Speaker Feet: Should I Use Speaker Spikes or Rubber Feet?

[@michaelshoup2703]

First of all, thank you (and Axiom) for these vids.. Tell me, what your thoughts are on 'Flying' speakers? Back in late 2003, I hung my M80's & my VP150 from the ceiling! (I posted a few comments under Home Theaters, on the Axiom Forum back then, under "No Look").. Two wire cables from the top of each, with a third attached to the back, near the bottom.. This was used to pull back, or tilt, the M80's to aim at center seating.. The VP150 was hung above the screen, (Mitsubishi 65" HD RP) such that the face was also directed toward the prime seating.. Used it like this for years, bringing it down in mid 2020, in preparation for an Epson front projector, with much wider screen.. Have not finished that project as yet, so can not comment on any change in sound.. I first did this with a pair of 70's era Sansui SP-2500's.. It was for my home recording studio, and saved a ton of space, and looked AWESOME! LOL.. So, do you have any thoughts on, or experiences with, hanging speakers? It eliminates any surface vibrations, but I've always wondered if it removes any positive speaker characteristics.. ?? PS: YES, it was a pita to get the alignment right and the required breathing space from the corner walls, all while dealing with 60lbs of dead weight! haha..

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

It's an interesting idea, and is widely used in sound reinforcement applications where speakers are strung up on special rigging towers. There can certainly be a benefit in some applications, but the alignment, as you say, can be very tricky. There is also the argument that some acoustic energy is going into moving the loudspeaker, even if ever so slight, as it’s not “anchored”.

[@michaelshoup2703]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters Thank you for the reply.. And yes, the loss of acoustic energy was always something I wondered about as well.. I'll try and remember to update ya all with the results.. Once my floor speakers, after all these years, are back on terra-ferma..

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@michaelshoup2703 Great, keep us posted!

[@FILMITS]

@@michaelshoup2703 I have wood floor boards under my carpet and wanted to reduce vibs from my speakers getting to my record deck so just fitted speaker spikes with pucks underneath,I knew it was going to change my sound in some way but wow! Had to rip the spikes off after 30 mins,I played my first track n thought that sounds strange? Straight to another track n so on for 30 mins,I lost all my lovely deep rich smooth base that I love,I also have a tube preamp in there for the sound I like,the speakers became very tight and punchy and lost the richness,it even started to hurt my ears,so I can say for sure that if you like detailed fine sound hanging and spiking is the way to go but if you want warm rich smooth sounds you have to be on a solid base to dampen the speaker.

[@michaelshoup2703]

@@FILMITS Thanks man.. I'll keep all this in mind.. I'm in the process of repainting my theater room, so I have not fired up the speakers after pulling the down.. Years ago, one of my 1st attempts at setting up my speakers, I placed the M80's on top of the powered subwoofer cabinets.. One of each, left & right.. My son always says, that was the best the system ever sounded.. Again, to him anyway.. That set up may 'also' have added a bit of a buffer between a solid contact with the floor.. ? I'll do my best to post a result to the possible options..

[@JC-bl9bo]

I just put isolation pads under my center channel and to be honest I'm stunned at the difference it made. I have been using them for years for bookshelf mains and bookshelf surrounds but never my center channel. The result is actually huge. Great and informative video.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Thanks! I’m glad the pads resulted in a nice improvement.

[@sheldonduffy9442]

Ditto

[@peters6366]

Good video. I had the privilege of being invoved in the renovation and opening of a live 600 seat theatre. My learning on this issue was from the acoustician involved in the renovation. First the mid & hi freq speakers were suspended in the air, the woofers were on the floor with 4 bumpers each. Secondly, the A/C units on the roof were mounted on huge foam pads to stop sound transmission into the auditorium. Finally a small brick connecting wall with the next bldg had to be removed to minimize bass frequency transmission between the buildings. As always thx for the learning experience here!

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Fantastic examples of acoustic isolation techniques. Thank you for sharing!

[@sheldonduffy9442]

I just got a new center channel… I was listening to it and thinking I really expected it to sound better. I actually thought it only sounded “so so” compared to the NHT SuperCenter I was moving to my primary music listening room. I was actually debating returning the Micca RB42 C because I was so disappointed in the vocals. However, I found the rubber feet that came with it, added the rubber feet and listened again; I was shocked by how much such a simple addition improved the vocal quality of the speaker. I have been using rubber feet on my other speakers YEARS. (Including the NHT SuperCenter) But this is the first time I noticed how significant a difference the rubber feet made.

