Spikes and stands

[CnoEvil]

I wouldn't get too hung up on this.

Most sensible comment yet!

Oh well, I got there in the end. :doh:

 

[Macspur]

I wouldn't get too hung up on this.

Most sensible comment yet!

Oh well, I got there in the end. :doh:

Not at all Cno all previous comments well thought out considered advice as per usual.

Mac

 

[GSB]

This is what makes hifi so interesting..... :cheers:

 

[CnoEvil]

Not at all Cno all previous comments well thought out considered advice as per usual.

Mac

Thx Mac.

You either believe in his sort of stuff, or you don't.

 

[GSB]

What you are saying is based on scientific fact,and is entirley logical...even i took speaker vibrations and isolation in account on set-up!!

 

[Michaelholder1]

I see can see the obvious scientific effect of spikes on the speaker itself, isolating the speaker. An amplified example would be if i took my drums and covered the resonant head with something, the sound would be changed dramatically. Although I think the effect of the stands themselves is less obvious and something I definitely want to look in to more. More out of interest than anything else, simple empiricle tests would probably suffice but I'd like to know the science.

 

[steve_1979]

I've tried my speaker stands with and without the spikes in place. They didn't seem to make any difference to the sound but they're a bit more stable with the spikes in place.

 

[CJSF]

I have spikes on my stands and find them invaluble as my floor is uneven.My stands are oak so havn't the problem of ringing...but what are the disadvantages of wooden stands?

It's a matter of taste, but I suspect the correct metal stand is better....but not worth worrying about at this stage, if you are happy with the sound.

This is more CJ's department.

Read an article today sugesting that a sub is better suited to a wooden suspended floor and hollow walls as they act as dampeners...can't win realy :roll:

My sub has always sounded better when isolated from my suspended floor (Auralex Gramma over Granite).....bass sounds tighter, deeper and faster.

Mmm . . . the essence lies in the word 'timbre' . . . something we all accept in any accustic instument , , , and yet we ignor it, even poo-hoo the thought when it comes to speakers . . . and especialy what hapens to the stands they sit on. This afternoon, I've been listening to a whole load of accustic instruments, from brass through strings to church organs. The timbre of there instruments is awsome, finly tuned and controlled . . . think about it, we need vibration . . .

I've said it before, no one listens, so why should I bother? . . . The industry sat up in the 80's, copied what my designs 'looked like', but they never have grasped what we did to the 'timbre' of our stands and the relashonship we achived with the speaker. It will stay a mistery.

Floor spikes are nothing more than a means of a solid 'stabuility link' through domestic fitted carpet, popular in the 80's and 90's. Speakers should not move in sympothy to the piston affect of the drive unit, dont forget rear ports, rocking the speaker back and forth? Inverted spikes do the same job but damage the cabinet! Blue Tac is a much better solution. Stand filling is a 'timbre control', best results come from hybrid mixtures . . . achived with many, many hours of listening evaluation.

CJSF

 

[GSB]

Good to hear from you CJ,interesting reading as always

Fwiw my oak stands do have a cavity which is filled with rice,perhaps i will replace with a denser material at some point but i'm using the isolation gel pads supplied with the speakers...are they any good?

 

[CJSF]

Good to hear from you CJ,interesting reading as always

Fwiw my oak stands do have a cavity which is filled with rice,perhaps i will replace with a denser material at some point but i'm using the isolation gel pads supplied with the speakers...are they any good?

'Isolation gel pad'? . . . new one on me, like most things it may have an effect, good or bad? A gel pad sound like it will alow the speaker to 'rock' back and forth, 'gel' is compliant, thats my outside looking in view, probably take the edge of transiants? Should be simple enough to do an AB comparison against Blue Tac, dont forget, very small pea size blobs, pushed hard down, to remove the speaker with out damage, twist on its vertical excise?

As for Oak stands, they will again have an effect, but like most other materials, wood has a 'timbre', this is used to effect in musical instruments. So agin, careful assesment is the only answer. Mmm, rice? I wonder what effect dried peas, split peas or cemilina might have . . . you could go through the whole range of dried pulses in the supermarket . . . then there is cat litter, very dence and heavy, I believe, based on 'Fullers Earth'?

