Feet for speaker stands (spikes, isolation, etc)

[occamsrazor]

Hi, I'm in the process of having some speaker stands built for me to accomodate both ATC SCM-11 speakers and the Hypex Ncore monoblocks that power them. Design will be metal and wood and will look something like this (Photoshop mockup):

http://i58.tinypic.com/15cj2mv.jpg

At the base will be a thick rectangular steel plate, below which will be sandwiched another 30mm thick piece of mahogany. I will need some kind of spikes/feet attached to that.

The designer/carpenter assures me this will be really heavy and stable, maybe around 20-30kg per stand. The steel plate is damn heavy and the steel lattice of rods should be rigid. The 30mm thick mahogany should also be fairly strong. The bottom plate will be larger than the box to enhance stabilty.

Should I go for spikes? Some kind of rubbery feet like sorbothane? Or what? I prefer something adjustable to cope with possibly uneven floors. It will likely be used on hard wood floors, not suspended or carpeted, I think. But I don't want to damage them.

Currently looking at a few options, but along these lines:

Vibrapod Model 5:
http://www.analogueseduction.net/vib...pack-of-4.html

Monacor solid spikes:
http://www.monacor.co.uk/products/0/vnr/129160/
With these I'd likely need to use saucers to protect the floor I think.

Soundcare Superspikes:
http://www.soundcare.no/

The Soundcare Superspikes do seem a little pricey, but equally seem a nice flexible solution giving adjustability and floor protection, so am tending towards those.

Any thoughts on what feet to use? Also any comments/suggestions on the design of the stands welcome...

[agk]

I favour spikes with coins between the points and floor if I've a hard floor.
It bears saying that those are pretty ugly looking stands.
Sorry just my opinion.

[occamsrazor]

I favour spikes with coins between the points and floor if I've a hard floor.

And that's certainly the easiest option. My main concern is it makes moving the stands a bit of a hassle doesn't it? Rearranging the coins while holding the stand up. I guess if you're not likely to move them much then it's not an issue.


It bears saying that those are pretty ugly looking stands.

Ha... no worries, each to their own I guess. Always good to have an honest opinion. Do you have suggestions for another design that would accomodate space for the monoblocks in the stands? I looked a lot and I guess such a requirement isn't that common, but it does let me keep speakers cables very short. For what it's worth these are my current semi-DIY stands, but the carpenter did an awful job and they're way too light for the speakers. You probably hate them even more :-)

http://i58.tinypic.com/2mxkxw.jpg


Sorry just my opinion.

No need to apologize, all opinions happily received....

[zanash]

if you have a smart fone down load the vibration sensor app ....then you can play to your hearts content trying different material and seeing what effect they have ....my current take on this is that you want to minimise vibration from speaker to floor . Sorry doesn't float my boat either ...but I wont have to live with it !! suspect that the box affair may be detrimental aspect. Things to try large bubble bubble wrap between speaker and stand and or floor and stand .......I've had good results with small concrete domes ...made by cutting a ball in half [tennis ball size] half filled with quick set cement , use three and or four, fitted so dome is down and the flat is against the base plate. oak cones /pyramids are also easy to make from a 2"x2" make them about an 3/4" high . These maybe best under the speaker.

[Patrick Dixon]

What about putting the box on the floor and the stand on top of that? Or better still make/find a stand with enough room on the foot for the amp to stand. OK, so the speaker cables will be a little longer, but it will be a whole lot more stable.

[occamsrazor]

What about putting the box on the floor and the stand on top of that? Or better still make/find a stand with enough room on the foot for the amp to stand. OK, so the speaker cables will be a little longer, but it will be a whole lot more stable.

Thanks Patrick. Yes that's an idea and I did think of that possibility when I had the first stands made. The disadvantages are the longer cables needed, and also I wanted easy access to the power on/off switch at the back of the monoblocks. However since then I ended up getting some cheap radio-controlled power sockets for each, so now I can turn both of them and the DAC on/off with the press of a remote button. Works pretty nicely. Maybe I'll rethink that idea, as the design is by no means finalised. Why do you think having it this way would be more stable? Which stability issues do you see with the current design? (I'm interested)

[Patrick Dixon]

The more weight you have lower down the more stable it will be.

[Oddball]

I am in the process of making some stands for my refoamed 99p Akai speakers !:)

I will mainly be using a pair of front brake discs , which will have evostick applied to the base and a cut down carpet tile glued to them.
A round steel pole from the discs , welded to a plate that will have some angle iron to locate on the back bottom corner of the speakers.
They came with right angle wall mounts on the back of them ,so I will extend the small angle to locate the mounts .


Pictures to follow.
They don't call me cheap for nothing :D

[occamsrazor]

I will mainly be using a pair of front brake discs.

You must be the only other soul in the world who sees the beauty of disc-brake speaker stands :-)
See my this thread of mine on PFM for a little discussion of that....

http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=164634

[Oddball]

You must be the only other soul in the world who sees the beauty of disc-brake speaker stands :-)
See my this thread of mine on PFM for a little discussion of that....

http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=164634
Wooo. There was me thinking I would be unique !!
I was actually welding up my donor front discs this evening .
The one fell off the work bench and the weld snapped off!!!! (The discs are a type of cast and they don't like mild steel welding)
So I had to give it another go, and then paint them up . Very agricultural

[Oddball]

Yes :D

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj205/anthyyyyy/001_zpsafahticx.jpg (http://s273.photobucket.com/user/anthyyyyy/media/001_zpsafahticx.jpg.html)

[occamsrazor]

How stable is it on the wooden floor? Can we see a pic without the speaker on to show the top half? Seems like a nice job done.... Cheers.

[Oddball]

Hi Ben ,
Here's another shot or 2

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj205/anthyyyyy/003_zpssa0t7qwt.jpg (http://s273.photobucket.com/user/anthyyyyy/media/003_zpssa0t7qwt.jpg.html)

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj205/anthyyyyy/002_zpsqeidpxnd.jpg (http://s273.photobucket.com/user/anthyyyyy/media/002_zpsqeidpxnd.jpg.html)

Very stable actually !! I was surprised how difficult it was to knock them over !
I liked your post on the other site by the way . I hadn't seen it before , but around the farm ,old discs come in hand for all sorts of recycling jobs.
I considered screwing into the bottom plate to hold the speakers tight , but with the addition of a cable tie around the top of the angle , they sit nicely on the bit of carpet which means they are isolated enough from the base metal plate !!
Mind you ,I am damn lucky to have access to a Mig welder and steel work equipment!!
Anyone considering using brake discs , just need to visit a friendly local garage and have a root in their scrap pile !!!

[Covenant]

I have been thinking about this issue as well, for more conventional floor standing speakers. Spikes are a nonsense IMHO unless you have carpets over floorboards. Well I have laminate on concrete so will be fitting rubber feet. I thought about Sorbothane domes but the cabinets are very heavy and the adhesive backing may not hold if the cabinets are jiggled about. So I am trying cheap rubber feet with a metal washer built in that can be screwed to the underside of the speaker. If I dont think that is enough I may add Sorbothane discs.