[@mostirreverent]

I would love to see a video on turntable isolation, taking into account wood or stone platforms, and feet

[@david5oo]

I leveled my LFR 1100’s and I can hear the difference. Thanks for the advice Andrew!!!

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

You’re welcome…it’s such a simple tweak!

[@scottivlow9962]

Hi Andrew, I have 2 small size bookshelf speakers mounted on my wall with the little padded feet that came with them placed on the back. I'm going to eventually use silicone pads on the back where the existing pads are. I want just a little more gap between the wall and the speakers. It didn't occur to me until today that on Amazon there are isolation pads made for Sound bars. So I plan on getting my soundbar decoupled from the shelf rather than how it sits on the thin rubber feet that came with it. I don't need to do this but it's now a major want in making it better from its current height.

[@HenryKlausEsq.]

Great video. Covered things with clear explanations, examples, included chapters and didn't waste the viewers time. Thank you.

[@JohnnyAllan-vj7sj]

I bought a 12 dollar 17.5x29.5 rubber drainage mat from Home Depot. I cut it up to fit two sets of monitors and it works beautifully

[@32toddv]

I have large heavy tower speakers and subs as well on Berber carpet in my home. Metal spikes installed on all and leveled, keeps them from rocking.

[@fighterguy0]

What should i use for speakers on a wooden desk? foam, spikes or rubber feet?

[@timberray9572]

When I bought my first set of decent quality towers two decades ago I never liked the feet it came with. About a year after I was in a furniture store looking at feet to raise up my couch a little and I saw these four inch feet that I knew would look good under my speakers, little did I know how much it would improve the sound of them and I have been a tweaker on a budget ever since.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Great find, and good looking is a nice bonus!

[@damianhaber4890]

I use small rubber feet on my bookshelf speakers. I use huge rubber feet for my subwoofer, it made a difference over the plastic feet that was supplied!

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Yes, if they were hard plastic, a softer material can make a difference on a subwoofer.

[@teleguy5699]

Plus, I have an acoustic pad for my subwoofers.

[@Mongodaze234]

Good straight forward video! I would like to get your opinion if I could..starting from bottom to top: I have wooden floor boards on a concrete slab than steel stands with sorbothane strips on top then a 100mm slab of sandstone as a base for the speakers. On top of the slab are 4 sorbothane hemisphere domes and my big speaker boxes sit on those. Do you think sorbothane has an affect on the sound? Should I use spikes between cabinet & sandstone?

[@patrickearl2038]

Thank you, very much. I was trying to find the the best way to place my speakers on carpet, and this has helped a great deal. Thank you.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Glad the video helped, and thank you for taking the time to comment.

[@larryh.4629]

Thank you, you explained it well to me I just ordered some avp pads I'm hoping they will work in my case but heard good things about them hope it converts to good listening. Comments?

[@germanudo1]

Good explanation.......TY. .....But I still have a question. What about a Double wide MH ? I've Carpet on a particleboard Flooring. And a sloped ceiling. Is there any hope ? ....lol

[@buddywalker8855]

Andrew, I’m using my reconditioned 1976 JBL L-100’s (so called bookshelf speakers) 55 lb’s each with original walnut stands from JBL. I believe they’re approx 33* angled up from floor. Gives a nice profile to the speakers. Never had any vibration issues whether on carpet, or hardwood floors. They are set up in my living room with wall to wall carpet. Do you suggest any other option, or product that may be better in this case. Look forward to your vids, keep up the good work!

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Thanks! Those angled stands were an integral part of the design of the L100’s and I suspect they would not sound as good on taller, “level” stands. I’d stick with what you’re doing!