By the way, heavy is not the answer . . . going back to timbre 'control' . . . ?

CJSF

 

[GSB]

WHFI have given the stands a very good review,also the wife liked them as they matched the tv stand.

http://www.whathifi.com/review/custom-rc60-deluxe

The reason i filled with rice is it was alot cheaper than those little metal fragments that are available...my thinking being that density would aid in managing bass from the speakers...and seeing as i have no bass issues either the rice is doing its job along with the oak stands,or my speakers have no bass issues

 

[CnoEvil]

The reason i filled with rice is it was alot cheaper than those little metal fragments that are available...my thinking being that density would aid in managing bass from the speakers...and seeing as i have no bass issues either the rice is doing its job along with the oak stands,or my speakers have no bass issues

You are not alone: http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1254080388

 

[CnoEvil]

As for Oak stands, they will again have an effect, but like most other materials, wood has a 'timbre', this is used to effect in musical instruments. So agin, careful assesment is the only answer.

CJSF

A quote of yours from a previous thread about wooden stands (which back up my own suspicions) - "Wood stands are suspect IMHO, simply "smearing" potential problems".

Given what happened in the past, I fully understand your reticence......which is a pity, as I suspect that there are few people on the planet who have a better understanding about what it takes to get this right.

 

[CJSF]

WHFI have given the stands a very good review,also the wife liked them as they matched the tv stand.

http://www.whathifi.com/review/custom-rc60-deluxe

The reason i filled with rice is it was alot cheaper than those little metal fragments that are available...my thinking being that density would aid in managing bass from the speakers...and seeing as i have no bass issues either the rice is doing its job along with the oak stands,or my speakers have no bass issues

You could have been luck and 'hit it on the head' first time GSB . . . if you are happy thats all at matters . . .

CJSF

 

[CnoEvil]

. . . if you are happy thats all at matters . . .

CJSF

In the audiophile world, happiness is simply the transitory and delusional state, prior to unhappiness returning again. :shifty:

 

[Macspur]

The reason i filled with rice is it was alot cheaper than those little metal fragments that are available...my thinking being that density would aid in managing bass from the speakers...and seeing as i have no bass issues either the rice is doing its job along with the oak stands,or my speakers have no bass issues

You are not alone: http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1254080388

Certainly not...

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/a-worthwhile-palava

 

[CnoEvil]

Certainly not...

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/a-worthwhile-palava

Yes, I remember...cheap fixes are all the more satisfying, as one feels good about stealing a march on the over priced audiophile solutions.

 

[GSB]

. . . if you are happy thats all at matters . . .

CJSF

In the audiophile world, happiness is simply the transitory and delusional state, prior to unhappiness returning again. :shifty:

For me it's a case of ignorance is defanatley bliss.... :roll:

 

[CnoEvil]

For me it's a case of ignorance is defanatley bliss.... :roll:

Zackly......it's when Eve gives you a bite of the apple from the tree of Hi-Fidelity, that the trouble begins.

 

[CJSF]

. . . IMHO, 'ignorance' is a very sad state of mind, head in the sand and all that . . . :wall:

CJSF

 

[GSB]

For me it's a case of ignorance is defanatley bliss.... :roll:

Zackly......it's when Eve gives you a bite of the apple from the tree of Hi-Fidelity, that the trouble begins.

And i'm on an inforced diet

 

[CnoEvil]

. . . IMHO, 'ignorance' is a very sad state of mind, head in the sand and all that . . . :wall:

CJSF

Therein lies the dichotomy.....happily ignorant is a sad state of mind.

 

[GSB]

. . . IMHO, 'ignorance' is a very sad state of mind, head in the sand and all that . . . :wall:

CJSF

Therein in lies the dichotomy.....happily ignorant is a sad state of mind.

Or prehaps a state of contentment in the quest for what is both feasible and achievable....perhaps?! :shifty:

 

[CnoEvil]

]Or prehaps a state of contentment in the quest for what is both feasible and achievable....perhaps?! :shifty:

It's the quest that leads to the expenditure.....and the (feasible?) expenditure that leads to the grief.

 

[GSB]

And the lumps on the head... :boohoo:

:cheers: