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Speaker outriggers

I have a pair of B&W CDM9NT's and I am just using the brass spikes on them. I am using it on concrete floor with laminate flooring. I struggle sometimes to keep them balanced and find I have to add a washer in between the spike and bottom of the speaker cabinet of one or two spikes. I don't want to spend $500 or 600 on something like ISO acoustics GAIA. Has anyone added outriggers to floor standing speakers? I found these from Dayton Audio and they look pretty solid, 4mm steel bar that runs the whole width of the speaker. Anyone have experience with these or similar? https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-OS-2M-Outrigger-Speaker-Spike-Set-Medium-with-Black-Steel-Base-2-Pcs-240-774
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jmphotography's avatar
jmphotography OP
161 posts
 
@millercarbon the reason I did not want to spend a lot is I plan on purchasing new speakers later this year. Looking at SF Sonetto V. I was going to invest in the GAIA II and use them on the B&W and then just transfer them to the new speakers once I buy them. The Podiums are amazing I’m sure, but 2600 will give me a nice down payment on new speakers.
jmphotography's avatar
jmphotography OP
161 posts
 
@gbnrbob it’s pretty level, it’s new construction, but it’s a concrete slab so it’s not perfect. The one speaker sits rock solid with no shims. The other needs just a really thin metal washer between the spike and cabinet the get it perfect. I was checking out the Herbie’s stuff. Thanks
tweak1
3,661 posts
 
My listening room is ~ 19 x 35 and is 100% mexican tiles, which are a nightmare when it comes to balancing furniture, and especially equipment. I tried similar adjustable spikes to the Daytons, and found them hard to place and adjust under speakers.


Consider that rooms are usually compromised in many ways, furniture, dimensions, type of walls (dry wall/stucco over lath...) so, my solution was to buy dollys from Harbor Freight, which have rubber wheels. @ ~ $25/set, an added bonus is the ease to move the speakers around to find the sweet spot

hth
gdnrbob
4,445 posts
 
@jmphotography ,
There seems to be two  schools of thought when it comes to isolating speakers.
One, like millercarbon aludes to uses springs to isolate speaker vibration.
(And, I do use the Townshend products under my equipment, though not under my speakers).
The other is one that Vandersteen uses, which entails using a thick piece of marble on which the speaker sits using spikes that are set on a special felt that reduces movement and anchors the speaker to the marble base.

Being a cheapskate, I opted for 3 inch butcherblock with some sorbothane pucks under them. It works well for me.
YMMV.
Bob
erik_squires
16,061 posts
 
There are a couple of big benefits of outriggers:

- speakers are more stable and less likely to tip over from side forces.
- super easy leveling
- minimizes contact with flooring.

The other thing to keep in mind is to minimize the back and forth motion of the cabinets.  After you put the outriggers on you may want to try adding mass to the top of the cabinets.
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