HFA tips & tricks - Spike Coupling for the Courageous
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- Опубликовано: 22 июл 2024
- In essence, you are always coupling speakers or audio components. There is no such thing as decoupling. What you are doing when coupling a component with a compliant medium such as rubber, is that resonance energy is stored and then released with a delay, while the resonance frequencies are shifted, and this does make for a very noticeable change in sound. Depending on the setup, this can actually lead to an improvement. But personally, and in my setup, I always prefer hard coupling.
In this video, I'm taking hard-coupling to the extreme, using the Magico S1 MkII loudspeakers.
As always, my videos only scratch the surface of the subject. For in-depth coverage, see the Insights articles and extensive reviews on hifi-advice.com.
Here's a link to an overview of all "Audiophile Insights" articles on HFA: www.hifi-advice.com/blog/cate... 
Видеоклипы
![Decoupling a speaker from the floor. The Credo Audio "isolation base" [isolation vs. spikes]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5ihzvD3urc4/mqdefault.jpg)
![Decoupling a speaker from the floor. The Credo Audio "isolation base" [isolation vs. spikes]](/img/tr.png)
![College Football 25 Road To Glory - Transfer Portal & First Team All-American [FRESHMAN YEAR]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U8UYgoKneCo/mqdefault.jpg)
I’ve never seen anyone do this before. Very innovative. I use Townsend Podiums under my floorstanding speakers which makes them float and that is a very big improvement
Although I have not yet heard the Townshend stands, I am familiar with the brand and technology, and this will no doubt indeed have a large impact on the sound. It's very different, though, from hard-coupling as I do in this video, and under identical circumstances, the two methods will yield different sonic results. Let me share one anecdote. An obvious reason why the B&W 802 sounded better than the 804's is that the midrange unit has its own, optimally shaped, chamber. However, a very important related aspect is that the pod is coupled very loosely to the bass cabinet via a soft viscous material. I liked the 802's more free-flowing midrange and this led to many experiments using soft coupling materials underneath speakers.
Long story short is that I found that this works very well for the midrange and treble but not so well for the bass and this is why I currently prefer hard coupling but it doesn't mean that this is the "best" method per se.
The reality is that every living room presents unique challenges and thus it makes sense to try various coupling/decoupling methods to find the solution that best matches the personal preferences and situation.
And you call it tips & tricks… I'm not saying it doesn't work, but I'm honestly not going to make holes in my wooden floor and have it definitely ruined. It's a really stupid idea
My wife is already drilling holes in the floor!!! : )
Hahahaha!
I'm just starting out in this game and I could do with some advice especially considering I'm about to do an upgrade!
My standmount speakers stands needs to be elevated by 2" so I was thinking of placing a piece of 2" thick high-density foam beneath the bottom plate and swapping my peeny weeny spikes for 3" screws and then screwing them all down or should I just go with iso acoustics (gaia series)
I'm not sure of the inertness of the HD foam you are referring to, but it seems to me that it will be somewhat compliant, and therefore, lead to a different sound than with hard couplers such as spikes. The same goes for the Gaia units. As it happens, I have listened to these in comparison with Aequo Audio loudspeakers and found that they round the bass and soften the overall sound, which is especially noticeable in terms of pacing and transient sharpness. I would advise either placing the speakers on a solid piece of material or using aftermarket spikes or other hard coupling devices such as those from Finite Elemente or Stillpoints. I do realize that these are costly and very costly respectively so maybe you can locate tall "regular" spikes. Alternatively, you could add spikes or other rigid couplers between the speakers and the top of the stands. In some cases, (hard) wood can also work well.
Hi Christiaan, there is a great insight in your short video (as we have come to expect 😊) how different types of coupling (soft vs. hard) make a difference to the sound of a system. I learned recently the difference could be quite dramatic. But I feel most audiophiles would prefer to pay good sum of money for something like Gaia Iso Acoustic or Stillpoints than having to explain holes in the living room floor 😀. It is safer to experiment with the different products than make inexpensive but irreversible changes to the the house. It might be a topic for a future video. A review of isolation products might attract more future sponsors too 😉. What do you think?
Hi Tami, I think you're absolutely right, most audiophiles would prefer buying couplers and isolator products to drilling the floor and I can't blame them:-)
Thanks for the suggestion for a review of aftermarket feet. I will add it to the list!
For now, here's a link to an overview of all the Racks, Stands, and Feet reviews on HFA: www.hifi-advice.com/blog/category/review/accessories-reviews/racks-stands-feet-reviews/
@@hifi-advicehigh-endaudioeq3675 every hole I drill in the floor would result in a corresponding one in my cranium by my significant other. Nice video, but it's just a "let's not even go there" proposition for many of us, I would think.
@@timleelim9930 Sure, I can certainly appreciate that but maybe in that case the video can be inspiring just as a reminder of how important couplers are:-)
hi this is very interesting Christian which will you put under your cd player?
I actually undid the floor piercings again (and filled the holes again, not invisibly, alas) as it proved to be too much of a good thing, and am now back to using floor discs with spikes.
hi what are the metal things the speaker is on called
In the speaker base are 4 spikes (basically screws with a pointy end) and in this video, I am positioning these directly on the concrete floor.
So, you intend to keep the same speakers?
I don't mind a few more holes in the floor, as I have plenty already:-) But ultimately, I don't recommend doing this. It's more of a though exercise, to indicate that such things have a considerable effect.
i wanted to do that with my Magico A5..
Not sure if you're kidding but if my descriptions of the changes that you can expect are what you want, I'd say, go for it! The A50 is twice as heavy as the S1 but with two persons it should be very doable. Simply slide the speaker with spikes and floordiscs right over all four holes and then have one person tilt it while the other person removes two discs and guides the movement and lower it one side at a time.
I once cut 8 x 10“ square holes in my rental apartments wall-to-wall carpeting, to accommodate 4 inch thick granite blocks. Bad idea!!! Lol
Haha yes, I can relate! Only one month after making the holes, I decided that my speakers should be moved a little closer, meaning that the "old" holes could no longer be used. Sigh...
It's your house😅
Usage of tape measure and Vernier caliper for speaker positioning is a dead giveaway that we are dealing with an amateur. Micrometers and gauge blocks are the tools to use. Everybody knows, that if you are positioning your speakers with less than a 0,01 mm precision you are not being serious about hi-fi.
I guess, not many people got the sarcasm then?