[@joshuaenriquez8899]

Well I appreciate your detail on the subject I personally from experience know that using spikes on a subwoofer on any hard surface including carpet with padding over concrete with violent vibrations the speaker will actually jump around creating nasty vibrations and noise so my personal experiences that while I understand the transmission of low frequency vibration to the foundation is a plus you need a very heavy cabinet or enclosure to keep it in place I know it seems a bit Overkill to drill a redhead or bolt into the concrete either around the exterior of the cabinet using l brackets to bolt it down it also drill through the cabinet itself by removing the subwoofer and putting either one single bolt through the middle or three or four in each corner about 2 3 in away from the sides so you can access the nut and washer to keep it from jumping around again this is with violent vibrations whatever it takes to keep the damn thing in place personally my subwoofer has rubber feet sits there stays in place on the carpet and just kind of vibrates moves around a little bit but stays in place so well I appreciate you are detail spikes did not work well in this case quite awful noise came from the speaker the weight of your speaker is a big factor hope this helps

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

This is very true, and I don’t believe I referred to subwoofers in the video. I should have been more clear, but I also recommend a compliant foot for subwoofers. They are not usually very tall, so you don’t need to worry about stability.

[@fredmccarroll3476]

My Klipsch floorstanding speakers and Klipsch down firing sub came with pre-installed speaker spikes.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Then you’re good to go as that’s likely what the manufacturer feels is the best solution.

[@andrewcastro2530]

I have wood floor. Could I use a rubber backed piece of square tile and set the spikes on that?

[@paulaj2829]

With piece of mind I have gone with 4 spikes per Speaker through the carpets to the concrete.. that works for me.. but again each to his own is best..

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Sounds good to me.

[@DJkwaz]

I've seen pictures where people place slabs of stone, like granite or marble, underneath their speakers. Is there any sonic benefit to doing that?

[@TownGirl04]

I need Speaker Feet for my tower speakers. I have zero idea where you buy them.

[@king5557]

Thank you for this video, I understand the sound differences in the low frequencies of the speakers between rubber feet and spikes as you say, but are there no audibly differences in the high frequencies of the floor speakers when I use either rubber feet or spikes?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Depending on the surface your speakers are sitting on, there can certainly be an impact to mid and high frequencies, although it will be less apparent than changes in bass.

[@lamptl3607]

My understanding is that most bookshelf speakers do not have threaded holes at their bottom. So could you suggest how to add adjustable speaker feet if it is a must? I know that there are hardwood plates that have four threaded holes for mounting feet. If bookshelf speakers are to stand on such kinds of plates, again that may be multiple points of contact that create instability. Could you enlighten me further on how to solve this problem of applying feet?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

There are manufacturers that make adjustable footers for smaller speakers and you can always use a “plate” with spikes or other feet. As long as they are adjustable you should be able to level them so they are stable. Self-adhesive rubber bumpers can also work.

[@domingobermudez6780]

I used a piece of inch thick piece of plywood,cut it to the size of the bottom of my RF-7’s II. Then laid the pieces of plywood on the carpet and set the speakers on top. It improved the bass.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Interesting that it would make a difference. Is there anything between the speaker and plywood or the plywood and the carpet?

[@domingobermudez6780]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters the feet of the speakers is resting on the plywood,now the bass is not too boomy. Try it and let me know what you think.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@domingobermudez6780 oh, so you have essentially put a small “hard flooring” area under the speakers on top of the carpet. Sounds like it’s helping.

[@domingobermudez6780]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters yes sir.

[@bartvandromme7980]

Are you recommending using isoacoustics speaker isolators like GAIA type for floorstanding speakers? Does it make any audible difference with or without GAIA isolators in your experience?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

I have not had any direct experience with the isocoustics products, but I DO know that they are actually engineered and not just some nice looking (and expensive) audiophile tweak. They have the measurements to prove it.

[@MegaM563]

It is my experience that using any kind of rubber feet on a hard (concrete) floor, will make the speakers slightly swing forwards and backwards when playing music. Doest this mean that this counteracts the driver movement and therefore changes the sound in a bad way?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

This is an age-old argument, and there is some truth to it on a very small scale. However, the decoupling using rubber feet can offer much greater benefits that some microscopic loss of output.

[@shanedobbie8206]

Granite chopping boards (under the speaker or stands) and Russ Andrews Oak Cone feet.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Interesting idea!

[@status101-danielho6]

I’m currently having difficulty finding an angled speaker base large enough to get my M5HP completely off the floor (for my use case and placement, that’s why I bought them). I’m using 15° angled silicone stands for much smaller bookshelves for now, but it’s not ideal. Any possibility of expanding your stand line-up?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Have you looked at the Auralex products? I believe they make wedge stands.

