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Cheap speaker tweak

I was going to post this under " misc audio " but since I did only tweak my speakers I thought I would place it here. I have speakers that come with spikes from the factory, I'm sure many of you have encounter this situation. But I also have carpet in my listening room. When I initially bought my speakers I read the manual, which suggested I let the spikes go right into my carpet. What???!!! Not a chance I thought, I just put in new carpet.

So I purchased some of those carpet saver pads, you know the ones you use to put under sofa feet. I set my speakers on these but the spikes were always causing the pads to lean one way or the other. Then one day surfing somewhere on a audio site I saw a maple board ( that's right just a board ) for sale. The claim of course guaranteed to give your piece of equipment guaranteed " superior sound " I knowing a few things about wood also knew that this was merely a $2.00 piece of maple that someone had routed an edge on, selling for $70! Yikes what will be believe next? So I got to thinking " hey I think I'll go to the local Home Depot and buy a couple of pieces of wood to place my speakers on, then they won't lean "

Well to make a long story short ( I know too late ) I couldn't find any wood the right size. So I went over to the ceramic tiles and began looking. Eventually I found a 12X12 tile that was visibly expectable. I bought a pair @ 99 cents each and took them home and put them under my speakers. I only wanted to provide my speakers with a more stable base, but I got more than that. The first time I listened to my system I thought wow! Everything is more transparent, the sound stage is deeper, the highs and mids were smoother and the bass was tighter. So I got to thinking when I was at the Depot I also saw some marble tiles 12x12 @ $5.49 but 3 times as thick, of course I went back and bought a pair. And yes things improved even more, and the appearance isn't bad either. I can see it now someone is going to read this and make a fortune selling these special speaker tiles.

So if your into cheap tweaks and your speakers are under 1 foot square. I would suggest shopping at your local lumber company. If you do post your results, I would be curious to know if it is just my setup. But now that I think about it, and if my ears are not deceiving me. I'll bet their are other things like this that will work under my equipment.
kt_88
garfish
1,840 posts
 
KT_88; Nice thread, thanks. Cheers. Craig
boato2
19 posts
 
Machinery and tool supply houses such as Grizzly Products sell granite blocks that machinists use to set up work on. These blocks come in varied sizes up to about 16x20 and either 2 or 3 inches thick. They are black granite and finished in a smooth surface that is very level and precise (for machining). They are great for such applications as speaker or amp bases. They have considerable mass, the 12x20 amp blocks I use weigh about 60 to 75 pounds each. They are quite inexpensive and look quite good. I have used them under amps and speakers for some time and found a great improvement. I set mine on cones for even better isolation.
raymond_tan
8 posts
 
Been using tiles under my system for the last two years. These tiles have to be 2 to 3 inches thick to get the solidity you need. here's my take: Granite improves the soundstage but Marble makes the bass tighter, although it may add an occasional glassy tinge to the sound. I've been advised to get some maplewood blocks, apparently I'm told they're better than granite or marble.
kt_88 OP
242 posts
 
If you really want to try the maple tiles, go to your local cabinet maker. Give him the measurements you would like, he/she can even put the fancy edge on for you if you would like. I know how we audiophiles are into looks :) I bought my amps based just as much on appearance, as I did performance. I will guarantee you the price will definitely be less than the $70 I saw on the net. Well now that I think about it, I think I will go buy one.

I'll let you know.
sndsel
98 posts
 
One of the ideas of spikes in the first place was so the speaker would be "anchored" to the flooring rather than floating on the carpet and perhaps wobbling ever so slightly on dynamic passages, thus reducing the impact. Floating the spiked speakers on a platform would seem to accomplish the same thing as just removing the spikes. Whatever floats your boat (or speakers), I guess. :)
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