Adding a Base to Floorstanding Speakers

I recommend that you try the slabs. It is a very inexpensive tweak that can have a dramatic impact given the flooring that you describe. I have the same flooring. I bought two concrete paving slabs from a local landscaper/ nursery for $3.60 each. The difference has been like night and day. The bass got much tighter, clear and distinct. The mid's and highs became better defined also; no competition from the nasty floor rumble as before without the slabs. Good luck!

Uh, Sxu1, I don't see any upside to what you propose. I'm currently going through the same adjustments. Having lived w/spiked speakers since '96, it's now clear to me that, IME, spikes are the work of the devil in my system.

Suspended wood floor, old CWD oak rack on casters, tired old vibrapods, and that's it. Whim strikes, remove the spikes. Right in the face, the sound becomes instantly and *very noticeable (adjective alert) faster, livelier, and quicker. Quickly realize that the spikes dump loads of bass energy into the entire floor structure (and the rooms below), up the rack structure and into the equipment; time-delayed, of course. Resulted in a draggy, sluggish sound. It nearly brought me to tears, realizing the wasted *years* in listening to sub-par sound.

Concurently was researching alternatives to spikes, talk to a manufacturer of multi-material sandwiches for equipment and specifically for de-clawed speakers, and order a trial pair. In order to optimize contact between the speaker base - which consisted of a square ring of 1" W. MDF which held the nuts for the spikes - I had a cabinetmaker mill up a pair of 1.5" thick Hard Maple blocks w/ 1" corner radii, about 10" x 11" to compensate for the spike height, plus some. Also adds some serious mass to the speaker bottom. Removed the little toy square ring, glued and screwed the maple blocks to the speaker bottoms w/ stainless deck screws. The sandwiches arrived, resulting in an obvious clean-up from low mids through the entire top end.

Sxu1, for free and with no effort, de-claw your speakers and listen for a bit...

They say spikes have some uses; maybe. My first experience was original aluminum tip-toes under a VCR with very positive results. I think speaker spikes are a manufacturer knee-jerk reaction to perceived market desires; they "look" audiophile.

The speaks are model year '96 Alon II originals. I'm a tweak skeptic, but I'm willing to try. Don't do testimonials for mfgr's websites. The sandwiches are symposium sveltes, and they are not going back. Symposium is prohibited from lifting this post as a testimonial.

Metralla,sorry that I didn't respond.I have lost my previous dog and have introduced a "new" puppy into my home.A real joy/terror.
I believe that Stehno has answered your question.These different technologies/approaches deal with removing or draining vibrations away by transferring or changing them into heat,via different materials.Whether to couple or de-couple a component will depend on the solidity of the rack or flooring.IMHO,only a trial and error process will determine which will yield the greater results.
I might suggest coupling to a 4" platform ,which in turn will be decoupled from the floor.I like the effects of wood,but there are other materials that may be used.
As far as spikes go,I prefer brass {Walker,Star Sound or Mapleshade,ETC}.Your results may vary,depending on room ,gear and musical preference.
Don't start with the most expensive approach first.If you find a solution,it can always be improved upon down the line.Too much of a good thing can also ruin the listening experience.
Let the experiments begin! Regards,Tom

Thanks Stehno for your advice.

There are several methodologies at issue here; coupling and decoupling.

Based on my experience, I would think that the goal is to expiditously transfer the vibrations and resonance away from the speakers into the sub-flooring system.

To insert a small concrete slab, may or may not be of benefit. As rather than allowing the vibrations to evacuate into the sub-flooring system, you may end up trapping the the vibrations in the small platform to which the speakers are resting.

Unless your bass is so ill-defined and boomy or your house is so old that there is simply way too much bounce in the sub-flooring, I would suspect that your present method of spike/points under the speakers going hopefully through the carpet and resting on wood flooring should be sufficient.

One thing you might try before going down another path is check out StarSound.biz's Audio Points which some consider to be the best sounding in the business and the geometry is such that the points act as carpet spreaders to ensure complete contact with the sub-flooring.

-IMO

I have slender floorstanders (Ruark Prologue Ones) that are prone to knockovers (with two big dogs and a toddler running around the house). I had Sound Anchors make me some custom spiked platforms that replaced the largely ineffective plinths that came with the speakers. They are mass-loaded, and triple the footprint size of the speakers. Knocking them over would now require a very deliberate effort on someone's part. The best part is the way they have decoupled the speakers from the sprung hardwood floors in my pier-and-beam house. They are very nice-looking (they look like the bases you see on the Aerial floorstanders on the soundanchors.com website) and cost me about $250, with a 6-week turnaround.

Tpsonic, what do these "audio platforms" do?

Regards,

Leave the spikes on and look at an audio platform {Zoethecus,Mapleshade,Star Sound or Arcici}.