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

[Thomas_A]

There is no such thing as "floor-speaker interface". Floor will resonate on a frequency much much lower than the speaker and as long as speaker is lying on the wood or carpet and not on some hard stone surface it is pretty much irrelevant if you use spikes, pads or wheels.

You will never be able to couple it with spikes so that the resonance of the system goes above 20 kHz. The speaker will move/resonate somewhere in the bass region if you use spikes. This is just Newton physics.

(If it is significant to affect the sound is another question, but it will move more. What can be audible is vibrations that enter the floor, depending on the floor type.)

 

[Thomas_A]

Interesting what sort of difference did you notice using sonic demping feet a better image, depth more separation between instruments voices?

I don't care so much about doing those kind of tests. The feet I use are very cheap and I just rely on the physics. Some have made tests and if anything you reduce some vibrations from speaker to the floor (wooden floor) that can be audible and colour the sound.

 

[BDWoody]

I'll never understand you wealthy people throwing money around like this, while you could have had the same amount of damping with used gum or a spent bicycle tire! To each his own I guess

I tend to use old mousepads...or those silicon kitchen things...

 

[Thomas_A]

I tend to use old mousepads...or those silicon kitchen things...

Mousepads are perfect!

 

[BillG]

I'm using double foam pads, purchased from AliExpress, for my desktop system - they stopped my desk from acting as a bass resonator quite effectively. I think I spent ~$20USD total for them.

Yeah, I could have gone with something nicer looking, like those iso-feet-thingies or whatever the f*ck they're called, but I couldn't justify the cost versus my needs.

 

[DDF]

Loudspeaker mounting methods have a measureable, quantifiable impact on speaker panel vibration. https://www.stereophile.com/content/measuring-loudspeakers-part-two-page-6 "Stanley Lipshitz and his colleagues noted that the accelerometer measurements of a loudspeaker cabinet's walls varied tremendously according to how the speaker was supported while the measurement was being performed....the best means of coupling a speaker to its stand—"best" in the sense of maximally reducing the amplitudes of cabinet vibrations—was to use a "lossy" coupling material, such as Blu-Tack..." Objective test results here: https://www.stereophile.com/features/806/index.html

These are limited tests, and the outcome will depend upon the specific speaker. Whether this is audible would require DBT (or significant analysis) on a per use case basis.

 

[direstraitsfan98]

Myself, I like to dampen. I have small plastic pucks I place under my speakers between the casters and the stand. I find this sounds better then trying to decouple. Here is a link to the product to purchase. Highly recommended.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.ca/ulk/itm/302200632758

And a page with some information:

https://www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/sonicdesign_e.html

 

[direstraitsfan98]

Oh. Looks like another member already beat me to the punch with the Sonic Design reccomendation.

 

[Thomas_A]

Loudspeaker mounting methods have a measureable, quantifiable impact on speaker panel vibration. https://www.stereophile.com/content/measuring-loudspeakers-part-two-page-6 "Stanley Lipshitz and his colleagues noted that the accelerometer measurements of a loudspeaker cabinet's walls varied tremendously according to how the speaker was supported while the measurement was being performed....the best means of coupling a speaker to its stand—"best" in the sense of maximally reducing the amplitudes of cabinet vibrations—was to use a "lossy" coupling material, such as Blu-Tack..." Objective test results here: https://www.stereophile.com/features/806/index.html

These are limited tests, and the outcome will depend upon the specific speaker. Whether this is audible would require DBT (or significant analysis) on a per use case basis.

Just like the Gaia company made measurements, there have been quite many accelerometer measurements during the years, and I've not seen any that have seen benefits of spikes/cones in terms of lower vibrations. I may remember incorrectly, but I think the Stereophile tests were made on side and top-panels of the speaker. To look at the movement and fundamental resonance of cabinet due to the driver acting on the cabinet to move back and forward, you would also need to put the accelerometer at the front panel of the speaker.

 

[watchnerd]

I am a big fan of IsoAcoustics products. On my main speakers I use the Gaia II to decouple them from the floor, and on my secondary system I use Aperta 200 under the bookshelf speakers on a desk. Highly recommended.
http://www.isoacoustics.com/products/gaia-series/

What is interesting is that the manufacturer was able to measure their effect in lab, very cool.
http://www.isoacoustics.com/isoacoustics-speaker-isolation-technology/

Notice below how the direct frequency response is unchanged with spikes x Gaia (top graph), but the supporting surface vibrations are reduced a lot (bottom graphs). So you hear more of the speakers' output, and less of its unintended vibrations.

