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Thread: Spikes. More smoke & mirrors?

  1. #11
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Fishtoft, Lincolnshire

    Posts: 394
    I'm Dave.

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    I think Mark f and Rob (filterlab) have nailed it. Spikes do make a difference to the sound, sometimes that difference is good, sometimes it's not. It all depends on the strengths and weaknesses of your system and the environment in which it is installed. The advice has to be try with, try without and see which way you prefer. The way that sounds best to you is the right way for you. The science does not matter, it's how you feel when you hear your music that counts. Don't let the marketeers compromise your listening enjoyment for the sake of following a fad.
    Have fun folks!
    Dave.

  2. #12
    Join Date: May 2008

    Location: Lancaster(-ish), UK

    Posts: 16,937
    I'm ChrisB.

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    I think these things depend very much on the individual installation. I've found spikes to be quite good on/through carpet but I think the most important thing is to try to get them stable with no possibility of rocking. I don't have carpets, so my philosophy is that any type of height adjustable foot is probably pretty important.

    The best thing I ever did to improve my old SD Acoustics OBS speakers was to remove the spikes and attach some whacking great thick steel plates to their undersides and get them onto a flat, level floor. It was also probably the cheapest upgrade and the biggest leap in performance I've ever made.

    My current speakers are so bloody heavy (63kg) that I'd kill myself moving them if I added to the weight. The floor in the new room isn't flat enough for real stability, so I'm using Soundcare Superspikes to stabilise the speakers - they don't sound any different now than when they were on DIY feet I made using threaded bar & dense hardwood blocks. However, the Superspikes look better (not like spikes at all, which is great!) and they are much easier to adjust. Plus I don't have holes in my beautiful Birch floor (or either of my feet).

  3. #13
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK

    Posts: 110,012
    I'm AudioAl'sArbiterForPISHANTO.

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    I agree pretty much with the observations made - results are application and system-dependant.

    As far as my situation is concerned, I need to use spikes because of the arrangement on my Mana stands. I have no other option.

    In order for my stands to work as intended, including the various 'Soundbase' levels, there needs to be an existing physical interface of floor > spikes > Soundframe> MDF board > spikes > Soundframe > MDF board, etc, until you get to the speaker stands themselves, which are spiked onto the MDF board of the final 'Soundbase'.

    Removing all the spikes, which incidentally I've tried, defeats the purpose and intended effect of the stands, and compromises sound quality accordingly.

    So, as usual with hi-fi, it's not a case of a 'one size fits all' methodology. There are many variables to consider and the effectiveness of spikes, or otherwise, will vary depending on the room and the system components or speakers used.

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  4. #14
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: gone

    Posts: 11,519
    I'm gone.

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    I've been doing some experimenting lately with "valve springs" - as used in a Hillman Imp car engine, I believe.

    Very stiff - 4 can easily support a 30Kg speaker with just a very gentle 'bounce' ......



    Banana plug shown for scale. The springs are about 4cm high.

    I compared their effect under my Bowers Active One speakers with traditional M6 spikes and RDC1 cones.

    In increasing order of merit ....

    3 - springs. A fairly musical sound but at the expense of the leading edge of notes and a resulting humdrum tedium of the music. Quite disappoimting after shelling out £12 for a set of 12 on eBay!

    2 - spikes. Much better transient wallop and general pizzazz and involvement in the music. But I felt that leading edges were now a bit etched and 'hifi'.

    1 - RDC1 cones. Ah, that's better - good transient capture but no etching and (although this seems unlikely) a richer range of tonal shadings.

    So it's RDC cones for me.
    .

  5. #15
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Norfolk, UK

    Posts: 6,209
    I'm BigBobJoylove.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jandl100 View Post
    I've been doing some experimenting lately with "valve springs" - as used in a Hillman Imp car engine...
    Only thing is his Hillman Imp won't start now.

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  6. #16
    Join Date: May 2008

    Location: That London ( North)

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    I'm Keith.

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    Surely the idea is keep the box still and let the driver work against it.

  7. #17
    Join Date: Jan 2008

    Location: Norfolk, UK

    Posts: 6,209
    I'm BigBobJoylove.

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    Quote Originally Posted by purite audio View Post
    Surely the idea is keep the box still and let the driver work against it.
    You'd think, but my current speakers work much much better with their light open frame stands than on a pair of concrete filled Atacamas. Mass should be the answer to damping but it seems that it's not always the case - as Quadraspire attest to.

    Also that seems to be the thinking behind Townshend's designs - the vibration cancelling kings.

    Ben Duncan mains conditioner
    2022 MacBook Pro 14" M1 Pro 10/16/16/16
    Samsung QE75Q90T 75" QLED TV
    XMOS DSD Async USB to Coax converter
    RME Audio ADI-2 FS (AK4493) DAC
    Chord Clearway XLR interconnects
    Audioquest Crimson USB interconnect
    QED Quartz Reference optical interconnect
    Edifier S3000 Pro active speakers
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  8. #18
    Join Date: May 2008

    Location: A Strangely Isolated Place in Suffolk with Far Away Trains Passing By...

    Posts: 14,535
    I'm David.

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    Surely Mr Popeck remembers WHO started this craze? Being sheep, we followed blindly!

    It was the same firm that made bi-wiring kosher in the UK, although they weren't the first to do it...

    Many speakers do seem to prefer to have the cabinet stationary to let the cones work against them, but a heavy speaker will have such a low frquency of movement it probably makes no difference (the big ATC's I had didn't "NEED" spikes - just plonk and go...).

    Incidentally, the classic Isobarik stand may be good back to front, but they didn't half "boing" if the speakers were tapped sideways... Also top spikes digging into wooden cabinets was a bane in my life, especially said Isobariks after eighteen months or so when the top spike had embedded itself up to the shoulder on the cabinet base...

  9. #19
    Join Date: May 2008

    Location: Well below the Mason-Dixon line

    Posts: 370

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    Quote Originally Posted by Howard Popeck (Stereonow) View Post
    If, as seems to be the common consent, spikes on stands are crucial to getting the best out of loudspeakers in particular and many types of audio equipment in general, why is it that the finest pianos in the most excellent concert halls throughout the World are either on wheels or flat feet i.e. never spikes?
    OK, just a wild guess here, but perhaps because musicians are concerned with the music, not an inaudible improvement in the transient response of the F above middle C?

    Tim

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