Speaker Spikes - Working Principle


Vibration damping obvious makes sense (in speakers just as well as in cars). 

That involves 'killing' (converting into heat, through typically internal friction) kinetic energy. So any sort of elastic material (rubber has lots of internal friction) makes sense. 

And then there are spikes. Using a pointy hard object and pair it with a softer, elastic material (to deform, and kill kinetic energy) can work; think metal sharp spike into carpet or wood floor. 

But what is the idea behind pairing fairly unelastic metal (brass for example) with similarly unelastic (brass, stone, etc) material (example photo provided)? Only thing I can come up with: LOOKS good and makes owner feel good  thinking its an improvement (works only for Audiophiles though),

Even more curious: are they ENGINEERED "spikes" (vibration dampers or shock absorbers) for speakers that are TUNED for the frequency (and mass)  that needs to be dampened? Can piston style fluid dampers be designed for the high frequencies (100, 1000, 10000 Hz) using geometry, nozzles size and viscosity of the fluid?

 

kraftwerkturbo

Showing 2 responses by tcotruvo

I thinking along the lines of @yoyoyaya 

I have a pair of tall, thin B & O ‘pencil’ speakers.  I have rubber feet on them as they’re on a concrete floor.  But if I move them onto an area rug, they easily rock and could be knocked over.  I think the purpose of spikes is to concentrate the weight to a thin point that can penetrate between carpet loops or piles.  This would bring the weight to bear on the firmer surface of the carpet backing.  The plusher the carpet, the more they are necessary and effective.

@yoyoyaya  Wow!  400 pounds!  I would guess once you have those on spikes you wouldn’t be moving them around.  Interesting that even with that weight and thin carpet the spikes still were an improvement in sound quality.