Speaker issue- please help

[gbhsi1]

Hi, I have recently had new carpets fitted in my lounge. The carpet is quite thick as well as the underlay. I have tried to plant my speakers with spikes but can't get the speakers to remain stable and the downward firing port on the neats is very close to the carpet now. Under the carpet is concrete. What can I do to rectify the problem? Your advice is greatly appreciated

 

[The_Lhc]

Stands or floorstanders? I put my full weight on my stands to force the spikes through the carpet. Are the spikes adjustable (they should be so you can level them out)? Try winding them out a bit further, if possible.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a similar problem with an uneven concrete floor under my carpet. I spent a long time adjusting each spike to level the speakers and they're still not perfect.

A more permanent solution that I'm tempted to try is to place a granite placement (pretty thin) under the carpet where the speakers are located. You can then stand the speakers more evenly on them. The placements can be positioned with lots of blutak to ensure stability. I might try this tonight...

EDIT I slightly misinterpreted your post here so my suggestion is somewhat OTT!

 

[Anonymous]

Longer spikes.

 

[shooter]

Isolation cone's/feet. They can be placed on the carpet and the speaker spike sits in them.
Failing that, longer spikes.

 

[gbhsi1]

Tarquinh:Longer spikes. where can I buy these fir my neat floorstanders? I have spike booty's- will these do? Using these will isolate the speakers from the floor, hence they are floating if that makes sense, will that not effect the sound greatly?

 

[shooter]

gbhsi1:will that not effect the sound greatly?

Try it.

 

[Anonymous]

Monacor make spikes of varying lengths. Yes, you'd need to try - my feeling is that the concrete is great, because it's inert, but the carpet and underlay may be a problem. I've used underlay in some speakers I've made to help dampen unwanted resonances, so that could definitely have an, albeit small, effect.

 

[scene]

In my old house I had thick wool carpet, with felt underlay under it. I bought some adjustable spikes, the spiky (tapered bit) is about 8-10mm, but with the adjustable thread, the whole thing is about 3cm. When they were attached to my Silver 8is, I had to lean with some force to get them to go through the carpet and underlay. Took a couple of times to get them levelled, but once done they sounded great... Haven't done it yet in new house as speakers aren't in final position and too many small people...

 

[JoelSim]

Get 2 slabs of granite and place on top of the carpet, then place the speakers on top with spikes and shoes.

I got some from this bloke on fleabay, he will cut to size for the BIN price. He doesn't seem to be doing much at the moment but worth a try.

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/chocnhogcatering/

 

[ear]

I'm with joel

 

[gbhsi1]

JoelSim:
Get 2 slabs of granite and place on top of the carpet, then place the speakers on top with spikes and shoes.

I got some from this bloke on fleabay, he will cut to size for the BIN price. He doesn't seem to be doing much at the moment but worth a try.

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/chocnhogcatering/

Thanks Joel, that sounds like a great option as longer spikes, I feel, will not work as the speaker will be wobbly due to the size of the neat spike thread. I will give that a go 🙂 I will report back soon

 

[gbhsi1]

I have sent the guy a message via ebay so I am hoping for a response, but if I do not get a response, does anyone know where I can get some granite slabs cut to size? obviously I do not want to spend much money really

 

[Anonymous]

You could always go to Tescos and buy either granite placemats or saucepan stands. The latter should be big enough.

 

[caddyhound]

Argos do granite chopping boards at £14.99.Have a look at their website to see if they are big enough - they are certainly heavy enough.

 

[bernasmeister]

Another alternative is to drill your floor and fix four bolts (or as many as you have spikes per speaker) into the concrete. Then sit the spikes on top of the bolts (Philips head for instance). This is cheap and should be quite effective. Haven't tried myself though.

 

[gbhsi1]

Right- bought 4 granite chopping boards from tesco at £12.50 each, placed them on the carpet, followed by placing the speakers on top with spikes resting on Russ Andrews spike booties (as they call it). Although there is some micro rocking it is definitely a lot more stable than trying to push the spikes through. They do sound different when they are on the granite. So I guess I have to get used to what they sound like now. What are peoples experience with granite under their speakers?