Months and months of surfing the web, tracking articles, expert opinions, message boards etc. I finally bought myself my own music nirvana.
I replaced my Bose Lifestyle 12 with M-80's, vp-150, QS-8's. Bought a Sunfire mark Iv sub and a Denon avr-3802 receiver. All hooked up to a hdtv-ready toshiba 55" and dvd player. Every night I now listen to music like a teenager, jaw to the floor and stupid smile on my face, while my wife and kids are desperatly looking for a therapist!!
Well 3 months of this pure pleasure, tweaking, moving this , changing that, spl meter in one hand, tape measurer in the other ( you guys are like me right?) it finally struck again! You know, the need for more! What else could I buy that would bring me to the next level? A dvd-a player? Sacd? Both?? I am a music JUNKIE! I need serious help man!!
But wait.. What is that over there? Oh dear, with all this speaker shuffling I forgot those little speaker spikes!?? Since I'm finish tweaking it can't hurt to screw them on, right? Well 5 minutes later it's done and I put my favorite cd on.
Ouch Baby! I just get hit by a base punch in the stomach. What an impact!! I am floored. I was gonna spend thousands more on electronics but those little baby's probably worth $5.00 just improved my speakers by I would say 50%!! I could not believe it. It feels like the speakers grip the carpet with tiger paws and just project the purest bass I have ever heard. We're talking Yo-Yo Ma playing cello with your guts as an instrument. It is Bass you can feel.
Aahhh! I am back in music heaven, jaw to the floor, stupid smile and all.
I am HappyJohnM80/now w.spikes, music junkie.
So long for now.

I always thought those spikes were there to keep the kids and pets from knocking the speaker over.

Go figure.

Maybe with a shag rug that pure carpet thickness simply dampened the bass through sheer surface area and baffling.

Actually I had a similar experience with the M3Ti's and the CSS2 stands. Originally, the stands sat on the carpet without spikes. Just for fun, I screwed in the spikes, adjusted them so that the stands were level, and popped in a CD. The sound increased in clarity and impact. Then I remembered what an audio dealer had said to me about stands: for a carpeted floor, use spikes so that the stand is coupled to the baseboard underneath. It makes the stand more stable so the speaker doesn't move as much when it's playing music. Same thing goes for the floorstander...

The theory behind spikes is rooted in the physics of motion - as penned by Sir Isaac Newton. As suggested, they help "focus" the energy of the movement of the speaker - which is actually a motor in principle.

The spike offers a poor impedance match to acoustical vibrations, which will not readily pass through. I have heard of, and seen this concept taken to the extreme - people actualy using them under amps, preamps, etc. While there can be some benefit to having an isolated source (CD or turntable), I have not experienced anything earthshattering using them.

While the effects are subjective, it is a very easy test to perform. I have heard some differences, and other times none at all.