Spiking Your Speakers: What’s the Point?

[Analogous]

Found this old article as I was researching to understand “coupling and decoupling” speakers from the floor….

Interesting insights include:
Spikes are NOT loudspeaker isolation devices. They are tuning devices.
It’s all about a proper acoustic wave-launch!

Spiking Your Speakers: What’s the Point?

Before we get started, a big IMO should go in front of the next sentence.… Spikes are NOT loudspeaker isolation devices. They are tuning devices. They will always “lean out” the sound. True isolation devices will yield a fuller, more realistic sound with better dynamics (critical for maximum...

www.psaudio.com

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Found this old article as I was researching to understand “coupling and decoupling” speakers from the floor….

Interesting insights include:
Spikes are NOT loudspeaker isolation devices. They are tuning devices.
It’s all about a proper acoustic wave-launch!

Spiking Your Speakers: What’s the Point?

Before we get started, a big IMO should go in front of the next sentence.… Spikes are NOT loudspeaker isolation devices. They are tuning devices. They will always “lean out” the sound. True isolation devices will yield a fuller, more realistic sound with better dynamics (critical for maximum...

www.psaudio.com

Depending on where the speakers are kept. A wooden floor vibrates with the speakers if speakers bottom transmits vibration to the floor. Spikes helps here. On a concrete floor it hardly does anything other than increasing the speaker height. This is kind of tuning if the speakers vertical dispersion is not great.

 

[Analogous]

Depending on where the speakers are kept. A wooden floor vibrates with the speakers if speakers bottom transmits vibration to the floor. Spikes helps here. On a concrete floor it hardly does anything other than increasing the speaker height. This is kind of tuning if the speakers vertical dispersion is not great.

Sorry I couldn’t understand……
the speakers would be coupled or decoupled to the floor using spikes if wooden or concrete?
Is it better to use spikes on wooden floors and rubber or something other than spikes as footers for concrete surfaces?

 

[keith_correa]

Depending on where the speakers are kept. A wooden floor vibrates with the speakers if speakers bottom transmits vibration to the floor. Spikes helps here. On a concrete floor it hardly does anything other than increasing the speaker height. This is kind of tuning if the speakers vertical dispersion is not great.

How would spikes help with reducing (stopping?) transmission/transfer of vibration to any floor?

Dupe

 

[arj]

How would spikes help with reducing (stopping?) transmission/transfer of vibration to any floor?

Dupe

they dont..just because the pressure is higher at the tip of the spike they couple to the floor better. again the theory is around does better coupling help transfer vibration to the floor or open up the speaker to even more vibrations From the floor and that depends on the cabinet/weight of the speaker.

In the end its a combination of Type of Floor, type of speaker ( thin wall vs damped), its own weight etc etc. On Hard tiles floors , I have found isolation to work best ie even if spiked a slider/spike cup to soften the coupling.

Process of experimentation is something on for me and off late I have tried spikes, gliders, thick carpet, thin cotton rugs, directly on floor etc etc and each have an impact.

I guess one needs to choose what they look for in music and see what works fo them but I am veering more towards isolation than coupling in my setup.

 

[argho]

I have found spikes on tiled floors (like we have in India) frustrating.
Heavy speakers can scratch or damage the tiles.

I tried using the little coin type spike holders. Its an exercise in frustration to line them up perfectly and get each spiek to fit into one.

I have come to a conclusion, that in my setup, its just simpler to unscrew the spikes, and use stick on felt pads for the speaker bottom - at least for very heavy speakers.

 

[arj]

I have found spikes on tiled floors (like we have in India) frustrating.
Heavy speakers can scratch or damage the tiles.

I tried using the little coin type spike holders. Its an exercise in frustration to line them up perfectly and get each spiek to fit into one.

I have come to a conclusion, that in my setup, its just simpler to unscrew the spikes, and use stick on felt pads for the speaker bottom - at least for very heavy speakers.

Felt pads are a better option than spikes no doubt..

 

[keith_correa]

If energy transfer between 2 surfaces needs to be stopped/minimized then the way to do that is to dissipate that energy into a different medium (heat?!). Spikes cannot do that.
At least that's what I remember from Physics.

