[crosscreekroad]


I have B&W DM 604 floor standing speakers on a non glossy tile floor in my leased home. For now, I have four circular 1 1/2 inch rubber pads on each corner of the speakers. They are about 1/8th to maybe 1/4 inch in thickness. My B&W owners manual says even without a carpeted floor, use the supplied screw-in spikes and use a protective disc between the spikes and the floor. Some sites have suggested using a coin sandwiched between felt pads. Others say use a pad specifically made for spike protection. Some forums strongly suggest rubber feet as superior to spikes when speakers sit on tile floors. I have been considering Deflex Superpods available on a British site. Eight of these would cost about 100 dollars. That's a lot of money for "experimentation" at getting the right choice for isolation (decoupling). There is also much disagreement among audio people on the theories  of coulpling or decoulpling floor standing speakers. With all this confusion, what might be the right choice?

 

[crazyrob425]

Rubber feet...


Spikes are only meant for carpets

 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Use rubber feet. As for the 'coupling versus decoupling' argument, there's no such thing as mechanical coupling between a speaker and floor. Devices that are advertised to either better couple or to decouple a speaker from the floor are worthless, though you wouldn't know that from the silly prices you see for some of them.

 

[crosscreekroad]


Thanks for your help Bill. I am considering Deflex audio superpods or 3m's isolate-it rubber feet. Have you heard anything about which brand may be higher quality or most suitable for floor speakers?

 

[crosscreekroad]


Thanks so much for your help CrazyRob! Now I need to decide between Deflex audio superpods or 3m's isolate-it rubber feet. Do you have any feedback on these products?

 

[lovinthehd]

I'd look at something along the lines of what's on this search http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_3_11/178-4188901-3042620?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=rubber%20feet%20for%20furniture&sprefix=rubber+feet%2Caps%2C285


Doesn't need to be fancy atho you might want to find a fastener threaded the same way as the spikes they came with. You could even cut down a sheet of foam rubber to the dimension of the bottom of the speaker. I'd think about it more as protecting the finish of the bottom of the speaker than anything else...


If you really want something that has a stylish look to it I think SVSsound sells some isolation feet (still pricey IMHO) but you might want to read this thread first. http://www.avsforum.com/t/1493052/new-svs-isolation-feet

 

[fatbottom]

What about spikes, into cones?

 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]



Quote:
Originally Posted by crosscreekroad  /t/1526163/spikes-or-rubber-feet-on-a-tile-floor-and-floor-standing-speakers#post_24577005


Thanks for your help Bill. I am considering Deflex audio superpods or 3m's isolate-it rubber feet. Have you heard anything about which brand may be higher quality or most suitable for floor speakers?

Both are OK, both are more money than you need to spend. FWIW speakers do not cause floors to vibrate via direct contact, so isolating the speaker from the floor will not stop the floor from vibrating. The low frequency sound waves that speakers create can cause floors to vibrate, and in turn that vibration can be conducted back to the cabinet. Absorbing that vibration does not require anything either high-tech or expensive. This, or whatever equivalent you can find locally, works as well as anything. A piece cut to the size of the bottoms of your speakers will be far more effective than a few little dots.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Black-24-in-x-36-in-Anti-Fatigue-Vinyl-Foam-Commercial-Mat-60-571-0900-20000300/202015909


As for spikes, they're useful with carpeted floors, to increase the grip of the speaker to the carpet to prevent the speaker from sliding about at high volume. That's all that they're useful for. Other claims of mystical properties are no more valid than those made for palmistry or Shakti stones. Of course, there are those who are absolute in their conviction that putting rocks on their gear works miracles, but that can be attributed to their also having rocks between their ears.

 

[torii]

bringing this topic back from dead. just heard about these ridiculously expensive feet for speakers isoacoustics gaia https://www.amazon.com/IsoAcoustics...s=isoacoustics+gaia&psc=1&smid=A2O1A8NNN5Y1TU

all the youtube vids I see on these show a difference...anyone have an opinion? snakeoil?