A1b Review

[chessman]

I have 750 Ninja Masters on risers, but not on spikes. The speakers sit on a carpet over a pad on a concrete floor in the basement. They are crossed at 80H to a pair of subs.

I had resisted using spikes for two reasons. First, the speakers are already top heavy and I did not want to make them more prone to tipping. Second, for reasons that escape me, I seem to have to periodically move the speakers a bit to regain optimal imaging. (probably kids - No, Daddy, we didn't touch your speakers :shiftyeyes:)

After a lot of reading, I wonder if I am making a mistake. Of course, micro-vibrations and floor coupling are a bit beyond me. But what do you all think? Spike? Or no spike?

[PhenomeNhan]

I have 750 Ninja Masters on risers, but not on spikes. The speakers sit on a carpet over a pad on a concrete floor in the basement. They are crossed at 80H to a pair of subs.

I had resisted using spikes for two reasons. First, the speakers are already top heavy and I did not want to make them more prone to tipping. Second, for reasons that escape me, I seem to have to periodically move the speakers a bit to regain optimal imaging. (probably kids - No, Daddy, we didn't touch your speakers :shiftyeyes:)

After a lot of reading, I wonder if I am making a mistake. Of course, micro-vibrations and floor coupling are a bit beyond me. But what do you all think? Spike? Or no spike?

Rockets are more stable without the spikes.

[Kevin R]

Mine are all on spikes (see sig below) and I have kids. The thing I like about the spikes and the kids is if they bump into (which they know not too) they won't move. I've got the concrete, pad, carpet setup like you and the little 'buttons' that are on the floor kind of sink into the carpet and pad and give them quite a sturdy base. I can't vouch for the Rocket series because I've got an 'X' system but mine are rather secure since the weight of them and the spikes coupled to the buttons sink into the floor.

[SteveSatch]

My speakers are not Rockets (x series and Swans), but I do have them on spikes. They are more stable this way. I do not hear any difference in sound.

[lngbruno]

Decoupled here

I have all my speakers decoupled and added mass. They all sit on carpet (two on wood subfloor and the other on a concrete subfloor), so I decided to decouple them from the floor and add some mass loading with leadshot. In my situation, I feel the bass has gotten a little tighter. YMMV especially if you have hardwood floors. The thing to do is to try different things and experiment...live with it for a while and then change it back to see if you notice any difference.

OBTW, I also decoupled and mass loaded my subs - GR Rythmik Servo, Audire, and Vandersteen 2W, before it was replaced by the GR Rythmik sub.

Remember it's all about enjoying the experience of listening to your favorite music. I currently am listening to some great music - Porcupine Tree.

Lou

[BinaryLinguist]

With my 850s, I use the feet from here:

http://www.taylorsales.com/SuperSpikes.htm

Ronm1 pointed me to the site. I didn't want to use the supplied spikes as the 850s would be difficult to move if needed due to the discs and spikes not being coupled. The SuperSpikes are perfect... very similar to the feet supplied with Swan speakers. For me, the 8502 were sitting on hardwood with an unfinished concrete basement beneath it. Between the Superspikes on the 850s and the Auralex Grammas under my MFW-15s, my bass is much tighter.

[Don]

sorry to hi - jack this thread, but had to say hello to Binary, i don't know if you remember, but i am also from Mass, Attleboro actually, i have rs 1ks, bigfoot, 450's and 300- rockets, i got dual rosewood mfw -15 's back in November of 2008, but mine were damaged by UPS, would you believe the replacements are scheduled for delivery for today by UPS- its been a long 9 month wait for sure,

again good to see your username on this board, i just discovered it last week.

again , sorry for the thread jack, but just had to say hello, I will be trying to put my Mfw-15;s on some foam type material i just picked up from toys r us for $25.00

Don
Mass.

[BinaryLinguist]

sorry to hi - jack this thread, but had to say hello to Binary, i don't know if you remember, but i am also from Mass, Attleboro actually, i have rs 1ks, bigfoot, 450's and 300- rockets, i got dual rosewood mfw -15 's back in November of 2008, but mine were damaged by UPS, would you believe the replacements are scheduled for delivery for today by UPS- its been a long 9 month wait for sure,

again good to see your username on this board, i just discovered it last week.

again , sorry for the thread jack, but just had to say hell, I will be trying to put my Mfw-15;s on some foam type material i just picked up from toys r us for $25.00

Don
Mass.

Hey Don,

I packed up both of my MFW-15s last night for UPS to pick up today. My replacements are supposed to ship out next week.

