Ten Misconceptions About Loudspeaker Spikes
Clearing up misunderstandings regarding loudspeaker feet.
Article By Norman Varney see below:
Mike
What happened to my room acoustics
I measured the spectrogram for my room at my MLP, and the FFT results are as follows:
- There is a roll-off before 20kHz.
- A dip is present around 12kHz.
- There is a noticeable boost between 50Hz and 1.5kHz.
- The bass rolls off around 33Hz at -3dB, consistent with the factory rating.
Comparing these measurements to the Burchardt measurements, there are some differences:
- It doesn’t exhibit a roll-off before 20kHz.
- The dip is around 15kHz.
- The boost between 50Hz and 1.5kHz is not as pronounced as in my room.
I’m curious about what might be happening with my room acoustics. If a fix is possible, what would it entail?
Spectrogram from my zoom
My room / speakers setup
Measurements from Burchardt
- ...
- 45 posts total
@mijostyn It seems I need to re-investigate the speaker decoupling subject. I have used the factory spikes under the stands on the tiles for my Wharfdale Linton and it works fine. Bass is agile/nimble to my satisfaction. But I have never try spikes under my Burchardts. I guess these non-intrusive spikes below won't break my bank and worth trying. For the room correction (RC), I do prefer the RC resided in the streamer rather than preamp section so it is processed digitally before the analog conversion. I believe the digital EQ / dsp is more precise than the analog counterpart. Moreoever, I have a pretty decent preamp that I do not wish to be swapped. However, at the mean time, the digital EQ/DSP may sound more clinical / harsh due to its precision. It is sort of double edged sword. Your thoughts? I guess, for the time being, since I have ordered Unison, I may just keep my finger crossed and hope the best. Based on all the good reviews I have read so far, I have no doubt that Unison will do a decent job in RC but just worry about its preamp section may not be up to par.
|
It is always best to use three spikes. They should be driven clean through any carpet and padding into the plywood. Three spikes on tile is OK as long as you lower the speaker gently. The best digital signal processing units sound like whatever you make them sound like. You can create any target curve you like within certain limits. After 25 years of doing this I can look at a curve and tell in a general way what the system will sound like. You can not determine imaging this way. I have to see measurements on each channel separately to get an idea, again in a general way. The best units are now using 64 bit floating point systems with powerful processors. They run at a minimum of 24/192. There is no characteristic sound. It all depends how you program it. Most system like Dirac Live run on their own algorithms leaving you little room to play. You have to accept whatever they do with minor adjustments. With my old Tact and the new DEQX units you can let them do their thing and walk away or you can grab the bull by the horns and program the unit yourself which IMHO produces the best results once you learn what you are doing. |
Sorry for having strong feelings on this...but it was what saved my system/and my speakers from the chopping block.I read an article in galen carol website..."everything matters".This was after searching for some answers on setup.Turned out just some loose spikes under sound anchor stands...Tightened them down/re setup speakers....Totally transforming.Sound stage snapped in,had tight bass,ect.I had to redo setup a skosh... but the work was worth the effort.Sorry for add butt... https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650038696-isoacoustics-gaia-ii-carpet-spikes-2-sets-of-4/ |
- 45 posts total