle of the sub woofer off the floor and avoid a coupling effect that is not desirable. The spikes are mainly used for carpeted surfaces as they will penetrate to the sub floor underneath and add stability. There is also the argument that the spikes, due to their small surface area will isolate the sub from the floor better than the feet. From a strictly physics point of view this is correct though the difference may be hard to hear and probably not worth ruining your floor over.

Ian Colquhoun
President & Chief Engineer