Rule 64b of the Audiophile Code book broken...

[Tony L]

That was my thought originally, until I did the sums. Considering the mass of the bass cone plus something for air load, compared with the mass of the whole loudspeaker cabinet. Movement measured in microns so hardly worth the bother. There's some possibility of Doppler distortion in the treble, but I've not been able to identify any.

I came to the conclusion that spikes make no audible difference, so use castors as that's far more convenient.

To my mind it's got little (probably nothing) to do with the speaker moving significantly enough for doppler effects / cancelation etc, and much more to do with how one interfaces a rather noisy resonant wooden box into a room. I suspect any positive effect from spiking is simply to do with vibration management, any negative effect down to coupling such vibration in a counter-productive manner that makes it's effect more obvious. It's clear to those of us who actually listen to kit that different types of stand / fixings work better / worse with different types of loudspeaker, so any theory obviously needs to allow for such if it is to stand scrutiny. My view is that all boxes vibrate, they all have resonances at different frequencies, so different stand types, masses and coupling approaches will have some impact on how this interfaces with the listening environment, thus no simplistic one size fits all answer from me. FWIW I tend find large speakers (like yours and mine) are fine just plonked on the carpet!

 

[Richard Kimber]

I hurriedly refitted the spikes expecting to find yet more levels of heightened definition only to find that everything returned to normal. Spikes off again…sonic bliss!

Please help me.

I had a similar experience with the spikes on my Quad 2805s. Quite a harsh sound with them on, much better with them off.

I'm not sure whether rule 64b actually exists - if I remember right, Jim Smith of "Get Better Sound" fame insists that taking the spikes off is the first thing you should do.

- Richard.

 

[John]

I hurriedly refitted the spikes expecting to find yet more levels of heightened definition only to find that everything returned to normal. Spikes off again…sonic bliss!

Please help me.

IME, spikes on carpet don't work too well unless you cut through the juke backing and padding with a razor knife to insure the spike is cleanly contacting the surface below.

Saying that, I'm not convinced spikes are necessary for all applications so I'm not surprised by your conclusions even if the spikes were set correctly.

 

[S-Man]

Yup...
http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showpost.php?p=1896023&postcount=72

Try breaking audiphile rule #1 next:
Throwaway cables sound better than "proper" ones.

 

[Darth Vader]

To my mind it's got little (probably nothing) to do with the speaker moving significantly enough for doppler effects / cancelation etc, and much more to do with how one interfaces a rather noisy resonant wooden box into a room. I suspect any positive effect from spiking is simply to do with vibration management, any negative effect down to coupling such vibration in a counter-productive manner that makes it's effect more obvious. It's clear to those of us who actually listen to kit that different types of stand / fixings work better / worse with different types of loudspeaker, so any theory obviously needs to allow for such if it is to stand scrutiny. My view is that all boxes vibrate, they all have resonances at different frequencies, so different stand types, masses and coupling approaches will have some impact on how this interfaces with the listening environment, thus no simplistic one size fits all answer from me. FWIW I tend find large speakers (like yours and mine) are fine just plonked on the carpet!

I think this could be it. My Shahinians are on castors and the boxes are made from Finland birch in plywood fashion. This yields a very rigid though somewhat light box with very little vibration for the spl generated. By comparison speakers that are constructed from MDF and veneered are heavy and vibrate quite a significant amount.

Cheers,

DV

 

[Nic P]

I rearranged my lounge and our 2.1 AV system could now accommodate much larger speakers than the tiny infinity satellites we use with a subwoofer. The infinitys sat directly on the carpet. I had spare Nordost pulsar points and put 3 under each speaker. I was very very surprised by the improvement and am now totally happy with the SQ. Sort of agrees with Tony L's hypothesis about vibration control.

Nic P

 

[Robert]

Directional Carpet ?

Oh no, don't start us on rule 67c!

To the OP, differences in loudspeaker and room construction mean that rule 64b should be taken with a pinch of salt. Do what works best for any given combination and situation.

 

[Steven Toy]

Oh no, don't start us on rule 67c!

To the OP, differences in loudspeaker and room construction mean that rule 64b should be taken with a pinch of salt. Do what works best for any given combination and situation.

We agree.

 

[Robert]

We agree.

We often do!

 

[arthur]

I think this could be it. My Shahinians are on castors and the boxes are made from Finland birch in plywood fashion. This yields a very rigid though somewhat light box with very little vibration for the spl generated. By comparison speakers that are constructed from MDF and veneered are heavy and vibrate quite a significant amount.

Cheers,

DV

Can't feel a single tremor through my Trios at anything less than bleeding ear spls.

They are heavy ish (85 Lbs) and on spikes on a paving slab on a carpet.