How to use Floor Spikes in an Indian home?

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superczar
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#1 erstellt: 27. Jul 2006, 13:29

I recently picked a pair of Phase Tech Velocity V12s which came with a set of floor spike.
AFAIK, securing the floorstanders securely using the spikes can make a great difference to the sound depth and bass response.
However, since Floor spikes are designed for use with a typical European/American wooden floor, I have no clue how to use them on my tiled floor! (I live in Chennai)
Any pointers welcome

Arj
Inventar

#2 erstellt: 27. Jul 2006, 15:25

keep a 50 Paisa coin under each

OR if you can get hold of Brass discs use that below the spkes

Or you can put it on Granite slabs/Wood plank .

raftuq
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#3 erstellt: 27. Jul 2006, 17:27

Interesting! Putting coin or granite piece under the spikes - Arj, am a newbie and haven't got it, what's the rationale?

My wharfedale 8.4 are on their spikes on a ceramic tile floor. With a bit of fiddling the spikes, both the speakers are level- zero rocking.

Would you recommend that I put coins under the spikes? Are we trying to prevent skidding here? In which case how does the coin help, and should one put some anti-skid (two sided glue) tape on the underside of the coin (facing the floor, i.e.)?

Thx

Arj
Inventar

#4 erstellt: 27. Jul 2006, 17:50

I thought your worry was spoiling the floor

thats all it prevents scratches. dont worry it will not skid..the weight of the speakers ensure that.

Putting wood ideally substitutes hardwood floors of US/europe which was a worry

raftuq
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#5 erstellt: 27. Jul 2006, 18:52

Arj schrieb:

I thought your worry was spoiling the floor

thats all it prevents scratches. dont worry it will not skid..the weight of the speakers ensure that.

Putting wood ideally substitutes hardwood floors of US/europe which was a worry

Aah, so that was it! Thx. Yeah, I suppose then that the coin would be required on mosaic or marble floors. Shouldn't matter for ceramic or vitrified tiles, since these are quite resistant to scratches...

Amp_Nut
Inventar

#6 erstellt: 27. Jul 2006, 18:54

This smacks Hard in the face of conventional wisdom...

But try your speakers both with and without spikes.... on the hard floor that you have.

Only, when using without spikes, ensure that the speakers dont wobble...

SOMETIMES no spikes sound better on a hard floor...

Arj
Inventar

#7 erstellt: 27. Jul 2006, 19:09

very true. spikes actually couple your speaker to the ground.. and sometimes thats exactly what you do not want and prefer the sound to be absorbed !

hence a cork base to the speaker before grounding it works well.

Amp_Nut
Inventar

#8 erstellt: 27. Jul 2006, 19:22

My general experience ....

Spikes work best under heavy equipment such as amps, while soft cushions work better for lighter equipment, like CD players.

Ofcourse each audiophile has his own recipe...

[Beitrag von Amp_Nut am 27. Jul 2006, 19:24 bearbeitet]

Arj
Inventar

#9 erstellt: 27. Jul 2006, 19:34

and if you have bass heavy speakers or regular speakers in a small room.. a soft absorbant below them is good.

My experience CDPs doe very well with an absorbant while amps do well with spikes.. more so if damped on top with a book !

anyway to each his own

raftuq
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#10 erstellt: 27. Jul 2006, 19:41

The noticable advantage that I got with the spikes on - It's far easier to make it rock-free this way. With the spikes off, there is a much larger area that is in contact with the tiles, making rock-free very difficult - especially since my tiles are textured. I dont know how true this is with other homes, but almost none of my tiles are absolutely flat - they have minor warps. Not evident to a casual glance, but I realized the warps while levelling the speakers. I think this problem is minimized with larger 2' x 2' tiles.

Amp_Nut
Inventar

#11 erstellt: 28. Jul 2006, 03:59

making rock-free very difficult

Try Arj's excellent suggestion or cork pads beneath yr speakers.