[@status101-danielho6]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters I had a quick look. I equate foam with disposable packing material, so I have a hard time wanting to pay those prices no matter their merits.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@status101-danielho6 Maybe true, but foam comes in many different types and is regularly used for acoustics. Our tweeters use a foam plug to damp the venting chamber.

[@StarcraftGT500]

What about using foam between your stand and your speaker?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

A harder foam that does not completely compress can work, but over time most foam will tend to compact and loose the ability to provide some decoupling. That’s why rubber materials are normally used.

[@mikeeygauthier2959]

I soAcoustics Oreas… hands-down!!

[@JavierGenolet65]

Hello, good morning. Very good concepts in the video, just a small criticism: you used a dark background to make it and you yourself used a dark t-shirt, so the elements you showed, also black, were not well appreciated. Greetings and thanks for the video

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Thanks for the criticism, it's a great point! Will do better in future. Thanks for taking the time to say so.

[@OffTheWallreviews]

Why do some manufacture sell the base that makes the front baffle not be straight up and down and or level?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

It could be for time alignment, but I have also seen some stands that are tilted. This was popular back years ago but is not a good idea unless the speakers were intended to have the baffle angled.

[@teleguy5699]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters My EP100 center channel below my TV is tilted upward. It's only about 2 feet off the floor. You say that's not good Andrew?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@teleguy5699 No, nothing wrong with that at all. It would be my recommendation if the location is fixed.

[@teleguy5699]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters Thanks!

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@teleguy5699 any time, you are welcome!

[@eenig8730]

What about Carpet under floor speaker ?

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

I always prefer spikes if the speakers are going to be on carpet as they will be much more stable and less prone to “rocking”.

[@eenig8730]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters thx for answer. I ended up putting spikes, and the som 4mm thick rubber under the spike. Dont want holes in the Carpet:)

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@eenig8730 excellent, hope it's working well for you.

[@vildebill2000]

Never understood why speakers dont have 3 feets. With 3 points on the floor they would never wiggle or loose contact even if the floor is not perfectly flat

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Yes, and some speakers do, but with a large tower speaker it can become a tip hazard.

[@NotSure723]

I'm still not hearing a coherent argument for coupling a speaker to the floor, other than "it'll make it unstable on carpet"...

[@Funkywallot]

My take on this : When speakers are decoupled from the surface , it will create a loop of vibrational energy in a feedback config . And the energy has to dissipate somewhere, in this case the speaker enclosure will have to take care of the problem. If vibrational energy contained to the enclosing only, it will resonate , because there is no other way to dissipate the energy. And that is not what the typical speaker enclosure was designed for. I have myself done trial and error with sorbotane pods to decouple my speakers from the surface. I ended up with not using them anymore, because with the sorbotane pods its sounded just so weird, compared to just leaving them coupled to the surface. Just be sure to use reference music that you are extremely familiar with, and you will definately hear a difference

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I have found many cases where coupling does not work as well as decoupling in some situations over the years. Older houses with suspended wood floors are an example. It’s best to try out both options to see which one performs better with your system and room.

[@johnholmes912]

filed stands is the answer to that

[@rogerjames6956]

Why would you put bookshelf speakers on the floor?

[@davidcox3833]

Three feet better than four in my opinion.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

It depends. If you can make the loudspeaker stable with three feet, that’s great. With some floors you need to support of four points. There is also the very real tip issue with three feet.

[@LemonySnicket-EUC]

Define better if you could.

[@Baton.D.SKATman.D]

Always sit flat on three

[@DrSlots-hs4if]

Large surface, sure... but... great quality speakers, I mean really great speakers (studio monitors) should NOT vibrate. That is the reason to why some built cement speakers a while back. They should be as dead as possible. So do you need spikes or rubber knobs? The answer is no if the speakers is of good quality.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Everything vibrates at some frequency…even something like concrete. If you’re interested, look up the story of the original Celestion SL700 to show how things can go very wrong if you go for nothing other than maximum cabinet stiffness and forget about dissipating the energy produced by the drivers.