 

[Analogous]

I think whatever the density, shape and structure of the material used there we’ll always be some dissipation or of energy or transfer to the surfaces in contact. The question would be how much?

 

[jenson]

Arcas weigh 100kg/speaker, it comes with pretty stable and robust screw on spikes.

While i was in the process of setting up speakers at our new rental residence, i experimented speaker placement without them spikes on, i never thought, given the weight of speakers it would have an impact, but, bass was warmer without spikes, come install them spikes speakers have become more petite and well rounded.

I agree with the view that footers, especially for speakers have an effect on the presentation, one can say it is for tuning the speaker.

To think that a bookshelf/tower would sound the same if it were placed on felt or spike or marble or blunted footers...one can only imagine that not to be true.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

How would spikes help with reducing (stopping?) transmission/transfer of vibration to any floor?

Dupe

It won’t stop but it reduces as the surface area in contact with the floor is very low. The bottom part of a speaker generally resonates unless it’s very well designed. The more contact area you have you have the possibility of sending the vibration towards the floor. I lived in a rented apartment in Europe with rear wooden floor. Back then, adding a spike dramatically reduced the bass boom the speaker had. Currently I live in Europe in a home with tile flooring just like how we had in India, I cannot say the effect is there or not with a spike here. But those few centimeters can make a difference in soundstage perception depending on how high your couch is and how bad the vertical dispersion of the speaker is.

I think a simple test can demonstrate the effect of this.
Hit a wooden table with your palm. Note how loud the sound is.
Keep a pen like how I have shown in the pic, and then hit on the top of it with the same force. The sound of the hit wont be the same.

While hitting the wooden table with the palm you have lot of surface area in contact. (its similar to placing the resonating bottom part of the speaker on a floor) Depending on how stable the floor is, the floor can be set to motion. When I lived in India, I never bothered this, but if you live with a proper wooden floor with neighbours living below your apartment, your hobby can suddenly turn expensive if your neighbour complains

Unfortunately I cannot test this with my current speakers as I bought them as ex demo units and the original spikes were missing. The spikes were insanely expensive for me to afford that I ended up using them without spikes.

If energy transfer between 2 surfaces needs to be stopped/minimized then the way to do that is to dissipate that energy into a different medium (heat?!). Spikes cannot do that.
At least that's what I remember from Physics.

This is true, and Q acoustics(Fink team's box design) with their Concept 300 and 500 speakers is doing it this way.

 

[Hari Iyer]

I have used a 8mm SS hexnut - 3 of them in an triangle below my H-frame woofers. The height of the hexnut is just 5 mm and gives the necessary clearance. Also this offers a very low compliance to the speaker. The idea is to not damp any vibration,but to dissipate them to the floor easily. Tighter bass is one outcome of this arrangement at a fraction of a cost.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Felt pads are a better option than spikes no doubt..

Depending on your floor arj. On carpet floors you really need spikes to keep the speakers in place. Otherwise they won’t be stable

 

[sound1]

as a sports enthusiast, cricketers wear spikes as the they can perform at their optimum (soft ground/pitch etc). but for badminton (comparatively hard surface), you're better off with rubber base (aka. non marking shoes).

different horses for different courses i guess

 

[Analogous]

Found this:

“

Speaker decoupling through damping​

One basic strategy when it comes to minimizing enclosure vibrations is to ensure the speaker does not sit directly on the floor. Known as “decoupling”, this is a good option if your floor is very “alive”: for instance, if you have a wooden floor that reacts to every footfall and movement.

Rubberized stand feet can help as can that do-it-yourself classic: The tennis ball sawed in half. Sometimes placed under the feet of a speaker, the rubber in the tennis ball reduces the amount of vibrations that can pass to and from the speaker. Professional damping feet and pads, however, work better and are more likely to match your interior.

“Coupling” is a technique that seeks to minimize unwanted resonances by increasing a speaker’s connectedness to the ground. By making the speaker a part of the floor to the greatest extent possible, the vibrations from the speaker do not get pushed back into the enclosure. Instead, they are lost in the floor’s much greater mass. This is a good option for concrete floors or other very solid surfaces.

