Metal Footings On Speakers

[Hollywood1]

I haven't done this yet, my speakers are just sitting on the carpet. Should I add the metal footings? Will this screw up the carpet after time? Is their a noticable difference?

[mtrycrafts]

I haven't done this yet, my speakers are just sitting on the carpet. Should I add the metal footings? Will this screw up the carpet after time? Is their a noticable difference?

Are the speakers stable on the carpet from falling? If so, forget the points.

[cbraver]

The spikes/feet/isolation-pins/etc help to decouple the speaker from the floor. You want your speaker making the noise, not reasonances travelling to the floor. That's the idea of them. Use them. If you ever put your speakers on a wood floor you may get small rubber bases which will prevent scratching and further help to isolate your speakers from their surrounding. I wouldn't worry about your carpet getting ruined, personally. My Dynaudio's have spikes attached, and I just lifted them up and the carpet is just fine. My M&K's back home, on the other hand, are on York stands (M&K had York barbell make speaker stands for them... they weigh like 100-lbs) that I'm pretty sure have damaged my carpet, haha.

As far as sound quality: If your speaker is transferring resonance to the floor, the floor will make noise and muddy your deep midrange and bass. Well-braced speakers are less suseptable to this, while budget speakers are generally poorly braced.

Another option is monitor isolation pads, which can be purchased from any place that sells pro-audio equipment.

Peace!

[TLS Guy]

The mass of the speaker compared to the mass of the speaker cones in any properly constructed speakers is a huge number in favor of the speaker mass. Therefore the use of spikes does not pass the laugh test.

[bongobob]

I believe the use of spikes would actually Couple the speaker to the floor, no? Set on carpet, it and the underlying pad would insulate the box from the floor itself....

[TLS Guy]

The high end originally touted these spikes to prevent the speaker moving to and fro, in reaction to the forces of the cone acceleration and deceleration. I don't follow the high end that closely, but may be there has been mission creep for these spikes.

[3db]

I haven't done this yet, my speakers are just sitting on the carpet. Should I add the metal footings? Will this screw up the carpet after time? Is their a noticable difference?

I use them only to provide additonal stability to the speaker so it won't tip over so easily and to adjust the angle slightly. I have them angled back about 10% . They do leave small holes in a berber carpet but I'm not to worried as I know the carpet will spring back and cover the hole.

[TLS Guy]

I use them only to provide additonal stability to the speaker so it won't tip over so easily and to adjust the angle slightly. I have them angled back about 10% . They do leave small holes in a berber carpet but I'm not to worried as I know the carpet will spring back and cover the hole.

That's the first intelligent reason for using them I've heard!

[Joe Schmoe]

I have heard several makes/models of speaker with and without spikes. There is no audible difference.

[mtrycrafts]

I have heard several makes/models of speaker with and without spikes. There is no audible difference.

Then we need to invent the Intelligent spikes that 'talk back' to you:D

[3db]

Its analogous to a nice pair of legs in high heels. It just looks dam good!!! :D

[WmAx]

I believe the use of spikes would actually Couple the speaker to the floor, no? Set on carpet, it and the underlying pad would insulate the box from the floor itself....

You are correct. But many audiophiles(and self-proclaimed gurus) have claimed that they de-couple, going so far as to describe it like a diode(I guess because it resembles the diode symbol on an electrical schematic, lol). Physically impossible - but that never once stopped the crazy imagination of an audiophile.

-Chris

[WmAx]

The spikes/feet/isolation-pins/etc help to decouple the speaker from the floor.

Unfortunately, even the Parts-Express site claims that spikes help decouple a speaker from a floor(or at least it used to - I have not checked it recently). Just know, that this is incorrect; it's an audiophile myth spread amid the internet.

-Chris

[Swerd]

The best myth I've heard about spikes is that you must avoid using steel spikes because they might interfere with the electromagnetic fields of the speakers or the crossover coils :eek:.

I guess that creates the demand among audiophools for brass or aluminum spikes, but I want to be the first to have shielded spikes.

[3db]

The best myth I've heard about spikes is that you must avoid using steel spikes because they might interfere with the electromagnetic fields of the speakers or the crossover coils :eek:.

I guess that creates the demand among audiophools for brass or aluminum spikes, but I want to be the first to have shielded spikes.

Home Theater mag put out an article once but the way it was written, I couldn't get the jist as to whether or not they were being serious or just poking fun. OMG, they had weights in the shape of heat sinks added to "stragtegic" spots on a receiver's body to help tighten bass, :rolleyes: same things set on top of speakers for more bass tightening. The only thing that prevented me from writing a scathing letter to the editor for offering the public BS like this was that I couldn't determine whether or not they were being serious or not.

[bongobob]

Unfortunately, even the Parts-Express site claims that spikes help decouple a speaker from a floor(or at least it used to - I have not checked it recently). Just know, that this is incorrect; it's an audiophile myth spread amid the internet.

-Chris

I guess Parts Express changed their tune but there's still some dicey marketing going on....

Quote:By rigidly coupling a loudspeaker enclosure to a floor by means of a "spiking" system, it is possible to dramatically improve clarity, stereo imaging and bass response. This is very apparent with subwoofer systems.
:Unquote

[Joe Schmoe]

I guess Parts Express changed their tune but there's still some dicey marketing going on....

