Speaker Feet: Should I Use Speaker Spikes or Rubber Feet? 

It's an interesting idea, and is widely used in sound reinforcement applications where speakers are strung up on special rigging towers. There can certainly be a benefit in some applications, but the alignment, as you say, can be very tricky. There is also the argument that some acoustic energy is going into moving the loudspeaker, even if ever so slight, as it’s not “anchored”.

@@AxiomHomeTheaters Thank you for the reply.. And yes, the loss of acoustic energy was always something I wondered about as well.. I'll try and remember to update ya all with the results.. Once my floor speakers, after all these years, are back on terra-ferma..

@@michaelshoup2703 Great, keep us posted!

@@michaelshoup2703 I have wood floor boards under my carpet and wanted to reduce vibs from my speakers getting to my record deck so just fitted speaker spikes with pucks underneath,I knew it was going to change my sound in some way but wow! Had to rip the spikes off after 30 mins,I played my first track n thought that sounds strange? Straight to another track n so on for 30 mins,I lost all my lovely deep rich smooth base that I love,I also have a tube preamp in there for the sound I like,the speakers became very tight and punchy and lost the richness,it even started to hurt my ears,so I can say for sure that if you like detailed fine sound hanging and spiking is the way to go but if you want warm rich smooth sounds you have to be on a solid base to dampen the speaker.

@@FILMITS Thanks man.. I'll keep all this in mind.. I'm in the process of repainting my theater room, so I have not fired up the speakers after pulling the down.. Years ago, one of my 1st attempts at setting up my speakers, I placed the M80's on top of the powered subwoofer cabinets.. One of each, left & right.. My son always says, that was the best the system ever sounded.. Again, to him anyway.. That set up may 'also' have added a bit of a buffer between a solid contact with the floor.. ? I'll do my best to post a result to the possible options..

Fantastic examples of acoustic isolation techniques. Thank you for sharing!

Thanks! I’m glad the pads resulted in a nice improvement.

Ditto

You’re welcome…it’s such a simple tweak!

Glad the video helped, and thank you for taking the time to comment.

Then you’re good to go as that’s likely what the manufacturer feels is the best solution.

Thanks! Those angled stands were an integral part of the design of the L100’s and I suspect they would not sound as good on taller, “level” stands. I’d stick with what you’re doing!

This is very true, and I don’t believe I referred to subwoofers in the video. I should have been more clear, but I also recommend a compliant foot for subwoofers. They are not usually very tall, so you don’t need to worry about stability.

Depending on the surface your speakers are sitting on, there can certainly be an impact to mid and high frequencies, although it will be less apparent than changes in bass.

I have not had any direct experience with the isocoustics products, but I DO know that they are actually engineered and not just some nice looking (and expensive) audiophile tweak. They have the measurements to prove it.

Great find, and good looking is a nice bonus!

There are manufacturers that make adjustable footers for smaller speakers and you can always use a “plate” with spikes or other feet. As long as they are adjustable you should be able to level them so they are stable. Self-adhesive rubber bumpers can also work.

Interesting idea!

Have you looked at the Auralex products? I believe they make wedge stands.

@@AxiomHomeTheaters I had a quick look. I equate foam with disposable packing material, so I have a hard time wanting to pay those prices no matter their merits.

@@status101-danielho6 Maybe true, but foam comes in many different types and is regularly used for acoustics. Our tweeters use a foam plug to damp the venting chamber.

Yes, if they were hard plastic, a softer material can make a difference on a subwoofer.

Plus, I have an acoustic pad for my subwoofers.

Sounds good to me.

This is an age-old argument, and there is some truth to it on a very small scale. However, the decoupling using rubber feet can offer much greater benefits that some microscopic loss of output.

Interesting that it would make a difference. Is there anything between the speaker and plywood or the plywood and the carpet?

@@AxiomHomeTheaters the feet of the speakers is resting on the plywood,now the bass is not too boomy. Try it and let me know what you think.

@@domingobermudez6780 oh, so you have essentially put a small “hard flooring” area under the speakers on top of the carpet. Sounds like it’s helping.

@@AxiomHomeTheaters yes sir.

A harder foam that does not completely compress can work, but over time most foam will tend to compact and loose the ability to provide some decoupling. That’s why rubber materials are normally used.

It could be for time alignment, but I have also seen some stands that are tilted. This was popular back years ago but is not a good idea unless the speakers were intended to have the baffle angled.

@@AxiomHomeTheaters My EP100 center channel below my TV is tilted upward. It's only about 2 feet off the floor. You say that's not good Andrew?

