Speaker spike feet?

I am going to make my own this afternoon. I'll use stainless steel which is what the original ones were.

This way I'll be able to fine tune each one myself. ;-)

stringreen, I'm pinching my pennies anyway. ;-)

milpai, the $400 was for the whole stand assembly. And I think it was for both stands, not sure. But, I've only been on these forums for a week or two and I'm sure if there are $400 speaker spikes out there they would surely make a system sound way better than $40 spikes. 

Thanks guys. Will look into all that. tomcarr, I agree with you completely. I'm just looking to maximize the little things with as little money as possible..........but I'm starting to think that I might have audiophile tendencies....which is the last thing I need.

The spikes in the link provided by Yogiboy look like they are mostly for adding to speaker cabinets that do not have bases or sockets for spikes.

My bases have threaded sockets for them. I think I will just see how much they are from Aerial or contact the seller in that link for thread measurements.

Many of those have metal plates for the spikes to rest on. I'm assuming that is just for hard floor since it would defeat the purpose on carpet.

The hardwood under my carpets was never meant to be seen. It is an old house and this is the type of under flooring they used before plywood. So I'm not worried about it. Just don't want to tear up the carpet when moving the speakers, etc. Will just have to be careful.

Good idea. I have some already.

Thanks melbguyone. Great explanation.

I could make spikes out of bolts.

Thanks guys. I'll wait to hear from the guy at Aerial but if his are pricey you've given me a number of good alternatives. I've probably got enough grade 8 stainless bolts in my parts bin to make a set of these on the grinder....which appeals to the tight wad in me.

I'm definitely going to try something. Look forward to seeing if the voodoo is real. ;-)

The OEM spikes from Aerial Acoustics are $100. I think I will pass on those and try one of the alternatives you guys have suggested.

You should try Faulkner...........

Done. Total cost $8.00 plus 1 hour of work in the shop. There is a picture below. I could feel when they ’popped’ through the carpet mat into the hardwood.

Special triple alloy composition. Extremely high tensile strength. Precisely tuned for this specific set of speakers, the carpet they rest on and the hardwood underneath. ;-o

Do the speakers sound better? I don’t know. Certainly nothing major. Maybe a little sharper and tighter at lower volume? I don’t know. But, for $8.00 they're up off the carpet.

https://images.nikonians.org/galleries/data/3564/IMG_1028.jpg

Sort of. I made them out of grade 8 bolts. It is a triple allow stainless steel and it is very strong.

Each one was hand made and shaped precisely as I wanted it to be.....so I'm sticking with "specifically tuned". It just rings true in the audiophile world. I might even be willing to sell and market them.

"Barron* Spikes. Hand crafted in triple alloy stainless steel by a reclusive audiophile in his basement workshop, carefully tuned to match the weight, shape and model of your speakers as well as the type and pile of your carpet or species and finish of your wood floors. Call for pricing and to get your name on the wait list. Cash only. Please allow 6-12 months for delivery."

*Barron is my last name.

This stand has rubber(?) cones that compress between the stand and the speaker. These were OEM from Aerial Acoustics.

The stainless I used is from a grade 8 bolt which in the world of steel is fairly soft but still way harder than aluminum, etc. And probably harder than the bargain spikes you can buy online. Plus these were heated and quenched a number of times.

The shape of these was derived at by how easy I could shape them on a grinder and to some extent how well they would penetrate the short pile of my carpet but not too much into the wood below.

They sound phenomenal. You should hear them. Everyone should make their own.

frozentundra, I could have made them narrower, and still could, but I felt them pop through the carpet mat so I think they're fine. 

jeff, I honestly can't say I noticed a big difference.

Right now, making this sort of subjective assessment is very hard. I'm one who agrees that a lot of things affect my ability to judge music quality from what mood I happen to be in to which model of leaf blower my neighbor is running outside my window. I also think it is very easy to internalize what I hear from others ("it will sound better with spikes") and to yield to my expectation of improved quality based on having taken the time to make these i.e. I've gone to the trouble to make them, surely it must sound better. And then I fight these expectations trying to be objective....and the end result is that I don't know.

I'm listening right now and they sound marvelous. Better than before? Probably. A revelation? No.

As for the OEM bases, they are rectangular channel steel, 4 pieces welded together and there is clearly something in them because they are heavy. I know they are OEM because Aerial sent me a schematic.

I am no machinist. You can tell that by looking closely at the picture I posted of them. I have a grinding wheel, a drill press and an angle grinder. All of them old. And no training. Any pretense at craftsmanship in my posts above was purely for humor.

Madrigal Proceed HPA2. Transparent Super Bi-cable cables.

geoffkait, I wasn't sure for a fact that they are rubber but they look and feel like firm black rubber. So I looked back at the schematic Micheal Kelly sent me and it does say rubber there.

It all came to me by chance. Was not an audiophile before now. Still have a long way to go but fortunately have no desire whatsoever to pursue any sort of serious upgrades. No need for me to get on that treadmill.

I made the spikes because 1) I could and 2) it was cheap and 3) the speakers had them originally (lost in a move at some point presumably).

I might sharpen them up a bit though. One of them is quite firmly planted but the other slightly less so. Again, I'm not expecting to hear a difference. Just seeking to maximize whatever easy things I can.