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Best reasonable$ upgrade from spikes?

I just read an article that suggested staying away from spike shoes that incorporate rubber into their design saying it messes with the dynamics. I have had target audio spike shoes (which are of this design) under my speakers for about 6 months to protect the wood floor. So I take them away and now the bass characteristics have changed dramatically. I was shocked. Who knew? Lost the Boom but now the dynamic balance is...er, different.. Suddenly the room has stopped resonating with overpowering bass frequencies (very specific notes) but it also seems like the contrast has washed over a bit. Like everything has taken a step back. I need a bit more volume and the balance is better but I need more definition. Have been recently been upgrading my IC's and AC mains so I have lost a bit of perspective. I know these are not the problem though. Don't want to spend as much as the aurios but want to change from the supplied spikes. (speakers are Linn Ninkas) Thanks for your input.
stuartbranson
ohlala
1,234 posts
 
I am not a fan of Star Sound. The speaker spikes I bought from them left rings in cabinet. I called them to see if I could trade to the larger diameter spikes, but they wouldn't do it. They said the problem was with how the cabs' wood was curred (sp?) because brass was too soft to scratch wood. "B.S." says me. My larger stock spikes didn't leave any marks. Anyways, I'd be really surprised if there was a difference in sound between AP and BDR for the Ninkas.
crp's avatar
crp
38 posts
 
Stuartbranson,

Is your floor wood frame or concrete slab? I would like to throw a twist into the discussion here. In my room the floor is flexible and is easily set to vibrating by the speakers. When the floor and walls (and equipment rack for that matter) vibrate, that is very bad. The music is muddy, sound stage obscured, bass is smeared, loss of pace. Very nasty. You can feel the vibration with your hands (on speaker, floor, racks, etc). You can get an idea of the grunge it adds to the music by listening with your ear against the floor, speaker, etc.

In my system, solid aluminum cones (generic brand) improved things somewhat (OK, a lot!). MUCH better than cones were 1/2" thick pads of sorbothane. Still better yet were stainless metal springs (better pace and "PRAT" than the sorbothane).

In my case the speaker's vibration is being isolated from the floor. If you have concrete slab, the points would probably work better for you - hopefully to reduce vibration of the box by "grounding" it. My guess is that the rubber or other non-linear material is not a good thing.

What do you other lads think? What kind of floor do you have?

Cheers
Charlie
stuartbranson OP
183 posts
 
Good point Charlie. Wood frame and thus suffering from all the symptoms you describe. I can feel those particularly boomy bass notes through the soles of my feet. Think i'll try the foot test in my experiments.
larryken
537 posts
 
I changed from threaded screws to the Nordost and got more coherent sound plus deeper base. Go figure!
ksales
228 posts
 
Lak is right dramatic doesn't mean much. Anyway thats about the best I could do in a rush. Brulee has done a very good job of describing these and is more eloquent on the subject.
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