Do you need feet on your tower speakers if theyre on carpet?

[cameron paterson]

My DIY tower speakers are on carpet.... do I need floor spikes for them?

 

[KEW]

It depends on he "stance" of your speakers and your carpet.
You may get lots of debate talking about the audio effect of coupling the speakers to the floor.
However, I have never read or experienced anything to convince me either way.
I have had narrow speakers that were scary unstable on cushy carpet - if you put you hand on top and wobbled them side to side it was obvious they could fall over pretty easy even if gently bumped. Using spikes to penetrate to the (comparatively rigid) sub-floor offers additional stability. Also, you can add a plinth or outriggers to widen the stance.

 

[cameron paterson]

So you don't think the speaker being flat on carpet can be a bad thing for sound? I really have no clue.

 

[Swerd]

No speakers require floor spikes to make them sound good. But as KEW pointed out, speakers can too easily move on carpet, especially if the carpet is thick and deep. Spikes can keep speakers in one spot, exactly where you want them.

There can be plenty of silly debate and chatter on this subject. I like it when some people claim you need spikes to couple the speakers to the floor for good sounding bass. Others say you need spikes to decouple the speakers from the floor for good sounding bass. Which is it, couple or decouple? Curious audiophiles want to know.

I've actually heard one guy go on and on about how he can hear the difference between speakers with spikes and speakers with rubber feet. He went on to say he could hear differences between different types of rubber feet.

I think you get my point. If your speakers are decent sounding, spikes or the lack of spikes will make very little difference.

 

[KEW]

So you don't think the speaker being flat on carpet can be a bad thing for sound? I really have no clue.

I don't see why it would. If the objective was to truly couple it to the floor, the effect would be adding any resonance the floor might have which would not be a good thing. Happily, I think most floors are fairly solid!
At the other extreme, I have seen speakers hanging from the ceiling by cord and they sounded fine.
In theory, keeping the cabinet still would allow for better attacks (if the cabinet jumped backwards as the driver sprung forward, for example), but in practice the mass of the driver is hardly a match for the inertial mass presented by the cabinet.

 

[Beave]

I'm looking for some special audiophile quality spikes that simultaneously couple AND decouple my speakers from the floor. It should give the best of both worlds.

 

[KEW]

I'm looking for some special audiophile quality spikes that simultaneously couple AND decouple my speakers from the floor. It should give the best of both worlds.

Maybe you can (literally) steal a page from earthquake design and scale it down (or up) for the weight of your speakers!

 

[cameron paterson]

Beave you should patent something like that!

 

[Irvrobinson]

I'm looking for some special audiophile quality spikes that simultaneously couple AND decouple my speakers from the floor. It should give the best of both worlds.

Those would be quantum spikes. They can be in both states simultaneously.

 

[KEW]

Those would be quantum spikes. They can be in both states simultaneously.

Are you sure about that?
They look kind of flimsy to me, but maybe that is the idea. The price is reasonable!
Quantum spike

 

[Beave]

Maybe you can (literally) steal a page from earthquake design and scale it down (or up) for the weight of your speakers!

My speakers weigh more than the building I live in, because they are true audiophile speakers.

And also because the building I live in is built from cardboard. I can't afford better because I spent all my money on audio gear.

 

[Beave]

Those would be quantum spikes. They can be in both states simultaneously.

Every time I try to listen to my quantum spikes, they disappear and reappear under somebody else's speakers.

 

[nbk13nw]

You do not have to install the spikes. Just keep them in the box because if you open the box then you change the way they sound. So leave them in the box under the speakers, you get both coupled and coupled at the same time, listen and enjoy.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Beave]

But how will the spikes get broken in if he leaves them in the box?

 

[nbk13nw]

Lol. All kidding aside, I like spikes on towers with carpet due to stability. Other than that, rubber feet on hardwood due to marring the wood with spikes. Feet keep damage to the bottom of the cabinet to a minimum, and provide some level of stability to an uneven surface.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Bucknekked]

No speakers require floor spikes to make them sound good. But as KEW pointed out, speakers can too easily move on carpet, especially if the carpet is thick and deep. Spikes can keep speakers in one spot, exactly where you want them.

