I am currently using neat motive sx2 which have downward firing ports. The lounge has thick carpet and underlay and concrete floor which doesn’t appear to be perfectly level. I have never managed to seat the speakers properly with the spikes through the carpet and there always seems to be some degree of wobble. I think this maybe due to the fact that the speakers aren’t particularly heavy.
I have therefore seated the speakers on granite chopping boards which still wobble on the carpet.
In an attempt to prevent this I glued some MDF to the bass of the granite and used M6 inserts to accommodate 4 spikes. These are still not long enough and I also need longer thread on the spikes to use with M6 nuts to allow for leveling of the granite base.
I can get these spikes made to my specification but before I do I wondered if anyone had similar problems which they resolved.
With downward firing ports I suspect a bit more clearance and a hard surface would be better than minimal clearance on carpet?
Thanks
Stu
Hi Stu, similar problem…but was not willing to spend a large sum on Townsend podiums. Two granite chopping blocks from Dunelm for £20 and 8 Audio serenity speaker cups off Amazon for £30. It made a nice improvement in clarity across the frequency range.
Stu: To continue our conversation from another thread, I am very fortunate in that my speakers only have 3 feet thus making them very stable … plus the SoundCare Superspikes are self leveling … Placing them onto the Gaia III carpet spikes which I had pressed through to the concrete before hand, makes for a very stable platform.
The old way of doing this used to be to screw some large wood screws through the carpet and then rest the speaker bases on these. Obvs this assumed a wooden floor. But you can now get concrete screw bolts in various sizes, so you could try this. Although some ‘damage’ to carpet is to be expected, using the old way it was remarkable how little actual damage occurred as the wood screws passed through the weave of the carpet backing without too much trouble. Perhaps parting the weave before the drill is employed for the concrete screw would work.
I’m guessing this is too much work, but the principle is sound and used to result in solid speakers!
3 spikes (milk maids stools don’t wobble) if you can keep it in mind with whatever mount you eventually go for,
I have a 3 spike (small cones) on my speakers (DIY), 2 at the front 1 at the back. the only adjustment is to set the vertical on the 2x front spikes
Thanks Gazza, this is similar to my set up but I still get some wobble I think due to the lack of weight of speakers. Your PMCs will be substantially heavier than the neats I suspect.
Thanks John will take a look at the Superspikes. Look interesting.
Thanks Mike, I may have to modify my granite boards to use three spikes. My rack is so much more stable and easier to level with three legs.
I’m hoping with a more stable base I will get some sonic improvements?
If drilling into your concrete floor don’t go through you damp proof course (plastic sheet under the concrete acting like a bathtub) or you will have untold problems
@ARCHIE67 DPM should be at least 100mm below FL, I was only suggesting you need to go in probably 25mm. But it would be overkill really, I abandoned using spikes years ago because on my wooden suspended floor it wasn’t as good as using machine feet with cork discs. This improved the base no end.
Indeed 3 feet are tge best way of eliminating wonnle - including equipment on shelves, and racks on floors etc. But beware increased risk of knocking over due to weight distribution with typically rectangular bases, depending on weight distribution and centre of gravity. (milking stools are round not rectangular.)
I’ve been building speakers for a number of years & always use 3 spike/mount points
I always have x2 points at the front as its under the heaviest part of the cabinet with drivers on the front baffle. As most of my designs have a significantly greater front/back dimension than side/side measurement, they are super stable.
Although I haven’t done it for speakers (yet) myself, I’m fully with you on this - my cautionary note simply because it does depend on the speaker and its shape, including height, and I think some would be a bit precarious. When I had a TT I gave it 3 spikes for feet - so easy to adjust for levelness, and all feet firmly in contact. I’ve also done with other things using sorbothane hemispheres, positioned for approx equal weight load rather than geometrically.
Don’t think I will be changing the speaker plinth and 4 spike arrangement. However if I can get some thick granite slabs with 3 adjustable, long spikes this should provide a level and stable base for the speakers to sit on.
This should stop the wobble that the current thin slabs have just placed on the carpet. I have some spike shoes which I currently use to stop the speakers sliding on the granite.
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