why spikes under speakers???

S7horton...Woofers do not move speaker enclosures. To answer this perrenial question (in my own mind) I have suspended speakers with rope and looked for movement. None observed. None at all. Others who have actually suspended speakers agree. People who sell spikes disagree.

Pbowne...Air space below the speaker will permit the LF pressure wave to pass below the enclosure. This has nothing to do with the wavelength of the sound. Tall skinny speaker stands will do the same.

Pbowne: Correct, but totally off-base. You are right that 1-3 inches of space won't do anything to affect the transmission of low bass sound waves. Unfortunately, that's not the transmission that's in play here. What spikes help with is reduction of the transmission of vibrational energy from cabinet resonance due to a reduction in contact surface area between speaker cabinet and floor. Cabinet resonance isn't only caused by low frequency waves...any frequency can cause it. Which frequency does cause it in a particular speaker is determined solely by that speaker's cabinet design and construction.

To answer your question, the answer is no. Think of it this way...your ear canal/eardrum is only about 3/8ths of an inch across, does that mean we can't hear any frequency with a wavelength longer than that? Low frequency waves, as you correctly point out, have huge wavelengths. Unlike higher frequency waves, these suckers don't care about walls, or even our heads and simply pass right through. You will still hear them just fine, provided they are still in the audible range, that is. It is standing waves that are affected by room size, not sound waves coming directly from the speaker. Hope that helps...

I placed spike under my speakers cuz it look good..

Eldartford is correct. No decently made cabinet is going to be moved by a lightweight little driver. Vibrated/resonated, yes, but pumped back and forth by a driver...no way. Eldartford's experiment is the perfect way to prove that and to clarify what he said: Idiots who don't know why they sell spikes disagree.

S7horton, that cell phone on vibrate isn't moving in response to a driver since in vibrate mode it isn't connected to one. It's moving in response to a small electric motor with its driveshaft connected to one side of a small weight, purposely creating an unbalanced rotation. Take one apart, if you doubt me. Ever had sore muscles? It's the exact same system used to make a massager.

Some spikes are more cone shaped than others. Cones run one way when it comes to vibration. They 'drain' vibration from the speaker cabinet and dont permit vibration from traveling up from the floor. Thats why with cones under components and stands you get less vibration.
As for speakers moving, I have seen speakers and subs "walk". Its the vibration of the cabinet that you are trying to reduce. A drivers motion will be more precise if its 'working against' a solid stationary baffle to start and stop from , as opposed to a vibrating baffle. Spikes ususally improve the sound by giving the drivers a less resonant platform so they work better and also by reducing the sound you may hear from the cabinet itself.