I finally used the spikes on my speakers. WOW

Revelation

Revelation

Junior Audioholic
I have Focal Aria 926 speakers in my living room and they are sitting on carpet. I never bothered to use the spikes and the speakers sounded just fine. When I started reading about the very expensive ISO Acoustic pads improving the sound of speakers, I started thinking....I wonder how much the carpet is damping the sound of my speakers? By using the spikes and lifting the speakers off the carpet by a certain degree, the mids opened up, bass tighter, and its more spacious. Is this really true? Let me go to a song I know very well. Hotel Calif from Hell Freezes over. By playing the song I notice the more detail immediately. I'm sure it would be different if I had a hardwood floor as well. But I just learned a important lesson. Has anyone else found the same thing?
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Just a point of clarification: Spikes "couple" to the floor. They do not decouple or isolate.
 
Revelation

Revelation

Junior Audioholic
I have carpet and when I screw them down far, it lifts the speakers so the base is not fully in contact with the floor
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Indeed. They should be pushing through the carpet and contacting the floorboard directly. Ideally, you would level them and make certain that there is no wobble to the speaker at all.
 
Verdinut

Verdinut

Audioholic Spartan
Just a point of clarification: Spikes "couple" to the floor. They do not decouple or isolate.
I disagree. Spikes have a decoupling action since they concentrate a speaker cabinet resonance to a tiny area on the floor compared to that when not using any.

I am sure that his floor is not vibrating as much as it used to. Show me the proof to the contrary?
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
I disagree. Spikes have a decoupling action since they concentrate a speaker cabinet resonance to a tiny area on the floor compared to that when not using any.

I am sure that his floor is not vibrating as much as it used to. Show me the proof to the contrary?
Well, there's this:

For me, I see 3 or 4 points that are anchored to both surfaces, the Speaker and the floor. this is direct physical contact. There is no isolation or decoupling action in this: it is pure coupling.
Any vibration can be conducted directly through those spikes.

It is all too common to see people claim that spikes will isolate, but it is simply not physically possible when you consider the direct contact.
 
Revelation

Revelation

Junior Audioholic
Spikes can connect (couple) to floor. This causes a tiny area of the speaker stand to only touch the carpet which reduces the damping effect the carpet had on my speakers. So your both right.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
LOL always the tighter bass from a tweak. Hey, if it makes you feel good, go for it. Spikes on carpet might work to help movement/stability....after that I think we're into audiophilia fantasy land.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
I have Focal Aria 926 speakers in my living room and they are sitting on carpet. I never bothered to use the spikes and the speakers sounded just fine. When I started reading about the very expensive ISO Acoustic pads improving the sound of speakers, I started thinking....I wonder how much the carpet is damping the sound of my speakers? By using the spikes and lifting the speakers off the carpet by a certain degree, the mids opened up, bass tighter, and its more spacious. Is this really true? Let me go to a song I know very well. Hotel Calif from Hell Freezes over. By playing the song I notice the more detail immediately. I'm sure it would be different if I had a hardwood floor as well. But I just learned a important lesson. Has anyone else found the same thing?
Meh, placebo/expectation bias.

I doubt you could pick out the spike vs. no spike in a double blind test. Unless you have something really odd or different going on with your flooring.

I like the carpet spikes where I have carpeted areas. But, only because it makes the towers even more stable, just in case one gets bumped.
 
-Jim-

-Jim-

Audioholic General
This concept, and resulting article from 2007 screams for an update with real measurements. Perhaps combine it with the one I recently glanced at with it's ultra expensive isolators. Real Data is needed rather than stories...
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I like the carpet spikes where I have carpeted areas. But, only because it makes the towers even more stable, just in case one gets bumped.
That's my reason for using the spikes. I put them on when I first set up my speakers and haven't listened to them without tho so I never really compared tho.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
I don’t need to use a holiday as an excuse to chocolate! :p (Yes, I verbed that noun. ;) )
 
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highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
I have carpet and when I screw them down far, it lifts the speakers so the base is not fully in contact with the floor
If no spikes are used, the compressed carpet and padding have decoupled the speakers from the floor because they don't transfer energy efficiently. The spikes do, however, make taller speakers less prone to movement from vibration by preventing the soft floor covering allowing tilting, even on a small scale.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
This concept, and resulting article from 2007 screams for an update with real measurements. Perhaps combine it with the one I recently glanced at with it's ultra expensive isolators. Real Data is needed rather than stories...
All of the best improvements can't be measured o_O o_O o_O
 
cerwinmad

cerwinmad

Full Audioholic
Having just setup my new set this weekend and using them without spikes for a night (on carpet) then with spikes after ..... Zero perceptible difference. I think the iso pad literature gave you an expectation bias which was born out after fitting the spikes . You expected improvement, so there was just my 2c :)
 
Revelation

Revelation

Junior Audioholic
I'm an audio engineer for over 25 years. Having less speaker platform on the carpet made a difference. My speakers used to have a warmer sound and now they have a more open sparkle and the bass is tighter. It's not just in my head. My wife noticed the difference without me saying anything about it.
 
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