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Speaker spike feet?

I recently acquired a nice older hifi system with Aerial Acoustics 7B tower speakers.I am not an audiophile. The speakers have heavy iron bases on them but there are no feet of any sort on these bases. I emailed the owner/designer at Aerial and he sent me a schematic of the bases which show that they originally had spike feet. He said he could provide the spikes at minimal cost. I was afraid to ask what minimal meant since I seem to remember that these bases cost $400 when new. (I'm still getting accustomed to what things cost in the audiophile world.)

I am wondering if I really need the spikes. These speakers sit on a carpeted floor with hardwood on typical joist construction floor. They sound quite good to me but if spikes would help in any way and I can get them cheap then I will do so.

I'll ask Aerial how much theirs cost but I'm pretty sure that stainless steel tripod (for photography) spikes will fit the 3/8-16 threads in these bases. The cost would be about $40 for those. Maybe the actual Aerial ones wouldn't cost any more but they are longer and look very sharp which makes me wonder about floor/carpet damage since these speakers weigh around 110 pounds each.
n80
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
2,651 posts
 
Alright then. I certainly can't argue with the price, and they look fine. Good job.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
I certainly don’t wish to muddy the waters but I have addressed the issue of materials for audio cones and feet elsewhere but it might be worth repeating. For audio cones, the way the rating of materials vs sound quality works is the HARDER the material the faster energy exits the system. Thus, NASA grade ceramic that’s almost as hard as diamond heads the list. Heat tempered and cryod high carbon steel next. Ordinary steel next. Then come aluminum, brass and carbon fiber which are way on down the Moh scale of hardness. The differences in the sound of these materials should be easy to hear on any reasonably good system. The shape of the cone is also important but not as much as the material. Iso stands are also subject to the differences in cone material, and cones should be placed under the component and under the stand, to avoid storing energy in the system.
n80 OP
1,227 posts
 
This stand has rubber(?) cones that compress between the stand and the speaker. These were OEM from Aerial Acoustics.

The stainless I used is from a grade 8 bolt which in the world of steel is fairly soft but still way harder than aluminum, etc. And probably harder than the bargain spikes you can buy online. Plus these were heated and quenched a number of times.

The shape of these was derived at by how easy I could shape them on a grinder and to some extent how well they would penetrate the short pile of my carpet but not too much into the wood below.

They sound phenomenal. You should hear them. Everyone should make their own.
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,645 posts
 
Great job on the spikes. Well done.
frozentundra
129 posts
 
N80;

Sweet spikes & handy work!!!
Grade 8....You could support a dump truck with them 

One comment;

You need a narrower spike profile to pierce carpet.( mine were 1/2-13 with a machined profile that was 3/16 dia with a long and thin spike )
I had to rock the speakers around to get them “ mated” to the wood( pierce carpet)
They felt like they still floated on carpet

Then the bass  “ accelerated” and did it’s thing

I suspect your still sitting on carpet 

Yes, Once you spike them it IS pain to move

jeff





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