Speaker Spikes

[Ioman]

I was told that by adding spikes to your speakers it will help create a tighter bass and better sound. So I decided to add some to my speakers. I can't really tell a huge difference, but I guess there is less reverberation on the floor and the bass seems a tad bit tighter.

Has anyone else had experience with using speakers spikes? Do you think they really work or are they just wasted hype?

[k2]

it's omnidirectional, what would spikes do to clean the sound up?

i use spikes on my speaker stands to grip carpet, my sub sits on the floor.

spikes are usually pimped for audiophile grade equipment (mainly cdplayers) because the sales pitch goes like this "it lessons the vibrations, so the deck picks up the information better" .. which is the equavalent to the green marker myth.

with speakers, they're simply used to either lessen the footprint on the floor... air is going to be moved if the speaker is on spikes, or flat on the ground.

[Ioman]

Thanks for the information. I talked to some of our home theater writers and they told me basically the same thing, but that by adding spikes to your speakers and subwoofer will help lesson the vibrations and make for a more accurate sound. But anyways, the spikes came with my speakers so I said what the hell and put them on anyways. At least I look like an Audiophile now!

[divine_Affinity]

u may not notice a difference because a) u dotn have the "old" set up to compare it to side by side b) u will see the effect more or less depending on different music.

the effect itself is....

trebble, high sound, travels through air best, and does so pretty much all of the time.

sub bass / bass travels best through solids and is what it does most of the time.

now, the bass (as it is goign through solids) travels fractionaly faster than the trebble...however, as they are 2 waves, and they are *almost* together...the ear does not notice it.

MIDBASS however is where our problem begins...midbass travels partialy through the air, and partialy through the floor...because we have 2 waves and a slight delay (the wave in the floor goes faster) we are stretching the midbass (altogether a bit of a nasty sort of bass if heared on its own) and hence we end up with a "muddy" sound...very noticable in some cases

with the spikes, waves require a certain amout or low frequency to utilise the "coupling" and the midbass is *almost*all stoped from getting to the floor.

this creates 2 plus points, the sound is now less muddy, and as the sub bass/bass has its own "highway" all to itself, it also comes across clearer.

this is all well observed in dance music, when u have drums which tend to cover a fairly large frequency range...u will definately notice they are tighter and all the other sounds are much clearer

[ECA]

there is a trick...
If you screw the speaker to a HOLLOW wall, the vibration TRAVELS to the wall, lower tones travel BETTER. And you also dont have to PUSH the speaker to ADD more bas, you may even have to cut the bass alittle.

spikes or anything added to the sides to make the speaker more rigid, can LESSEN the bass, and force them thru the speakers. So, that ALL you hear is what the speaker can do rather then the ADDED sound from other items.

I SHAKE my house with the bass I get.

[divine_Affinity]

thats rite, the wall acts as an extended baffle and moves with the deepest cone...in this instance, out of phase speakers will cause the most probelems

however, as i said above, spikes are designed for bass clarity and enhancement, not designed for power...same with a sealed cab, not as loud, but much tighter...and if u have decent bass drivers, u can affort to make some of these sacrifices for clarity, and then simply re equalise to compensate for the small amout of volume u may have lost

[ECA]

I like useing the hollow walls, I can CUT my bass, and still have a great affect, and sence I have no freq seperator in them, I AINT shoving bass thru the tweeter..

Fun part, as my home has little in the shape of insulation...I can rattle the WHOLE house.. But, the volume stays about 90% inside, until I open the front door. Then the neihborhood hears it..
Something about Sheet rock walls inside and WOOD walls on the outside. Sheetrock RUMBLES...