@@teleguy5699 No, nothing wrong with that at all. It would be my recommendation if the location is fixed.

@@AxiomHomeTheaters Thanks!

@@teleguy5699 any time, you are welcome!

I always prefer spikes if the speakers are going to be on carpet as they will be much more stable and less prone to “rocking”.

@@AxiomHomeTheaters thx for answer. I ended up putting spikes, and the som 4mm thick rubber under the spike. Dont want holes in the Carpet:)

@@eenig8730 excellent, hope it's working well for you.

Thanks for the criticism, it's a great point! Will do better in future. Thanks for taking the time to say so.

Yes, and some speakers do, but with a large tower speaker it can become a tip hazard.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I have found many cases where coupling does not work as well as decoupling in some situations over the years. Older houses with suspended wood floors are an example. It’s best to try out both options to see which one performs better with your system and room.

filed stands is the answer to that

It depends. If you can make the loudspeaker stable with three feet, that’s great. With some floors you need to support of four points. There is also the very real tip issue with three feet.

Define better if you could.

Always sit flat on three

Everything vibrates at some frequency…even something like concrete. If you’re interested, look up the story of the original Celestion SL700 to show how things can go very wrong if you go for nothing other than maximum cabinet stiffness and forget about dissipating the energy produced by the drivers.

@@AxiomHomeTheaters , thank you for the reply. I just mean that the vibrations in the speaker cabinets are so small that there is no way to hear them while mixing, and by that I mean the transfer of vibrations to a mixing desk top or furniture, meaning they won't affect any mix, so therefor the spikes/rubber knobs will not matter at all. Please perform a blind test with and without the spikes, you will agree I'm sure. However, they create a "cool" and a professional look (fun for less pro people). Just have a look at Bob Clearmountain's studios, Warren Huart (Produce like a pro), Dave Pensado etc. They are real pro's, they know their sound and that's enough. They do not use spikes or such. There are many more professional mixers that do not use spikes. However, it is a great selling point for those who create and sell these products, most often to those home "studio" owners. There are so many claims to why audio products are needed, but with blind tests several products can be proven they do not make a difference. I, for example, programmed a blind test for the internet regarding audio cables. I was so tired of users in a forum arguing they sure could hear the difference between different audio cables, so I created a blind test with several versions of an audio track the user could freely switch between where only one was a clean signal with an undamaged cable. The other signals ran through a potato, an apple, a screw etc... No one could tell the difference! This was a few years back. So a blind test will for sure show that you won't hear any difference with or without spikes. Also, listen to all those really great albums that was produced and mixed without spikes or such, like for example the Dire Straits "Brothers in arms" album. Only one thing matters the most; know your sound! Do a blind test, please, I'm sure I'm right!

@@DrSlots-hs4if One big difference that you might not be taking into account is that many studios will have poured concrete floors to minimize noise transmission, and in that case feet or spikes would make little difference. On a suspended wood floor it’s a completely different animal.

@@AxiomHomeTheaters Of course there's better with a concrete floor especially in areas like vocal recording rooms etc if treated right, but regarding the spikes and vibrations at home or in a studio mixing room that is said to be audible through a floor or any other surface, the level of "noise" is so low that it is impossible for a human to hear especially when playing music/audio. If this would be a disturbing noise, if it would be true, then you couldn't play any sound from any speaker because that too will generate vibrations far more audible in objects that is not wanted, and far more audible too, because that is what sound is, vibrations, and those second vibrations from objects are far more audible than what is transferred from the speaker enclosure itself, meaning the sound waves from the speaker cones will create far higher levels of vibrations in objects that exist in any room. I also created a test to see if anyone could hear dithering at low levels because most people said it was audible. These people couldn't hear any difference at all at different levels. This is why I say you cannot hear any difference. People "think" they can hear these vibrations, but they do not. Again, the spikes look cool and professional, but that is just because people think they really make a difference, when they do not regarding what you actually can hear. I found my tests, but sadly I cannot have you test them because Adobe do not longer support this programming language, nor do the web servers or browsers.

Unless cut in half, I’d be worried they would not be very stable.

@@AxiomHomeTheaters you could carve or turn three semi-sferic holes in order to hold the top of the balls in their position and get it more stable.

Do you have an example of a product you have used? I can see that a very stiff spring might work, but a soft suspension of any sort tends to be a bad idea with loudspeakers. You want to immobilize them as much as possible.

get lost. We come here for his expertise, not for appearances like it's some marketing facade. I find it more trustworthy when they appear genuine.

it's still OK to smile. Occasionally.@@Forty2de