Subs floor protection idea

[Pogre]

Monolith THX ULTRA 12'. not sur they have rubber feet.

I am unsure if the have rubber feet
View attachment 30350

Those look like rubber feet or something analogous to me.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yep, don't think you need to worry for now, delivery will come soon enough (altho it may not feel like it ).

 

[HTfreak2004]

You could also use a hush pad for underfloor and place carpet on it and place the sub on it without worrying about the manufacturer spikes.

That will protect your floor and reduce vibration transfer. It can still look great without being stupid pricey!

 

[lovinthehd]

No, it's not bullshit. You reduce the contact area with the floor and it definitely reduces transmission of vibration. You will improve disconnection from the floor by installing the spikes on a marble or granite platform.

In his book: " Loudspaker Design Cookbook 7th Edition", on page 115, Vance Dickason discusses about floor coupling:
"While the spikes may provide some degree of isolation by limiting physical contact , they can be made more effective by applying additional mass at the base. This takes the form of a heavy stone or marble platform which simply does not vibrate in any fashion and cannot transmit vibration to the floor."

Yes I was pretty sure you'd post that again....almost asked you not to Maybe you're a Norman Varney fan along with Bob Katz?

ps have you actually had the experience where spikes yielded better results?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Pretty sure those are rubber feet.
@shadyJ

 

[shadyJ]

Pretty sure those are rubber feet.
@shadyJ

On the Monolith subs? They are a kind of plastic. It's not something you would want on a hardfloor.

 

[lovinthehd]

On the Monolith subs? They are a kind of plastic. It's not something you would want on a hardfloor.

Would it mar the floor by moving around a bit? Dig in? They only come with those feet?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

On the Monolith subs? They are a kind of plastic. It's not something you would want on a hardfloor.

Wow. That seems like an oversight.
Maybe a trip to the music store to get some rubber feet to screw to the bottom?

 

[ryanosaur]

ps have you actually had the experience where spikes yielded better results?

This I vouch for... We've had this conversation.
I'm using poured concrete pads cut from rejected architectural countertops, mounted on cones, with my main speakers and subs then isolated on top of that. I completely agree that the combination of coupling to the floor, using cones and a deadening, high-mass platform in conjunction with an isolation medium between that platform and speaker or sub works very well. I experienced a significant drop in structural vibrations transferred from the subs in particular. Is it perfect? No. But unless I'm listening to some strong infrasonic content at significant SPL, I would say that I eliminated 85% of the structural vibrations.

I've seen references to doing the same using thick, heavy wood cutting boards, too. That was going to be my back-up plan if the concrete people charged too much for their "bones."

That said, OP should be able to get something as simple as new feet that match the threads of the installed part. He could remove the feet and place it on something like these DiversiTech pads. I know I got lucky finding my Soundpath Isolation Feet for cheap discount (damaged sets sold open box by some third-party dealer.)... but they flippin work!!! Or, some good foam and a blanket, cool area rug... whatever floats your boat!

 

[Verdinut]

Yes I was pretty sure you'd post that again....almost asked you not to Maybe you're a Norman Varney fan along with Bob Katz?

ps have you actually had the experience where spikes yielded better results?

I don't know either Varney nor Katz! I was a classically trained singer and like mostly classical music and jazz.

But I believe Dickason who is very knowledgeable about loudspeakers is not a bullshitter. @shadyJ knows about him even if he doesn't know him personally. He also owns one of the editions of the afore mentioned book.

You should know by now that I'm not gullible, believing all the bullshitting and snake oil which prevail in the audiophile market.

 

[HTfreak2004]

If high end subs weren’t so spine ripping heavy it would be easy to try different ideas to reduce floor damage and vibrations but what would be the fun in not begging the “wife” to help move the piece of gear she freaked over when I purchased anyway?

I know I’m almost am a trained classical singer by the time I budge my 105 pound beast. I just wish I had thought ahead and installed a sliding chain hoist to move my sub and main speakers which are awkward as well at 81lbs each.

 

[Trell]

What would you recommand for floor protection. The base of my subs have spiky feets, and they are very heavy subs, not a good mix to keep a floor protected.

Any idea would be appreciated?

I bought the SVS SoundPath Subwoofer Isolation System for my two subwoofers so the subwoofers does not easily slide around any more as with the original feet, nor do they make any slid marks on the floor like some rubber can do. They are also 40mm tall, which makes it much easier to lift and move the subs.

The SVS SoundPath Subwoofer feet comes with various screws: ¼-20 x 20 mm screws, M6 x 20 mm screws and M8 x 20 mm screws. Or you can supply your own, if needed.

https://www.svsound.com/products/soundpath-subwoofer-isolation-system

 

[Patrick Kennedy]

I bought the SVS SoundPath Subwoofer Isolation System for my two subwoofers so the subwoofers does not easily slide around any more as with the original feet, nor do they make any slid marks on the floor like some rubber can do. They are also 40mm tall, which makes it much easier to lift and move the subs.