SUNILYO
Stammgast

#12 erstellt: 28. Jul 2006, 06:40

Arj schrieb:

and if you have bass heavy speakers or regular speakers in a small room.. a soft absorbant below them is good.

What about a piece of thermacol ? will that do the trick or will it be too soft and make the FS more rocking?

zhopudey
Stammgast

#13 erstellt: 28. Jul 2006, 07:00

errr.....what exactly does "coupling your speaker to the floor" mean?

raftuq
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#14 erstellt: 28. Jul 2006, 19:44

zhopudey schrieb:

errr.....what exactly does "coupling your speaker to the floor" mean?

Coupling - check this out (qestion 12.18)

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/AudioFAQ/part5/

But you've got to deduce on your own...

Amp_Nut
Inventar

#15 erstellt: 29. Jul 2006, 19:49

What about a piece of thermacol ? will that do the trick or will it be too soft and make the FS more rocking?

For a soft support, instead of spikes, you could try Tennis Balls cut into half.

3 Halfs for each speaker ( easier to level than 4 ) arranged in a triangular formation should do.

I have never tried this, but would love to hear yr findings ..

Shahrukh
Inventar

#16 erstellt: 02. Aug 2006, 07:53

Amp_Nut schrieb:

You could try squash balls too. Tennis balls have a large circumference. I had put squash balls (cut in to half - that's the tough part) under my amp for some time.

raftuq
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#17 erstellt: 02. Aug 2006, 10:37

Amp_Nut schrieb:

Ummm, Have seen this a lot but have not understood how spikes help the amp.

I understand that components with moving parts, i.e., speakers, turntables, CD players, etc need to be rock steady to ensure no counter movements.

My amp has feet that are about 3" dia and 1" high cylindrical pieces - should I consider replacing them with spikes?

Thx

Amp_Nut
Inventar

#18 erstellt: 02. Aug 2006, 11:14

Nah !

Dont remove the feet.

Put the spikes on the feet.

The spikes can be laid either with the point on a hard portion of the feet, or even the spike points resting on any portion of the chasis.

Alternately, you can reverse the spikes with the point down, and the flat portion on the amp chasis.

The points of the spikes should rest against a HARD surface, not wod where they will penetrate. Once they penetrate, they will not create a single point contact that is essential.

raftuq
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#19 erstellt: 02. Aug 2006, 11:37

Thx Amp_Nut,

But haven't understood as to how exactly spikes help if fixed to an amp.

Amp_Nut
Inventar

#20 erstellt: 02. Aug 2006, 12:48

The spikes mechanically isolate the amplifier from the stand / cabinet on which it is standing.

Music will cause the stand / cabinet to mechanically vibrate. But these vibrations wil not be communicated ( or only minimally transferred ) to the amplifier, through the 3 mere POINTS of contact of the 3 spikes.

raftuq
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#21 erstellt: 03. Aug 2006, 09:37

Amp_nut, Shahrukh,

Thx. Hope to try it soon.

nietzsche
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#22 erstellt: 03. Aug 2006, 13:13

raftuq

I have picked up spikes from Mr. Murthy. If you want, you can borrow it from me, try and then return it.

SUB_BOSS
Gesperrt

#23 erstellt: 03. Aug 2006, 13:22

SOMETIMES no spikes sound better on a hard floor...

You are right Amp_Nut and many who visited me almost asked without even flinching that why my speakers are not spiked and started advising mwe that it would sound better with them.... Oh yeah been there done that I have spikes and used them and found SQ to be better off them. I have placed it with screws in place of spikes and a custom cut carpet for speaker bottom..best I have come across..

raftuq
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#24 erstellt: 05. Aug 2006, 05:10

nietzsche schrieb:

raftuq

I have picked up spikes from Mr. Murthy. If you want, you can borrow it from me, try and then return it.

Very kind of you, Nietzsche; am still researching this spikes for amps thing, so it's a while away...