Simple question spikes into or isolated from wood floorboards...

Boz.

I have always enjoyed the sound from the SBL the best when the spikes interface direct with the floor.
This seems to take the treble and give a smoother presentation.

Once the spikes go onto 2 pences, there is a slight difference.

I have tired them in all sorts of configurations, and normally come back to direct to floor.

Its worth mentioning I have that laminate wood flooring not real floors. I also insure the spikes are as low in the speaker as possible, done up tight and all four have good contact.

Of course you have different speakers, so may wish to ditch this advise.

Using coins to stop the spikes bonding with the floorboards helped my Kans get their punch back. Changing the coins for a pair of Mana Soundbases was a enormous improvement (better than the flatcap that I've just added to my 72).

However, I have weedy floorboards, so YMMV.

some two decades ago, half-consciously, I was aware of the fact that speaker spikes on wooden floor kept on moving. The effect can be described exactly. First the sound is good and lively, then after some days everything goes blooey, treble quality degrades severely, upper bass increases but not the right way. Sometimes you lift the speakers, put them a few mm away - and the cycle begins again. (That time, I remember, I tried some ceramic underplates as well as screws as seen at Linn/Naim dealers but I did not liked it.)

Recently, now with a CDS/72/Hicap(then Scap)/250/sbls and especially with my imitated Fraims, I tried the idea of Fraimchips (imitated as well of stainless steel). Well, the effect is somewhat strange, but after a few hours it’s simply impossible to go back onto the naked floor. There is absolutely no contest.

IMHO the better your system the more you realize the necessity of the chips.

graphoman

Graph, I have the fraim chips, and I took them off the SBLs today.

Just goes to show this hifi game is full of opinion!

Graphoman,

Did you ever consider modifying the cups by drilling a shallow dimple into the center of the cups to allow for more repeatable or consistant centering of the cones (effectively ensuring the cones *stay centered and never touch* the side walls of the cups which degrades the sound)?

IMO, this the one weakness of the Fraim..and though workable, it's tough to ensure the cones stay off those side walls with normal, everyday bumps and jars the Fraim is likely to experience.

regards,

dave

I've got a Stands Unique support on 1900 vintage suspended timber floor. I bought a set of their Spike Feet - brass 1" diam, quite thick with a tiny hole for centring the spikes. These work fine. The speaker stands though go straight into the floor-boards, I havn't tried the Spike Feet with them, but for a total outlay of £18 for 8 it could be worth a try.

David

quote:

---

Originally posted by David Stewart:
I bought a set of their Spike Feet - brass 1" diam, quite thick with a tiny hole for centring the spikes. These work fine.
David

---

I really wish Naim would consider modifying the cups with a dimple like this. This affects every shelf in a Fraim array (and is quite audible if the cones touch the shelf cups--as big a difference as an empty shelf makes under a source component with the Fraim stand)

regards,

dave

Boz,
I have problems with spikes penetrating carpet and thick underlay over tongue and groove with its inherant problem of spikes landing in the groove, the only solution being to sit on them and push the spikes hard into the wood. The other alternative was to sit the spikes onto screws in the floor, neither idea worked for me.

What i have done is screwed 3 cross head screws (in a triangle) into the floor under each spike and placed a small piece of ply on top of the 3screws, then place speaker on top of the small ply "pads". Speaker becomes rigid but is not coupled to floor.Noticeably less bass through floor and sound more dynamic, and it was cheap. Hope pic helps.

I bought 2 40 x 40 Cm paving slabs at homebase for £3.00 and put them under the stands on my Briks'. Made a hell of an improvement.

Yours in Music

Syd

May I flag up also, that if you ever are renewing the carpet in your listening room, that you may wish to review the floor construction. I ditched my floorboards for 25mm T&G flooring grade chipboard screwed to the floor joists. I used lots of screws. Very cheap and very easy. Nice & flat too!!

quote:

---

I ditched my floorboards for 25mm T&G flooring grade chipboard screwed to the floor joists

---

May be a good solution in modern houses where the boards are probably not very substantial anyway, but hardly likely to please those with period houses and original floorboards.

David

Well, not necessarily true. My boards were 120 years old and totally knackered from years of abuse by electricians, plumbers etc etc. I had to replace the joists because of rot, and it went from there really. It was only a Saturdays work all in. It was only ever to be a carpeted room.