[@DrSlots-hs4if]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters , thank you for the reply. I just mean that the vibrations in the speaker cabinets are so small that there is no way to hear them while mixing, and by that I mean the transfer of vibrations to a mixing desk top or furniture, meaning they won't affect any mix, so therefor the spikes/rubber knobs will not matter at all. Please perform a blind test with and without the spikes, you will agree I'm sure. However, they create a "cool" and a professional look (fun for less pro people). Just have a look at Bob Clearmountain's studios, Warren Huart (Produce like a pro), Dave Pensado etc. They are real pro's, they know their sound and that's enough. They do not use spikes or such. There are many more professional mixers that do not use spikes. However, it is a great selling point for those who create and sell these products, most often to those home "studio" owners. There are so many claims to why audio products are needed, but with blind tests several products can be proven they do not make a difference. I, for example, programmed a blind test for the internet regarding audio cables. I was so tired of users in a forum arguing they sure could hear the difference between different audio cables, so I created a blind test with several versions of an audio track the user could freely switch between where only one was a clean signal with an undamaged cable. The other signals ran through a potato, an apple, a screw etc... No one could tell the difference! This was a few years back. So a blind test will for sure show that you won't hear any difference with or without spikes. Also, listen to all those really great albums that was produced and mixed without spikes or such, like for example the Dire Straits "Brothers in arms" album. Only one thing matters the most; know your sound! Do a blind test, please, I'm sure I'm right!

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

@@DrSlots-hs4if One big difference that you might not be taking into account is that many studios will have poured concrete floors to minimize noise transmission, and in that case feet or spikes would make little difference. On a suspended wood floor it’s a completely different animal.

[@DrSlots-hs4if]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters Of course there's better with a concrete floor especially in areas like vocal recording rooms etc if treated right, but regarding the spikes and vibrations at home or in a studio mixing room that is said to be audible through a floor or any other surface, the level of "noise" is so low that it is impossible for a human to hear especially when playing music/audio. If this would be a disturbing noise, if it would be true, then you couldn't play any sound from any speaker because that too will generate vibrations far more audible in objects that is not wanted, and far more audible too, because that is what sound is, vibrations, and those second vibrations from objects are far more audible than what is transferred from the speaker enclosure itself, meaning the sound waves from the speaker cones will create far higher levels of vibrations in objects that exist in any room. I also created a test to see if anyone could hear dithering at low levels because most people said it was audible. These people couldn't hear any difference at all at different levels. This is why I say you cannot hear any difference. People "think" they can hear these vibrations, but they do not. Again, the spikes look cool and professional, but that is just because people think they really make a difference, when they do not regarding what you actually can hear. I found my tests, but sadly I cannot have you test them because Adobe do not longer support this programming language, nor do the web servers or browsers.

[@jakobhjriismarkussen3758]

Very confusing examination pf the cpncepts: coupling vs decoupling. Especially when aesthetics all of a sudden was drawn in to explain why some people would not use spikes on their wooden floor! This is not rocket science. Spikes couples. Isolators isolates. What to use depends on your preferences, but remember the floor construction is important to consider. Spikes on a floating floor is a bad combination, because the speakers will make the floor sing along. If you use spikes you should have a solid concrete floor.

[@andrewaajohnson7584]

Springs work the best.Try and hear.I don't think that you will be disappointed.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Do you have an example of a product you have used? I can see that a very stiff spring might work, but a soft suspension of any sort tends to be a bad idea with loudspeakers. You want to immobilize them as much as possible.

[@michnygaard]

To me it sounds that no one can actually prove if or if not spikes should be used. Can you hear difference in a blindtest? Naaaahhhh…..

[@fabiobruzzone4625]

Someone uses three tennis balls.

[@AxiomHomeTheaters]

Unless cut in half, I’d be worried they would not be very stable.

[@fabiobruzzone4625]

@@AxiomHomeTheaters you could carve or turn three semi-sferic holes in order to hold the top of the balls in their position and get it more stable.

[@PP-nh1lv]

You know...

[@ronfrancois]

Ya'know

[@spiritualhealingminds]

just buy some chair rubber feet and save lots of money... they do the same job and cost cents

[@pwnzstar]

for a youtube channel that talks about speakers and improving sound. Majority of your videos have horrible sound quality.

[@TheAquaMammal]

Anyone count how many times this guy said “you know”? Please don’t make anymore videos!

[@esotericist]

were you abused as a child? its OK to smile.

[@Forty2de]

get lost. We come here for his expertise, not for appearances like it's some marketing facade. I find it more trustworthy when they appear genuine.

[@esotericist]

it's still OK to smile. Occasionally.@@Forty2de