Quote:By rigidly coupling a loudspeaker enclosure to a floor by means of a "spiking" system, it is possible to dramatically improve clarity, stereo imaging and bass response. This is very apparent with subwoofer systems.
:Unquote

Not sure which is funnier: the word "dramatic" or the notion that a subwoofer affects stereo imaging.:rolleyes:

[Geno]

If you want to explore one of the looniest technobabble sites out there, check out mapleshaderecords.com.
There's a whole section on speaker stands that'll have you rubbing your eyes in disbelief. Lots of other stuff there for the audio nut with more money than brains.:)

[TLS Guy]

If you want to explore one of the looniest technobabble sites out there, check out mapleshaderecords.com.
There's a whole section on speaker stands that'll have you rubbing your eyes in disbelief. Lots of other stuff there for the audio nut with more money than brains.:)

Yes, it's typical. More pseudo science for those that skipped science class in school and college. This type of lunacy just abounds. This one you dug up is typical of the genre. Here it is in all is stupidity!

(Who would have thought three brass footers could transform the sound of each of your stereo components—your speakers, CD/DVD player, amp, receiver, turntable, power conditioner? I guarantee exactly that.

Expect your music to sound strikingly more live, more gripping. Listening to Kind Of Blue, I hear deep into Miles’ soulful, subtle, breathy note-bending. Paul Chamber’s bass sounds deeper, more articulated, giving it more real gut impact. Jimmy Cobb’s Gretsch drums are crisper, his Zildjian cymbals sound brassier and ring more brilliantly.

Here’s the science: electrical currents, the music signals that drive your speakers, also create unwanted vibrations INSIDE every electronic component and speaker cabinet. A simple experiment I conducted 15 years ago (which you can repeat at home) proves these internal vibes—NOT the external room vibrations—are the bad actors distorting the music. Therefore rubber feet, or any other soft isolating devices, trap the vibes inside the gear, exacerbating muddied sound.

By design, our footers do the opposite. Rigid and massive, they lock the component to the shelf below. That’s the most effective way to drain vibration. BUT, our experiments show that the wrong footer material (or too little mass, or the wrong shape) can reflect distorted vibrations back into the equipment. That’s why improperly designed footers can yield sound that is dulled and lifeless or piercing and shrill. I’ve tested every promising high-tech material: ceramics were too bright; titanium, carbon fiber, stainless steel, aluminum and ebony were relatively dead and smeared. Brass was by far the best: much more dynamic, vibrantly warm and more detailed. Our 30-day moneyback lets you make your own comparisons.)

I canceled my subscription to Stereophile when Sam Tellig exhorted everyone to cover the label side of the CD with green marker and polish the playing side with Armour All. The sonic benefits were alleged to be revealtory.

[WmAx]

If you want to explore one of the looniest technobabble sites out there, check out mapleshaderecords.com.
There's a whole section on speaker stands that'll have you rubbing your eyes in disbelief. Lots of other stuff there for the audio nut with more money than brains.:)

That is one of the oddest cases, though. The guy whom runs Mapleshade used to be a world-class engineer. He was critical in development of some of the most legendary war jets: the A-10 and F-16.(!). :eek:

How he got to this point/stage of having no regard for scientific/engineering discipline whatsoever, I'll never really know.

I think he simply went insane in his old age....

-Chris

[mtrycrafts]

That is one of the oddest cases, though. The guy whom runs Mapleshade used to be a world-class engineer. He was critical in development of some of the most legendary war jets: the A-10 and F-16.(!). :eek:

How he got to this point/stage of having no regard for scientific/engineering discipline whatsoever, I'll never really know.

I think he simply went insane in his old age....

-Chris

Or, he is out of his area of expertise and needed the money? Designing jets and audio is two distinctly different fields. And, how involved was he in their designs? Certainly he didn't do it all, maybe a small part, or had lots of others working with him or for him?

[bongobob]

This page is classic:

http://mapleshaderecords.com/audioproducts/freeaudiotips.php

Rotating power supplies????? Jeeeezz. :p

[Joe Schmoe]

Or, he is out of his area of expertise and needed the money?

Yeah. It is hardly insane to make money, although doing so by preying on people's ignorance is unethical. Of course, if he actually believes in the garbage he sells, that is another matter. (I wonder if Dr. Bose actually believes in his products?)

[3db]

Yeah. It is hardly insane to make money, although doing so by preying on people's ignorance is unethical. Of course, if he actually believes in the garbage he sells, that is another matter. (I wonder if Dr. Bose actually believes in his products?)

I find ethics and making money to be an oxymoron at best. Not only is this a problem in the audio industry but it runs rampid in the high tech world and the pharmacutical world as well.

I wonder too if Bose believes in their own marketing hype? Good question.

[mtrycrafts]

...Of course, if he actually believes in the garbage he sells, that is another matter. (I wonder if Dr. Bose actually believes in his products?)

Not hard to believe falsely in outside of one's area of expertise. That happened frequently in the 1970s and 80s during the era of ESP, etc experimentation.

I bet Dr. Bose did some research in acoustics and what the non-audiophile population will accept as 'sounding great.' When such meets your unknown expectations, his products will fulfill it quickly without questioning.
But, that is my speculation on this, not being a psychic and able to read his mind:D or, force him to tell the truth.:D