The SVS SoundPath Subwoofer feet comes with various screws: ¼-20 x 20 mm screws, M6 x 20 mm screws and M8 x 20 mm screws. Or you can supply your own, if needed.

https://www.svsound.com/products/soundpath-subwoofer-isolation-system

Would they work for monolith?

 

[Trell]

Would they work for monolith?

I do not know if they fit so you'll have to measure first.

I assume that the subwoofer feet can be screwed off and you'll have to see if it has a screw that is one of the sizes delivered by the SoundPath, or you have to buy your own.

From the SoundPath feet specs the shell diameter is 58 mm and you probably don't want part of the foot outside the subwoofer, at least not too much.

Note that there are two SoundPath packs: 4 feet and 6 feet. So get the pack with the same number of feet as your subwoofer.

 

[shadyJ]

Would it mar the floor by moving around a bit? Dig in? They only come with those feet?

Yup, they only come with those feet. Yes, they would mar the floor if you dragged it. I think they are a tad too soft to dig in though.

Wow. That seems like an oversight.
Maybe a trip to the music store to get some rubber feet to screw to the bottom?

The higher end SVS subs use the same feet. The reason why they use these feet is so that they don't become apart of the sub's appearance. They are visually unobtrusive feet. They are probably very inexpensive too.

 

[ryanosaur]

I was super intrigued by the soundpath feet when I was shopping for subs. As I said before, they do work. 50 clams, retail for a 4-pack is a little pricey, but considering many other solutions are much more expensive, not a bad option.
As best I’ve found, most threaded inserts being used for these will be covered by the hardware kit included with the feet: m6, m8, 1/4-20, and I think m10, too.
That said, if it is a weird size, just take the existing foot you remove from your sub and visit a good hardware store. You should be able to identify the thread very easily... but likely that shouldn’t be necessary.

Assuming of course you choose this option.

 

[Trell]

I was super intrigued by the soundpath feet when I was shopping for subs. As I said before, they do work. 50 clams, retail for a 4-pack is a little pricey, but considering many other solutions are much more expensive, not a bad option.
As best I’ve found, most threaded inserts being used for these will be covered by the hardware kit included with the feet: m6, m8, 1/4-30, and I think m10, too.
That said, if it is a weird size, just take the existing foot you remove from your sub and visit a good hardware store. You should be able to identify the thread very easily... but likely that shouldn’t be necessary.

Assuming of course you choose this option.

They are much more expensive where I live But they are of good quality, non-obtrusive under my SVS subs, works for me and I'll keep them for many years.

 

[Pogre]

My towers came with spiked and rubber feet so I went spikes. I have carpet on top of a concrete slab so I'd say I'm pretty well "decoupled", but I didn't notice any difference in sq over the rubber feet.

 

[Bucknekked]

Yup, they only come with those feet. Yes, they would mar the floor if you dragged it. I think they are a tad too soft to dig in though.

The higher end SVS subs use the same feet. The reason why they use these feet is so that they don't become apart of the sub's appearance. They are visually unobtrusive feet. They are probably very inexpensive too.

As you know, I bought a Monolith sub last year. Having seen this bizarre thread, I read it and then went and checked the feet on my sub. I hate to make fat chick jokes, but, if my sub was a 5'2" 250lb fat chick, she would have on size 5 shoes in those little rubber feet. At first, I didn't think there were any feet at all. The sub from the side (sitting on carpet) doesn't look like there's any feet. (another fat chick joke, but I will abstain). I had to pick the sub up and feel for the feet. (yet another fat chick joke.....abstained).

These rubber feet (they are rubber and not hard plastic) are really tiny and they have little nipples on the end. (yet another fat chick joke......abstained). I don't see them doing much of anything except keeping the body of the sub off of a hard surface (oh my, another ......). They certainly don't do crap on a carpeted surface.

Since they are rubber feet with little nipples on them, I wouldn't drag them across a hard surface. But the dang sub weighs so much if you're moving it that's probably what you're gonna do unless you have help.

This thread seems to be a lot of comment for not much content. I doubt little feet on subs do much of anything.
@shadyJ would probably know if anybody would since he tests them.

 

[Bucknekked]

My towers came with spiked and rubber feet so I went spikes. I have carpet on top of a concrete slab so I'd say I'm pretty well "decoupled", but I didn't notice any difference in sq over the rubber feet.

My Salk mains have big bullet shaped spikes. They were so cool looking I couldn't help but use them. I have them sitting on cabinet matching pieces of wood so they don't imbed themselves in the carpet/pad and become impossible to move. Somewhere I have a picture of those spikes. I don't know if they do anything in reality, but, they look so cool there's no way I'm passing them up