why spikes under speakers???

It's all about reducing transmission of cabinet resonance from the speaker to the floor. This way you hear the vibrations of the driver, not the vibrations of your floor. Energy transferred from the speaker cabinet to the floor effectively turns the floor into one large transducer and, as you can imagine, a floor doesn't make a very good speaker driver. If a perfect speaker cabinet with no resonance could be designed, then there would be absolutely no benefit to putting that speaker on spikes. Unfortunately, no such perfect speaker cabinet exists, so we put spikes under our speakers to cut down on the transfer of vibrational energy to the floor. Incidentally, this is de-coupling...not coupling. Spikes do not, nor ever have coupled a speaker to the floor in an acoustic sense. Yes, they do anchor a speaker in the physical sense, but that has nothing to do with acoustic coupling. This will start a war, but I'm tired of hearing it wrong. Acoustic coupling refers to efforts to maximize vibrational energy transfer. To do it with a speaker, you would remove the spikes and put weights on top. Try it and see how that sounds. Then try de-coupling with spikes...you'll never want to be without them again.

Pbowne: Correct, but totally off-base. You are right that 1-3 inches of space won't do anything to affect the transmission of low bass sound waves. Unfortunately, that's not the transmission that's in play here. What spikes help with is reduction of the transmission of vibrational energy from cabinet resonance due to a reduction in contact surface area between speaker cabinet and floor. Cabinet resonance isn't only caused by low frequency waves...any frequency can cause it. Which frequency does cause it in a particular speaker is determined solely by that speaker's cabinet design and construction.

To answer your question, the answer is no. Think of it this way...your ear canal/eardrum is only about 3/8ths of an inch across, does that mean we can't hear any frequency with a wavelength longer than that? Low frequency waves, as you correctly point out, have huge wavelengths. Unlike higher frequency waves, these suckers don't care about walls, or even our heads and simply pass right through. You will still hear them just fine, provided they are still in the audible range, that is. It is standing waves that are affected by room size, not sound waves coming directly from the speaker. Hope that helps...

Eldartford is correct. No decently made cabinet is going to be moved by a lightweight little driver. Vibrated/resonated, yes, but pumped back and forth by a driver...no way. Eldartford's experiment is the perfect way to prove that and to clarify what he said: Idiots who don't know why they sell spikes disagree.

S7horton, that cell phone on vibrate isn't moving in response to a driver since in vibrate mode it isn't connected to one. It's moving in response to a small electric motor with its driveshaft connected to one side of a small weight, purposely creating an unbalanced rotation. Take one apart, if you doubt me. Ever had sore muscles? It's the exact same system used to make a massager.

The idea that spikes "drain" vibrational energy from anything is quite possibly the most absurd idea I have ever heard. It is not only totally ridiculous, but physically impossible.

OK, then let me rephrase:

The idea that spikes or cones or Audiopoints "drain" vibrational energy from anything is quite possibly the most absurd idea I have ever heard. It is not only totally ridiculous, but physically impossible.

Feel better now?

With that said, note that I do not claim that they do not work, or do not help to improve the sound of speakers put upon them. In fact, my opinion is quite the opposite. They DO work and the effect they have is easily discernible in many situations. They just don't bring about that effect by draining vibrational energy as Blkadr suggested. This is an absurd concept which has no basis in physics or fact.