The most popular method for coupling speakers to the floor is spikes. Supporting the speaker on all four corners, the spikes face downwards and rest on a small metal plate (so as not to bore a hole in your floor). The effect is to minimize the influence of enclosure vibrations. Especially with subwoofers, spikes can lessen distortion.”

Speaker decoupling & coupling for better sound

Room acoustics is not just a matter of where speakers are in a room, but how they are positioned on the floor. Learn about speaker coupling & decoupling.

blog.teufelaudio.com

 

[keith_correa]

Also this offers a very low compliance to the speaker.

When you say "low compliance" - what exactly doesn't it comply fully with?

The idea is to not damp any vibration,but to dissipate them to the floor easily.

A smaller contact area causes a lesser amount of vibration transfer at a point in time so why will hexnuts (or spikes for that matter) dissipate vibrations easier (better?) than resting the whole frame (in your case) on the floor?

It won’t stop but it reduces as the surface area in contact with the floor is very low.

If it reduces then it can only mean 1 thing:
the residual energy still exists either waiting to be dissipated over time or is dissipated immediately into another medium.

 

[blackscorpio]

Found this:

“

Speaker decoupling through damping​

One basic strategy when it comes to minimizing enclosure vibrations is to ensure the speaker does not sit directly on the floor. Known as “decoupling”, this is a good option if your floor is very “alive”: for instance, if you have a wooden floor that reacts to every footfall and movement.

Rubberized stand feet can help as can that do-it-yourself classic: The tennis ball sawed in half. Sometimes placed under the feet of a speaker, the rubber in the tennis ball reduces the amount of vibrations that can pass to and from the speaker. Professional damping feet and pads, however, work better and are more likely to match your interior.

“Coupling” is a technique that seeks to minimize unwanted resonances by increasing a speaker’s connectedness to the ground. By making the speaker a part of the floor to the greatest extent possible, the vibrations from the speaker do not get pushed back into the enclosure. Instead, they are lost in the floor’s much greater mass. This is a good option for concrete floors or other very solid surfaces.

The most popular method for coupling speakers to the floor is spikes. Supporting the speaker on all four corners, the spikes face downwards and rest on a small metal plate (so as not to bore a hole in your floor). The effect is to minimize the influence of enclosure vibrations. Especially with subwoofers, spikes can lessen distortion.”

Speaker decoupling & coupling for better sound

Room acoustics is not just a matter of where speakers are in a room, but how they are positioned on the floor. Learn about speaker coupling & decoupling.

blog.teufelaudio.com

The most popular method for coupling speakers to the floor is spikes.


Spikes are for coupling or decoupling????? :: confusing

 

[Analogous]

Interesting discussion on the topic at Audubon…

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/speaker-spikes-working-principle

 

[sidvee]

This is an interesting thread, mainly for the fact that I find the terms coupling/decoupling very confusing. I have Wilson Sabrina speakers that come with factory spikes. On my carpeted floor of my listening room (which is a poured concrete floor - like most of the Indian homes), I found that adding spikes or no spikes made absolutely no difference to the sound. In fact sometimes I preferred the sound without the spikes, but I just use them to raise the speakers to get the tweeter aligned to my ears. So not sure whether my speakers are coupled or decoupled. To add to this confusion Wilson themselves sell a higher end spike upgrade, fancily named " diode" which costs $520 for a set of 8 (large ones, small is $200) https://parts.wilsonaudio.com/sabrina-1-spike-upgrade-set-large-diode/.
Needless to say, I have no interest in upgrading to these "Diodes"
Cheers,
Sid

 

[Analogous]

Can we then safely conclude that the “coupled/decouoled” argument is a false dichotomy (as with many other absolute extreme expressions)?

The bottom of any speaker has to rest on something or other thanks to gravity.

Spikes, footers or whole base directly resting on floor or carpet etc all reflect the degree to which the coupling happens.

There can be no absolute decoupling unless “Maglev” tech is used (as in some bonkers turntable setups).