Spikes - they really are that good!

drumminman

Got my solid brass spikes from Meniscus last week, installed them and finally was able to sit and listen for a couple of hours last night. I turned off the sub woofer in order to really hear any changes.

First I played Delbert Mclinton's Hits on cd. This is not noted for low bass material. In fact, the bass player sounds like his tone very mid-rangey. In the past I've noticed that the whole recording sounds fairly flat and compressed with the bass somewhat in the background. Great tunes, but the recording, not so much. Last night the bass really stood out in the soundstage; every note clear and easy to follow.

Next up was Susan Tedeschi. If you haven't checked her out you should. Great vocalist who blends elements of Bonnie Raitt & Janis Joplin with her own style. Her band is killer too, with an especially good bass player. Heard lots of clean low notes that simply were not audible before installing the spikes.

Finally, I spun The Band's The Last Waltz remastered 4 CD set. This version sounds substantially better than the previous cd I had. I played most of CD #4. My favorite track is The Weight, featuring the Staple Singers. Rick Danko's bass playing is really good on this song; lots of syncopation. Last night I heard every note he played. Also, I heard lots of Hammond B-3 organ on tracks in which I didn't realize it was there.

Other changes I'm hearing include an improvement in mid range clarity. Totally unexpected, but definitely there. A thickness evident during some female vocals disappeared. Also, the transient response for things like drums, picked string instruments, percussion, etc. is better with a more realistic attack. Overall the sound is smoother and more relaxed, but more lifelike as well.

Before last night I wondered if I would if the spikes would have any effect, or if any change would be too subtle to matter much. Now, I'm a believer. Great cheap tweak!

sda2mike

yes...they are revealing...

heiney9

Everything Matters -- madmax

H9

george daniel

mine are sharp too

steveinaz

Spikes really snap a speaker into focus. A "must have" in my opinion, for any speaker.

decal

I turned off the sub woofer in order to really hear any changes.

Maybe your sub is not integrated correctly into your system? Just a thought.:idea:

evhudsons

I had the same reaction. You and I are alike I think Drumminman, in that we both are recently updating our SDA's, doing the recommended tweaks and having the same reactions. I didn't realize that spikes should be at the top of the list with the other upgrades, but apparently they are. I still don't fully understand why, but the change isn't a stretch subjectively, it's distinct.

Last night I was playing some bass heavy music thinking my sub was on, then I realized it wasn't. The CRS+ was putting out subwoofer quality bass. I have the speakers far from the wall, so the projection forward was not much but standing behind them it was awesome for small speakers.

the spikes work wonders for the clarity and improving the overall soundstage for me too. I have the cheap slender spikes that screw on. I tried to get the spikes you got, but they are always sold out. Does brass over other material make a big difference I wonder? Glad to see another SDA polkie getting the same reactions I'm getting. We are not alone!

and great madmax quote, love it.

pdxfj

I was of the mindset that they were never really necessary, but I bought a couple of sets with the Polk deal. Installed them on my A7's and was amazed at the difference. Quite impressive.

Tempted to install half of my second set on my sub (which is sitting a subdude).

Polkersince85

I have not installed mine yet but I expect the same benefits as discussed above when I install them to my 2.3TLs. What I have been impressed with is the communication and service from Mark and his crew at Meniscus. They seem to care and want to do business with us.

I know they were probably slammed with orders from the Polk deal but they came through with great service and a lot of effort. I plan to do business with them again. These folks are for real.

BlueFox

Some people think sonic improvements from vibration elimination are the same as improvements from better speaker wire and inter-connects; that is it really doesn't exist. Of course, they are wrong on both parts. I'm glad you are hearing the difference.

For the next step, try putting all your gear on brass footers. I use the Mapleshade Micropoints on everything, and as I added the footers to each piece of gear the sound became clearer and clearer. It is amazing how much better the sound gets as vibration is reduced in each piece of gear in the chain.

Have fun!

Toolfan66

Spikes are a must IMHO!!!

BlueFox is spot on!!!!!!!!!!!

evhudsons

I did get an email from them when supply was in. It was my slowness in ordering. I'll call them and preorder. I think brass will help from what I read, plus the look nice. I did the spikes last, so they most certainly the reason for the change. The other tweaks are part of the puzzle, but spiking is no myth. I find it scientiffically proven, and a profound fact.

drumminman

evhudsons wrote: »

I had the same reaction. You and I are alike I think Drumminman, in that we both are recently updating our SDA's, doing the recommended tweaks and having the same reactions. I didn't realize that spikes should be at the top of the list with the other upgrades, but apparently they are. I still don't fully understand why, but the change isn't a stretch subjectively, it's distinct.

Last night I was playing some bass heavy music thinking my sub was on, then I realized it wasn't. The CRS+ was putting out subwoofer quality bass. I have the speakers far from the wall, so the projection forward was not much but standing behind them it was awesome for small speakers.

the spikes work wonders for the clarity and improving the overall soundstage for me too. I have the cheap slender spikes that screw on. I tried to get the spikes you got, but they are always sold out. Does brass over other material make a big difference I wonder? Glad to see another SDA polkie getting the same reactions I'm getting. We are not alone!

and great madmax quote, love it.

EVH, my speaker placement is less than ideal as well. Due to the layout of the LR, I have plenty of room either side, but I can't get them close to the wall behind them. I've been struggling to get the bass where I thought it should be in terms of level in the mix and tactile sensation.

I've done lots of mods for this, and just out of curiosity to see how good these can sound. The spikes have been one of the cheaper and more effective mods. The speaks have more slam and yet sound more relaxed with them in place.