Note: Repacking 2 MFW-15s is not a one man job... I barely survived. :dizzy:

[SnowmaNick]

I prefer spikes for two reasons, one of which you laid out already, once positioned properly for optimal imaging, etc, it is difficult to move the speakers. This difficulty prevents my wife or friends from moving the speakers to facilitate some task. The speakers become "planted" in their locations. The second is that I have uneven floors between the ceramic tile and the area rug. The adjustability of the spikes allows to to level and balance the speaker much more accurately than just leaving it on the floor directly.

Note: Repacking 2 MFW-15s is not a one man job... I barely survived. :dizzy:

I feel you on that, not an easy box to put back together either.

[Cheeseboy]

I have all my speakers decoupled and added mass. They all sit on carpet (two on wood subfloor and the other on a concrete subfloor), so I decided to decouple them from the floor and add some mass loading with leadshot. In my situation, I feel the bass has gotten a little tighter. YMMV especially if you have hardwood floors. The thing to do is to try different things and experiment...live with it for a while and then change it back to see if you notice any difference.

OBTW, I also decoupled and mass loaded my subs - GR Rythmik Servo, Audire, and Vandersteen 2W, before it was replaced by the GR Rythmik sub.

Remember it's all about enjoying the experience of listening to your favorite music. I currently am listening to some great music - Porcupine Tree.

Lou

When you say "Decoupled" what does that mean. I've lost some punch from my Rocket 850's because they are sitting directly on the wood floor. How does one "Decouple" de speakers?

How much lead shot would one add to the Rocket 850's? Does it work for these?

[Don]

Well I received my dual rosewood mfw-15's on friday, delivered by ups - one came in perfect condtion, the other - well - one out of two ain't bad - the second one has about a 3/4 inch ding in the lower front- plus the supplied grill is cracked in 3 places, i took pics of them and forwarded them to av 123 on sunday, av123 already responded and we are negotiating to keep the damaged one as a probable b - stock, i really don't want to send it back, please note that AV123 has been very helpful and gracious, plus supportive over the past several weeks and months, its not their fault sub is damaged, it was packed very well, on a side note, i hooked them up and wow - it is incredible - i listened or rather experienced the "Dark Night" on Blu- ray - it nearly shook my entire house and did not have the gain set past 1/4-

Don

Mass

[lngbruno]

When you say "Decoupled" what does that mean. I've lost some punch from my Rocket 850's because they are sitting directly on the wood floor. How does one "Decouple" de speakers?

How much lead shot would one add to the Rocket 850's? Does it work for these?

It means the opposite of spikes. Spikes cause a speaker to have a connection with the floor and decoupling eliminates the interrelationship of the speaker with the floor. I have used a few different DIYer methods and all have been equally successful. The key is to ensure the decouple platform and material causes any vibrations from being transmitted to the floor and utilizing mass loading, which absorbs any excess cabinet vibrations.

[allan11]

I spiked my mini's using all 4 for each mini. My intention was to reduce the angle of the minis so that they would face more vertical or close to 90 degrees. Using all 4 does not do this job but how will spiking only the rear of the minis have an effect on the decoupling and vibrations you mention? By the way, I accidentally dropped the 100 pound speaker while spiking it right on my finger and it stabbed me pretty deep. This happened while putting the little discs under the spike. skin healed over but I can still feel it and still after 4 months.

[Cheeseboy]

It means the opposite of spikes. Spikes cause a speaker to have a connection with the floor and decoupling eliminates the interrelationship of the speaker with the floor. I have used a few different DIYer methods and all have been equally successful. The key is to ensure the decouple platform and material causes any vibrations from being transmitted to the floor and utilizing mass loading, which absorbs any excess cabinet vibrations.

Do you have any DIY material suggestions? I have recently got my mancard. I now own a few power tools one of them being a power stapler. Whatever you may reccommend as the absorption material I can cover to please the little lady.

The speakers are right on the floor at this time.

[edward]

I have 750 Ninja Masters on risers, but not on spikes. The speakers sit on a carpet over a pad on a concrete floor in the basement. They are crossed at 80H to a pair of subs.

I had resisted using spikes for two reasons. First, the speakers are already top heavy and I did not want to make them more prone to tipping. Second, for reasons that escape me, I seem to have to periodically move the speakers a bit to regain optimal imaging. (probably kids - No, Daddy, we didn't touch your speakers :shiftyeyes:)

After a lot of reading, I wonder if I am making a mistake. Of course, micro-vibrations and floor coupling are a bit beyond me. But what do you all think? Spike? Or no spike?

i have had all of my speakers Rocket 850s, Klipsch and
2 subwoofers from M*n*t*r on as well as off spikes.
And i could not tell one bit of difference in sound character, resolution, soundstage, deeperbass, higher highs
etc. etc.
so now they all sit perfectly well on the carpet no spikes.
:huge: