Speaker spikes, pads etc. couple or de-couple your speakers

[Sparky]

I tend to agree with the 'handful' comment. And the 'optimal' one.

Just getting the software/hardware( how accurate is it?) to set up a system for a room doesn't mean the user really understands what is required to be done and achieved..
Rooms aren't necessarily accommodating in their various geometries, placement options, openings, surfaces, encumbrances, furnishings and furniture, internal and external base noise levels, et. al.

Listening position will only be 'right' for some frequencies/modes.

I doubt that many set-ups are optimal for the compromised environments let alone for HiFi when conducted by amateur enthusiasts.

Lots of wishful thinking and expectation holding sway in most cases.

My set up is heavily compromised as it is a family room.
My speakers are too close to the front wall, my listening position is against a the rear wall, my right speaker is too close to a side wall.... The list goes on.

 

[Wombat]

Audio forums are a bit like the many cooking programs that are on TV. Enjoyable to watch but very few viewers actually use the recipes.

 

[Sparky]

Audio forums are a bit like the many cooking programs that are on TV. Enjoyable to watch but very few viewers actually use the recipes.

Very good analogy...

 

[Thomas_A]

My set up is heavily compromised as it is a family room.
My speakers are too close to the front wall, my listening position is against a the rear wall, my right speaker is too close to a side wall.... The list goes on.

This is the situation here as well. But it does not need to be that compromised having speakers close to wall or sitting close to wall. I have the same situation and except for the bass below 100 Hz which I am building new subs to reach down to 20 Hz. I will also re-introduce a parametic EQ to fix the 47 Hz peak. Below is the response at listeinig seat with no EQ. I have lowered the response above 3 kHz somewhat on the crossover after this measurement was made but other than below <100 Hz the overall balance is good IMO. Despite a suboptimal room.

 

[Sparky]

This is the situation here as well. But it does not need to be that compromised having speakers close to wall or sitting close to wall. I have the same situation and except for the bass below 100 Hz which I am building new subs to reach down to 20 Hz. I will also re-introduce a parametic EQ to fix the 47 Hz peak. Below is the response at listeinig seat with no EQ. I have lowered the response above 3 kHz somewhat on the crossover after this measurement was made but other than below <100 Hz the overall balance is good IMO. Despite a suboptimal room.

Wow. You're response is not dissimilar to my in room response...

I use 1/6th octave smoothing just for a more eye-pleasing view of things.

I'm always tinkering though so REW gets used a LOT
..

 

[Sparky]

You have a nice flat response though to be fair.
It's those damned LF that get you.
I use an RME ADI-2 to even thag out though...

 

[Hipper]

I don’t see that one issue such as room acoustcs and bass management excludes that you fix other issues such as distorsion caused by rattling objects in the room. FYI, I will probably do so some accelerometer and audio measurements when time permits and publish them here.

It doesn't, but it makes sense to decide on priorities - bang for buck etc..

 

[Thomas_A]

Wow. You're response is not dissimilar to my in room response...

View attachment 32245

I use 1/6th octave smoothing just for a more eye-pleasing view of things.

I'm always tinkering though so REW gets used a LOT
..

One can always find ways for improvements but there is a WAF involved.. My previous damping panels behind the speakers a long gone since they were DIY and ugly. I have other commercial ones now with printed motifs but I just wish they were a bit larger. Gone is also my Behringer parametic EQ for bass management. But with a new HT amp I hope to fix the bass peak. If is however forbidden to add anything, I can just replace.

I will also update measurements since my crossover now is final but I have no hurry. I prefer listening to music and it sounds really fine overall.

 

[Eirikur]

Well, the big old(heavy) speakers sat comfortably on the carpet which provided some decoupling to the floorboards and some modest damping to the enclosure. No one worried about spikes or 'shock absorbers'.

I used to have these vintage Pioneer HPM-100s weighing in at just under 27kg each

Rest assured that spikes were not needed. A doctor perhaps, for the incurred hernia.

 

[JanRSmit]

110cm high, a cool 70+ kg. Using 1 well mounted blunt spike in the rear, 2 nylon feet in the front. Floor is wooden (oak) parquet, with felt under layer on a concrete floor.

 

[eliash]

I don’t see that one issue such as room acoustcs and bass management excludes that you fix other issues such as distorsion caused by rattling objects in the room. FYI, I will probably do so some accelerometer and audio measurements when time permits and publish them here.

True, that´s why I sometimes compare sound from the speakers and headphone. I guess, doing it with a levelled out Stax L700/SRM-353x provides some kind of reference (and some live concerts in clubs & theaters for general orientation)...in that sense nothing wrong here, even noticing ear pad sound coloring of the (very open) headphones when changing...

 

[eliash]

110cm high, a cool 70+ kg. Using 1 well mounted blunt spike in the rear, 2 nylon feet in the front. Floor is wooden (oak) parquet, with felt under layer on a concrete floor.

Sounds reasonable, a soft tilting point in front (in line with membranes) and hard coupled in rear. The back stand seems to be more important if you direct-couple to ground (and of course the 70Kg). Recently I saw some newer constructions relying only on a 3-point stand with 2 points in the back. Anyway, the 3-point stand is preferable from my perspective, since one avoids the nerve-wracking precision alignment of 4 spikes...

 

[JanRSmit]

Sounds reasonable, a soft tilting point in front (in line with membranes) and hard coupled in rear. The back stand seems to be more important if you direct-couple to ground (and of course the 70Kg). Recently I saw some newer constructions relying only on a 3-point stand with 2 points in the back. Anyway, the 3-point stand is preferable from my perspective, since one avoids the nerve-wracking precision alignment of 4 spikes...

Yes, the concept of mechanical diode is that of grounding. Having more than one grounding point will not help. I have placed it indeed at the place where the most of the weight is pushing. Outrigger constructions in my view add some form of resilience, thus resonance. Something you do not want to have , especially there.

 

[eliash]

This is the situation here as well. But it does not need to be that compromised having speakers close to wall or sitting close to wall. I have the same situation and except for the bass below 100 Hz which I am building new subs to reach down to 20 Hz. I will also re-introduce a parametic EQ to fix the 47 Hz peak. Below is the response at listeinig seat with no EQ. I have lowered the response above 3 kHz somewhat on the crossover after this measurement was made but other than below <100 Hz the overall balance is good IMO. Despite a suboptimal room.

In my room the really annoying resonances were a bit higher, starting to be disturbing around 100Hz, ranging to 180Hz or so. By careful speaker placement I could manage the most annoying G2 resonance at 98Hz in a way that the practical sound experience, listening to mostly to Jazz, became OK.
Nevertheless I installed one of these big bass-traps (with build-in sheep...no, of course sheep wool) to control the other (really pressurised) edge of the room, where my place of work is located...seems to work, even oriented horizontally in a roof slope...will do some quantitative measurement...

 

[Eirikur]

Nevertheless I installed one of these big bass-traps (with build-in sheep...no, of course sheep wool)

Real sheep would probably work quite well - might need a dog to keep them in the optimal position.
If you have enough children, slap on the wool blankets and place them in each corner for a try-out! Haven't figured out how to keep them quiet though...

 

[digicidal]

110cm high, a cool 70+ kg. Using 1 well mounted blunt spike in the rear, 2 nylon feet in the front. Floor is wooden (oak) parquet, with felt under layer on a concrete floor.

Nice, and the little man making sure that no one messes with your speaker cable is an audible benefit as well I imagine.

 

[Berwhale]

Thank you for this thread. It has always bothered me that i'd been using alloy cups with the long spikes on my Rega Jura speakers. I knew the spikes were designed to punch through carpet and couple with the floor below; it's also been a royal pain to move the speakers around without them falling off the cups. Now that I know that the spikes are not required...

I had some 50mm round M8 threaded feet lying around (they came with some Ikea Besta cupboard units). So yesterday I ordered some M8 threaded inserts (the spikes are M6) and 50mm foam sticky pads from Amazon (total cost £11.06). Tonight i'm replacing the spikes...

Before:

After:

It's much easier to move and level the speakers now, but I think I will have to paint the feet black.

 

[Snarfie]

Thank you for this thread. It has always bothered me that i'd been using alloy cups with the long spikes on my Rega Jura speakers. I knew the spikes were designed to punch through carpet and couple with the floor below; it's also been a royal pain to move the speakers around without them falling off the cups. Now that I know that the spikes are not required...

I had some 50mm round M8 threaded feet lying around (they came with some Ikea Besta cupboard units). So yesterday I ordered some M8 threaded inserts (the spikes are M6) and 50mm foam sticky pads from Amazon (total cost £11.06). Tonight i'm replacing the spikes...

Before:

View attachment 35468

After:

View attachment 35469

It's much easier to move and level the speakers now, but I think I will have to paint the feet black.

How does it sounds now compard with before.

 

[Berwhale]

How does it sounds now compard with before.

I didn't attempt a subjective comparison as I didn't see the point after reading this thread (or the rest of ASR!) and I haven't got the kit to measure it.

 

[eliash]

Listen for bass attack (drums), it could be that this may have suffered, due to the increased enclosure movement caused by the bass drivers membranes´ mass and the softer seating...