Still undecided about whether or not to turn on the subwoofer. The speaks are putting out better bass now, but the room/placement prevents it from being as present in the lower register. When I use the sub (sealed btw) at somewhat low volume it fills this in nicely, and blends so that you don't realize the sound it puts out is not coming from the 2.3TL's.

We'll see. . . i'll let the solen inductors burn in a little more and then decide.

drumminman

Polkersince85 wrote: »

I have not installed mine yet but I expect the same benefits as discussed above when I install them to my 2.3TLs. What I have been impressed with is the communication and service from Mark and his crew at Meniscus. They seem to care and want to do business with us.

I know they were probably slammed with orders from the Polk deal but they came through with great service and a lot of effort. I plan to do business with them again. These folks are for real.

Interested in your opinion on what, if any, changes you hear.

Mark kept me well informed, and shipped promptly. What I like about these spikes is they're made locally, and milled (not cast) from billet brass. I'd do business with Meniscus again, definitely.

evhudsons

Yeah, because of my speaker placement, I use the subwoofer as needed. I have mine tuned in to just a little more bass than what the CRS+ is producing, so it blends in very nice, and during movies can handle the lfe channel fine. I wonder if there was a way to put something behind the speaker blended in to redirect the bass towards the front. I'm fine with my setup though, and for general music purposes the bass is just fine without the subwoofer. I would imagine though your speakers should still output plenty of bass.
I sealed my drivers which reallly helped a lot, more than even when the speakers were new. If you get good clean bass, you might just use your sub for the lfe channel and select the right crossover frequency. I am not knowledgeable about this, and am still searching for help and answers for this.

Michael8it

I have a pair of 12B's in original 12 cabinets on stands. Does the stand do the same job as spikes, or am I better off investing in a set of spikes as well?

F1nut

Stands raise a speaker to the proper height, they do not replace spikes. In your case, you would want to add spikes to the stands.

JimAckley

^^^ what he said!

It's funny how, when I first bought my LSi25s, I was in college and installed the included spikes just to keep them from being so wobbly and chance them getting knocked over as easily (which thankfully never happened regardless). I never realized how many more ways I was benefiting myself by installing them until I started coming around here. I spiked my stands for my JBL E50s for the exact same reason... stability. It just made sense to have them well-planted.

Good thread with good info!

BlueFox

JimAckley wrote: »

I spiked my stands for my JBL E50s for the exact same reason... stability. It just made sense to have them well-planted.

Stability is certainly a desirable trait, but the micro-vibration elimination that spikes provide, which results in increased clarity, is a better benefit from an audio perspective.

JimAckley

Right, but my point is that I started spiking 7 years ago when I was a senior in high school and didn't realize how beneficial it really was

steveinaz

My bookshelf stands are spiked w/brass footers on a clay tile (room is carpeted), the speakers sit on cork discs attached to the stand mount plate.

chadam44

Always thought they were just for stability, never knew they could cause changes in the sound of the speakers. Gonna hafta do some trial and error with some large bookshelves/small towers that I am building to see if I hear a difference.

steveinaz

Spiking is especially effective if you want tighten things up a bit, and moving your speakers out into the room more is not an option.

apc

BlueFox wrote: »

Stability is certainly a desirable trait, but the micro-vibration elimination that spikes provide, which results in increased clarity, is a better benefit from an audio perspective.

Do all spike-less speakers suffer from micro-vibration? I've never heard of it. My two channel pair are sitting on carpet. They came with spikes, but I've never installed them. Glad I stumbled on this thread. Now it's time to try something new.

evhudsons

when you get to a level of sound appreciation the difference is less than subtle. In my vibrating unsealed old convertible car the sound difference would probably be very difficult to discern, but at home with good equipment and an ear that listens rather than hears, the difference can be profound. I have smaller speakers than most here, and wood floors. I tried both the brass spikes which are slightly thicker, and the cheaper ones that are really sharp spikes. I wound up using the sharp spikes even on the floor. The weight of my speakers isn't enough to cause real damage, and the point is so small that it would be hard to find. I have dogs with nails and their paw swipes are much easier to see.

I wasn't expecting much change but was and still am in utter shock and amazement in the audible changes spiking made. There are several mods that made a big difference and that is certainly one of them. You wouldn't think MICRO vibration control would cause such a big change, but it does for whatever reason.

Spike em Danno

PreCd

I have spikes on order from a company located at the North Pole. They should arrive on the Morning of Dec. 25th.........

apc

evhudsons wrote: »

Spike em Danno

Well put. I'll do it as soon as I can and report back. Have always been suspicious that carpet absorbed bass anyway.

jaycam

Is it possible to spike the Monitor60 II? I think the feet on them come to a rounded point...does that come off so I can screw in some spikes?

Drenis

What would be recommended for subs that have NO feet of ANY kind? (e.g. - Rubber feet, Spikes...)

My Velodyne VX-10's, one has rubber feet (Stacked on top of the other unit which has NO feet of any kind). They are placed on carpet.

My A9's are spiked with factory spikes and I definitely enjoy the sound.

EndersShadow

Drenis wrote: »

What would be recommended for subs that have NO feet of ANY kind? (e.g. - Rubber feet, Spikes...)

My Velodyne VX-10's, one has rubber feet (Stacked on top of the other unit which has NO feet of any kind). They are placed on carpet.

My A9's are spiked with factory spikes and I definitely enjoy the sound.

Auralex Subdude HD, OR get a nice big piece of tile and spike that, then put your sub on top.

Drenis

EndersShadow wrote: »

Auralex Subdude HD

Will look that up. Thanks!