why spikes under speakers???


could you guys educate me about the use or need for spikes under speakers, it seems to me that putting an air pocket under a speaker would be the last thing you want to do, isnt bas about pressure? and if you put a gap of air between speakers and floor arent you losing some of what makes bass work? I am not claiming this to be bad, I simply want to pose my questions about this concept and get educated on why this is a good idea, and when it may not be a good idea...thanks
chadnliz
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.
The idea that a cone can act to decouple and block vibration sounds no less absurd than the notion that cones can channel vibration. If the large surface area of a cone is in contact with the chassis of a component and the componenet is vibrating due to 'airborn vibration', the cone will vibrate also. I submit cones can reduce vibratoin in the chassis even if it is resting on an decoupled shelf. If this is so, then where is the vibration going? Is it dissapated as heat at the cone's small contact point? Or do you think that the only effect is decoupling?
I have seen cones reduce energy in a component that was sitting on a decoupled shelf. I dont think my idea is absurd.
I went different route. I baught at wallgreens DrSchool's Air-Pillo Gel shoe insoles (flat) and placed them under the speakers. A pair per speaker, $4.80 per pair. The sound improvement is huge! Spikes don't work.
El, to answer your question about what makes Audiopoints better, here are some explanations.

The material and geometrical shape of the Audiopoints make the difference, based upon what we want to achieve.

Audiopoints do not "drain", nor do they "dampen" by design.

What they do, is provide an evacuation path for the vibrations to do what they naturally "want" to do.

According to the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, which you are certainly aware of, all energy will seek the ground state via the path of least resistance. Vibrational energy will do so, just like electrical energy will. Ground states can vary, normally based upon mass, with the earth being the most commonly used mass for this destination of the energy.

If a path for this vibrational energy is not provided for the energy to seek the mass of the earth, then it will seek other routes to dissipate the energy, generally running around and around inside the equipment chassis, until it is exhausted.

If a path is provided for it to seek the larger masses of the house/foundation/earth, then it will take that route, as long as it is the least resistant one. This path must be easy for the energy to travel in, and very rapid, for our audio purposes.

Audiopoints use a specially formulated brass material, which is hard, with low lead content, for this purpose. It also uses specialized shape.

These things working together provide an pathway for this energy to transfer to the higher mass earth to be dissipated to the ground state remotely from the equipment.

We never say that vibrations should not be dissipated, but that they should be dissipated somewhere else besides in the equipment or stand, not locally. We also do not claim to eliminate vibration, but only to reduce a large percentage of the unwanted vibrational effects on the equipment.

Now, how do we do this?
We have designed a product which utilizes the reduction of Coulomb's Friction in the system, to improve the speed of the evacuation path. If Coulomb's Friction in the junction between the equipment chassis and the "cone" is reduced, then the ease with which the vibrations can transfer becomes much better. Then, the material and geometry provide an optimized route for the vibrations to travel earthward. A "White Paper" written by mechanical engineers is available on this subject, on our website.

For our products to be best used, no intervening items should be between the equipment chassis, our products, and the floor. Sometimes people put things in there, and it can reduce or defeat the performance of our products. We make various products that are different heights, including racks, so that people can get the benefits of our engineered pathways, at different heights of the shelving, and not have to resort to using other materials and devices between the audio/video equipment and the floor.

That is basically it. All we provide is a path for the energy to travel where it will eventually be dissipated by the earth, not returned into the equipment chassis to be recirculated. All based on solid physics, and borne out in audible performance. The math for the Coulomb's friction proof is shown on the white paper on our website.

The issue here, for us, is not to make some kind of "laboratory grade isolation table". What we do is provide a system which will improve the listening pleasure to the owner of the audio system, by addressing the unwanted vibration effect issue to a signifcant extent enough to make the sound better. We don't claim "perfection" or anything like that. We claim that using our products will improve the sound, in a way that doesn't have "deadening" effects that are common with local damping schemes. And in comparison to most local damping schemes, the sound that results from use of our products is preferred by many users, because dynamics and lifelike sound quality is preserved.

If you have very deep technical questions, I can refer you to our mechanical engineers, who can address these, as they may be beyond my abilities to answer(as a non-engineer).
Tom, help me understand why vibrational energy wants to go to ground?
I understand that in an electrical circuit with a anode and cathode, applying a PD will cause motion in the circuit and that electron flow will occur via the path of least resistance. I don't understand how this propagates in a component that has self-induced vibration from the motion of internal components, and/or airborne induced vibration. How is there a natural force that sends vibrational energy looking for an 'out' via ground/earth?
I'm sure you are right, I just need help understanding it.

Isn't it more like a convection effect, and doesn't 'drain' and 'evacuate' basically mean the same thing when convection currents are considered? A transfer of energy I can understand, but analogizing it as a polarized conduction as per an electrical circuit needs more explanation.

It's a fascinating subject, thanks for sharing your ideas.

Rooze