The trouble with spikes      Mike Ashdown

I note not all speaker designers use spikes with their products.

The problem with the sound I have has throughout been one of treble – not so much having too much at times, but being aware of a “glare”, a “sparkle” sort of effect on top of vocals, cymbals – anything that could get “roughed up”, did. I had had this same affect with my previous speakers. In spite of the usual routine of adjustments and tweaks, I could not overcome this affect that I did not hear in the shop when I auditioned!

So I decided to bypass the speaker spikes. This I did by cutting four lengths of softwood and drilling one inch diameter holes where the spikes are. The speakers now sit on top, the spikes dangle down and do not touch the floor. I have kept them on the speaker to give the structure some lateral strength – the speakers cannot be pushed of the wooden blocks.

So now I have the base of my floor standing speakers on wood, sitting on wood.

The sonic benefits are noticeable – treble sweet, and bass still has plenty of slam (I have only a small listening room so do not operate very high up the Richter scale. Goodness knows what is happening physically at the interface between the floor and the speakers – just a gradual soak away effect I presume. Yes, I have tried just sitting the speakers directly on the floor sans spikes, sans anything. Not so good.

I share this info to invite further comment, and also as an easy experiment fellow suspended floor suffers might wish to contemplate.