View attachment 31782

I also use the Gaia II as the feet for the stands underneath my Dynaudio Contour 20 pair.

I'm not claiming any sonic benefits, per say, but they're sturdy, don't scratch my tile floor, suction cup the speaker to the floor, keep it from tipping over when a cat jumps on it, look kinda cool, and don't make any rattle or other vibrating noises.

 

[CTRLM]

I've had my speakers "floating" for years, I made the change from spikes to address the issue of bass resonating to the neighbours below and it was spectacularly successful . Did I notice a difference in sound at the time?.....no. It's hard work moving these things around so I have no urge to go back and do a comparison.

 

[restorer-john]

My vivids are stuck to the floor with Blu-Tack. Makes no difference with them.

When you stagger into them after too many beers? God, I know how you feel.

Get a pack of these and screw eyelets for the floor. Tie those buggers down! You'll never knock them over again.

Set of 4 does two speakers.

8 of these. Easily goes through carpet, Persian rugs, whatever.


Pro-tip: I sprayed the top of mine with high-vis fluorescent orange paint so I don't stub my toe on the b#$tards.

And if you have a cement floor in your dungeon listening room, these are really awesome and can be used not only as a tie-down point for your speakers, but also as a convenient point for attaching slaves for punishment.

 

[Thomas savage]

~

When you stagger into them after too many beers? God, I know how you feel.

Get a pack of these and screw eyelets for the floor. Tie those buggers down! You'll never knock them over again.

Set of 4 does two speakers.

View attachment 31812

8 of these. Easily goes through carpet, Persian rugs, whatever.


Pro-tip: I sprayed the top of mine with high-vis fluorescent orange paint so I don't stub my toe on the b#$tards.

View attachment 31813

And if you have a cement floor in your dungeon listening room, these are really awesome and can be used not only as a tie-down point for your speakers, but also as a convenient point for attaching slaves for punishment.

View attachment 31814

Great idea re stubbing your toe, nothing more compromising than looking silly in front of hostages girlfriends.

 

[Krunok]

You will never be able to couple it with spikes so that the resonance of the system goes above 20 kHz. The speaker will move/resonate somewhere in the bass region if you use spikes. This is just Newton physics.

Is that so? My speakers have 17kg each and even when driving them with full power and put a glass of water on their top the surface stays calm. I suggest you try this simple experiment before making statements like this.

 

[Hipper]

@Hipper if you were worried about seismic or other outside waves effecting your audio I imagine you would first have to worry about your entire wall becoming a transducer.

I wonder how many Gaia speaker feet would be required to decouple my house from the earth? This combined with my patented CosmicRayDamper would effectively isolate me from almost everything, including human interaction.

Mock if you must!

I'm not worried about seismic vibrations but it is a fact that they exist.

As an example, if you've ever stood on a railway platform and a train goes past you can feel the vibrations through your feet. If you read about low frequency vibrations you'll find they can travel long distances. It doesn't seem unreasonable that most houses will be affected by them, those nearer traffic or railway lines presumably being more vulnerable.

The point is it is only the sensitive hi-fi gear (perhaps televisions too) that may be troubled by seismic waves, not the wall or building.

As I wrote earlier, I don't want to go overboard about this. It is one of the minor subjects that can be looked at once you've done the basics as I described. But it is very real.

 

[Krunok]

I've had my speakers "floating" for years, I made the change from spikes to address the issue of bass resonating to the neighbours below and it was spectacularly successful .

That is not how transfer of acoustic energy works - it doesn't go through spikes but through the air. Neighbours living up are affected as much as those living below and the same goes with those living on the apartments aside of yours. If you crank it up it can skip 2 floors as well. They will of course hear only low frequencies as wals are blocking frequencies depending on their weight and as they weight much only bass can pass through.

 

[Krunok]

The point is it is only the sensitive hi-fi gear (perhaps televisions too) that may be troubled by seismic waves, not the wall or building.

The only HiFi gear sensitive to those waves, which indeed exist, are turntables.

 

[Thomas_A]

Is that so? My speakers have 17kg each and even when driving them with full power and put a glass of water on their top the surface stays calm. I suggest you try this simple experiment before making statements like this.

You should measure with an accelerometer and compare soft and hard coupling. Many have lready been done during the years and they all confirm the phyiscs involvef.

 

[Wombat]

You should measure with an accelerometer and compare soft and hard coupling. Many have lready been done during the years and they all confirm the phyiscs involvef.

And they have shown audibility?

 

[Thomas_A]

And they have shown audibility?

No these were just accelerometer measurements on cabinet movement/resonances.