There can be plenty of silly debate and chatter on this subject. I like it when some people claim you need spikes to couple the speakers to the floor for good sounding bass. Others say you need spikes to decouple the speakers from the floor for good sounding bass. Which is it, couple or decouple? Curious audiophiles want to know.

I've actually heard one guy go on and on about how he can hear the difference between speakers with spikes and speakers with rubber feet. He went on to say he could hear differences between different types of rubber feet.

I think you get my point. If your speakers are decent sounding, spikes or the lack of spikes will make very little difference.

Swerd
I know your Salks came with spikes as part of the kit. Mine are really nice bullet shaped ones that seemed too nice to toss aside. Did you use them? I used mine, but not for sound improvement or to keep my speakers from falling over. The Salks are so dang heavy, I figured if I used the spikes right on the carpet I'd never get them out again. So, I used some matching planks of wood underneath the speaker and then set the spikes in to those.

That way if I need to move the speakers for some reason, I can just slide the whole unit on the wooden ski. With the spkes and the weight of the speakers, direct in to the carpet and I may never be able to move them without taking a divot.

 

[snakeeyes]

Swerd
I know your Salks came with spikes as part of the kit. Mine are really nice bullet shaped ones that seemed too nice to toss aside. Did you use them? I used mine, but not for sound improvement or to keep my speakers from falling over. The Salks are so dang heavy, I figured if I used the spikes right on the carpet I'd never get them out again. So, I used some matching planks of wood underneath the speaker and then set the spikes in to those.

That way if I need to move the speakers for some reason, I can just slide the whole unit on the wooden ski. With the spkes and the weight of the speakers, direct in to the carpet and I may never be able to move them without taking a divot.
View attachment 24567

Doesn’t it tip easier with that wood ski?

 

[Bucknekked]

Doesn’t it tip easier with that wood ski?

snakeeyes
The answer is both yes and no. I suppose yes they would tip easier than speared directly to the carpet. But, realistically, no because they are so dang heavy and stable. They are not top heavy in the least.

I have seen tall, thin, and easily tipped towers. The Salks are not an example of an easily tipped or moved speaker. And add to that its just me and the Mrs. and the Mrs. doesn't venture in to the audio emporium very often. Without a tipping agent, gravity and the laws of bodies at rest rule the day.

If you go to mapleshade.com you can find excellent examples costing $100's of dollars to place your speakers and equipment on. All with fantastic claims of audio wonderfulness. Or, do what I did and go to Ikea and spend $8 on two bamboo cutting boards and you're done. This was just stuff I had laying around and its strictly for looks. No claims about anything.

 

[snakeeyes]

snakeeyes
The answer is both yes and no. I suppose yes they would tip easier than speared directly to the carpet. But, realistically, no because they are so dang heavy and stable. They are not top heavy in the least.

I have seen tall, thin, and easily tipped towers. The Salks are not an example of an easily tipped or moved speaker. And add to that its just me and the Mrs. and the Mrs. doesn't venture in to the audio emporium very often. Without a tipping agent, gravity and the laws of bodies at rest rule the day.

If you go to mapleshade.com you can find excellent examples costing $100's of dollars to place your speakers and equipment on. All with fantastic claims of audio wonderfulness. Or, do what I did and go to Ikea and spend $8 on two bamboo cutting boards and you're done. This was just stuff I had laying around and its strictly for looks. No claims about anything.

Oh I have a 97 lbs dog and a 83 lbs dog and they are pretty active.

 

[Bucknekked]

Oh I have a 97 lbs dog and a 83 lbs dog and they are pretty active.

me too. banned from the music emporium. too many things that much motion can screw up.
you raise a good point. know your own local variables and your own local challenges. Know what you face and implement those ideas that help you, not necessarily what some experts on a forum think is a great idea.

Here's Wilson. 75 pounds of English Bulldog. A moving battering ram. Banned from the music room.