Speakers on carpet over concrete


My system is current located in a partially finished basement. The floor is thick carpet over a thick pad on top of concrete.  Does it affect performance of the speaker differently if spikes are used that pierce the carpet and pad, contacting the concrete below versus removing the spikes and having their "feet" resting on top of the carpet which is also a bit less stable?  I'm sure I'm not the only one with a system installed on carpet over concrete.  How are yours set up?

jc4659

Showing 1 response by williewonka

@jc4659 - I have exactly the same setup in my basement (carpet on concrete), so I took a slightly different approach to others, which appears (to me) to work very well

Under each speaker

  • I use two 18" square granite tiles on top of each other with a layer of thin foam drawer liner between them
    • this acts as an isolating sandwich
  • at each corner of the lower tile I glue one of these
  • The speaker sits on top ot the two tiles using its spiked feet
  • This larger "base" is just like installing outriggers to the speakers, which minimizes any movement
  • after about two months the underlay is compressed under each spiked foot resulting in a very firm platform on which to place the speaker

My speaker weighs about 60 lbs, which contributes even more to their stability

So now my speakrs are

  • nicley seperated/isolated from the concrete under the carpet
  • very stable (actually rock solid)
  • sounding amazingly detailed with a large and spacious image

One other approach to achieve additional speaker stability is to add heavy weight on top of the speaker - this prevents the woofer cone from moving the speaker cabinet

  • A friend places a 15lb bar-bell on top of each speaker
  • doesn't look elegant - but it works ! 🤪

Hope that helps - Steve