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?
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@j-wall Oh now I see what you are working with. You are actually possibly helping two areas and items: the sound reproduction IN the music room, and trying to reduce the impact on the living space BELOW.
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@amtprod Exactly! Sometimes it's hard to describe your scenario and experience, but pictures tell it all. For someone just starting into the decoupling arena like my wife I can highly recommend them. I've read the Townshend's take things a step further, but for $200 I'm happy to start here. I'll be trying components next. |
Geez! For the last forty years, I've followed Linn's maxim that the speaker should not move a millimeter. In other words when I place my hand on the speaker it should not move side to side, back and forth, not rock at all! Time and time again I've heard demonstrations of this by simply loosening/tightening one spike allowing the speaker to move just a little and notice a smearing of the signal. I remember one demo where Linn did this to a pair of speakers by loosening a spike on each speaker stand a bit and as I listened, persons standing next to each speaker pressed down hard on the tops of them to keep them from rocking. Everyone heard the difference easily. The reason? Simple, the tweeter and many midrange drivers' pistonic motion, throw, is tiny, and just a small amount of movement of the cabinet will blur the signal from them. How a device like the Townshend or Sorbothane (useless), or any products that introduce a rocking motion to the speaker helps. I understand where an entire floor of a room floor on a suspension system helps isolate it from the outside but that's it. I've heard Townshend's devices a couple of times. Once under a large heavy pair of floor standing active ATC's and a pair of Proacs. They did nothing but screw things up and I'll bet both companies wouldn't recommend them in any circumstance. |
@vitussl101 do OSCILLATING tweeter membran REALLY MOVE a 50 lb speaker? Remember, those milligram 'pistons' go back and forth (SAME force or better, same impulse in EACH DIRCTION) about 5000 time PER SECOND. that 50 lb MASS is way to slow to move. To move the entire speaker i suspect the required accel and decel would SHRED any speaker to pieces. IF that test was done (hand on speaker) and actually had (not perceived) results as described, the only explanation would be that the hand DAMPENED the vibrations of the respect speaker PANEL; and yes, they DO move/flex. The WALLS of the cabinet, not the speaker. |
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