Strabo Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 Over the 14 years with my Forte 2's I've gone through, Two integreted amps, A pre-amp, and second amp on order, Two cd players and SACD player, Couple of sets of speaker cables, Three different brands of patch cords. Couple rolls of Dynamat, New caps in the crossover, And two subwoofers later I find that the best upgrade was the cheapest and easiest to do. I added carpet spikes tonight, put on the Cars Greatest Hits (DCC) and holy moly that's some impactful bass. edit: man, even the sweet spot got bigger. Why don't these things come from the factory with spikes? Question for those that have added spikes, did you do 3 or 4 per speaker? I did 4 but I'm thinking of dropping down to 3, two in the front 1 in the back to make it easier to balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornPenguin Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 There are a good deal of speaker models that do come with spikes. Also the stands that monitor type speakers use have spikes. One of the first things that I noticed when I put spikes on my Cornwalls was how much more difficult they were to move. No more sliding, now it is lifting and setting in place. But, I started to enjoy better bass and focus across the range. What I don't understand is why more tweakers on this forum are not raving about speaker spikes. - Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornPenguin Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 By the way, I'm using 4 per speaker. For the size of my Cornwalls and with how good they sound, I'll leave it at the 4 per. - Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 ---------------- On 1/23/2004 9:31:36 PM HornPenguin wrote: By the way, I'm using 4 per speaker. For the size of my Cornwalls and with how good they sound, I'll leave it at the 4 per. - Brad ---------------- Do your cornwalls have risers? If so, where do you place the spikes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornPenguin Posted January 23, 2004 Share Posted January 23, 2004 Gary, I took the risers off. I'm not to fond of the looks of them. Besides, I heard the improvement with spikes on other speakers and wanted to try them on the Cornwalls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strabo Posted January 24, 2004 Author Share Posted January 24, 2004 I'd recommend to anyone that is thinking of tweaking their speakers to start with this. I decided to do the dampening, caps, and spikes a couple of months ago. That's why I did the spikes last. Knew it would be hard to move them once they were installed. I still haven't completely dialed them in. Dropped them in close to where they were and let it rip. Can't wait until I get time to get the toe in where it should be. As it is, the imaging improved greatly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
427rs Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 OK Ive got LaScalas (fast but limited bass) Where do I get the spikes and keep the info coming on adjustment. 427rs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 Well, now I'm curious enough to check this out. I've often thought about it, but the thought of moving those heavy rascals is not pleasant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 What brand did you use for the cornwalls? where did you get them? and how nuch were they? Thanks-Smilin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornPenguin Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 Smilin, I used Dayton Audio Spikes from http://www.partsexpress.com They were 20 bucks for four. I was impressed with the quality of the spikes and Parts Express was fast to deliver. - Brad ---------------- On 1/24/2004 11:04:06 AM smilin wrote: What brand did you use for the cornwalls? where did you get them? and how nuch were they? Thanks-Smilin ---------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IB Slammin Posted January 24, 2004 Share Posted January 24, 2004 Does everyone agree that the risers need to be removed? Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good2BHome Posted January 25, 2004 Share Posted January 25, 2004 IB, IMHO the Factory risers should be removed because attaching the spikes to the Factory risers would be tough. However, I built custom risers out of three layers of 3/4" plywood. The middle layer was only stratgicaly placed plywood blocks to support/attach the speaker and allow for spikes, if needed. The "hollow" portion was filled with #9 shot and used tire weights. Total weight is 60 lbs. per riser, that pretty much "nails' them to the floor,(but my plan does allow spiking them in the future). I've attached a picture of two of the layers. The inside is not very pretty, but no one will ever see the inside. They are stained to match the CBR Cornwall pair I have. I think this weighted riser comes reasonable close to spiking and still allows them to be "scoothed". Just one man's solution. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strabo Posted January 25, 2004 Author Share Posted January 25, 2004 I ordered them about 4 months ago so I'm going from memory, but I think I used the 3/8 inch cheap models from Parts Express. Best $5 I've spent in a long time. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&User_ID=18002738&St=2558&St2=43628929&St3=69952509&DS_ID=3&Product_ID=4919&DID=7 I mounted them into the risers on my Forte's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted January 25, 2004 Share Posted January 25, 2004 What's the theory behind the spikes? Is it to isolate the speakers from the floor, or to more solidly connect them? What type of floor material is everyone dealing with? My Cornwalls are on risers, on carpet. The floor is too bouncy, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rigma Posted January 25, 2004 Share Posted January 25, 2004 I added spikes to my LaScalas. What I found to work is have speaker placement where you want without the spikes installed, then carefully tilt the LaScala forward and lay front on floor install spikes and tilt back up. That will put them back in the origanal place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strabo Posted January 25, 2004 Author Share Posted January 25, 2004 ---------------- On 1/25/2004 10:16:07 AM fini wrote: What's the theory behind the spikes? Is it to isolate the speakers from the floor, or to more solidly connect them? What type of floor material is everyone dealing with? My Cornwalls are on risers, on carpet. The floor is too bouncy, though. ---------------- Could say it's to connect it to the floor. Generally, it's to hold them more solidly, removes the ability of the speaker to rock on the carpet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good2BHome Posted January 25, 2004 Share Posted January 25, 2004 My understanding is spikes keep the speaker from moving when the woofer is doing it's thing. The air pressure the woofer creates (when engaged) is enough to "rock" an unspiked speaker back and forth (particularly on carpet). This movement may be minimal to you and I, but to a tweeter that may only move 1000's (?) of an inch, then any change in its position, as it plays, will smear the image. Ditto for the midrange. This explaination is not elegant but I think gets the idea across, I hope. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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