Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Speaker Spikes

I'm trying to get a straight answer on this topic. Are speakers spikes necessary or should I ask do they make a difference. I have my sub and m-60's using the rubber feet on a carpet elevated platform in my H/T set up. Thanks.

You normally use the rubber feet for solid floors and the spikes for carpets. Yes, they make a big difference on the sound. On carpets, you can feel that the speakers are anchored to the floor and not "floating" on the carpet. While on solid floors (wood perhaps) there will be no vibration created by the speaker contact with the floor. You can experiment which set up you like better. Most probably you will like the traditional spikes on carpet and rubber on solid floors.

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Yes, they make a big difference on the sound.

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Big difference? Prove it.

Some claim to hear the difference, some claim to not. Try both and determine if you do. If anything, it makes the speaker more secure on carpeting and increases the chance you'll have them level as they're not floating on the rather inconsistent weave.

"It makes the speaker more secure on carpeting and increases the chance you'll have them level as they're not floating on the rather inconsistent weave."

Thanks for clarifying the additional benefits of spikes on carpet. The same reasons also explain how sound is improved with spikes on carpet. The speaker enclosure produce the sound without the interference of the vibration of the box on top of the carpet which could smear the sound. More so, if they are not level.

You are asking me to prove it but it looks like you are also using spikes on carpet maybe for other reasons but you also get the benefit of improved sound.

It's the big difference I'm asking you to prove. I doubt most people would even tell the difference. When you make statements like that, you severely over exagerate your position. Does it make a difference? Probably. Is it huge? Doubtful.

So you are not disputing the advantages of spikes on carpet. You are asking me to prove the word "big".

I envy the ability of some people to ignore vibrations that others find very annoying in a big way. Could I convince you that the tiny sound a little faucet drip makes is big? I don't think so. Could you convince me that it is small, I don't think so either.

But to answer Cedadone's question, I thought I gave a sound advice, you just did not like the word big. So be it.

To try and answer your question and not get caught up in 'prove this' and 'quantify that' improvement, I'll simply say the following:

Speakers sitting on spikes or rubber feet help keep them in place, and disasociate them from the ground, thus reducing vibrations. Try them on the bare floor, then on the feet. You'll hear a difference, espeically at a louder volume.

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Speakers sitting on spikes or rubber feet help keep them in place, and disasociate them from the ground, thus reducing vibrations. Try them on the bare floor, then on the feet. You'll hear a difference, espeically at a louder volume.

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Well, that depends on the floor structure and surface materials. If it is bare-wood flooring that is on top of joists and thus flexible, the "insulating" feet (such as rubber) will help isolating the floor from the cabinet vibration. But if the floor is already carpeted thick enough to isolate and damp vibrations, the only effect of the feet might be to stabilize the cabinet. In this latter case, connecting the cabinet solidly to the floor with hard spikes can actually make it worse -- only experiments will tell. On the other hand, if the floor is very solid (such as those placed directly on a concrete slab - like in my house), then I do not think having the feet does not really make a big difference, besides stabilizing the speakers. If the floor is heavily carpeted, it can indeed make the speaker less physically stable; but I do not think that will affct the sound quality.

Bottom line -- do experiment! After all, it is quasi-zero cost...

Cheers!

Thanks for all the input on this thread. I'll try the spikes and report back on any differnece.

Hi sushi,

Ah, spoken like a true scientist. My only comment is that people hear what they expect to hear. . . If you put an acoustically transparent but visually opaque screen in front of two speakers, one on spikes, the other on rubber feet (or no feet), you'll hear, um, er, nothing or rather, no difference!

Spikes are fine for stability on a carpet.

Regards,