Cain & Cain Abby footer spikes?


I have a pair of Cain & Cain Abbys. They came with a set of 4 brass foot spikes for each speaker; the body of the spikes is pretty heavy but the points are very slender. The points on mine have all been bent just from the weight of the speaker, presumably, plus the spikes made it difficult to reposition the speakers and I finally removed them out of frustration with trying to set them up so the speakers were even and secure on the floor. I have wooden floors in this house, no carpeting.

I imagine that removing the spikes affected the sound somewhat, though to be honest I didn't really notice. (Tin ears anyone?!?) but I figure there has to be a good reason why Terry Cain (R.I.P. :-( ) a set of spikes with his speakers. (Isn't there?!?)

Has anyone else tried the Abbys "flat-footed," so to speak? Am I really destroying part of the sound the Abbys are capable of producing? Are floor spikes needed on an uncarpeted floor?

If there is a good reason to keep spikes on the speakers, what brand/s (that won't come near to breaking the bank,) do you recommend? Or are they all pretty much the same?

Holly
oakiris
No need to apologize - I was actually impressed that you saw and remembered the stand "name" as being 3 initials beginning with an "H." Good to hear that Andy is still in business! I don't know why I couldn't find his website - perhaps I misspelled HHG.... lol

I remember you saying that Herbie's tube dampers would be better than those came with my Wright Sound phono stage; I have read good reviews of them in the past and they have been on my wish list for quite some time. Someday!

Holly
Holly...sorry, I thought the rack was a HRS. I saw the initials down towards the bottom of the rack on the front and it just registered in my mind as HRS.

Actually Andy is still in business. I have a couple of amp stands that he did for me. I agree, he's workmanship is excellent. His website is below.

Glad you got the rack fixed. It will help out tremendously.

I have several of Herbie's items, but have never tried the footers you ask about.

http://www.hhgstands.com/HHG_Stands/Home.html
Thank you all for your responses!

It would appear that the spikes are necessary. Once I have had time to really listen to my system and learn its sound, I may experiment with the speakers flat footed vs on some sort of footer to see if my ears can actually tell the difference.

I have decided that I should just put the original spikes back on - I may file the bent tips off first - and wait until I can do the above experiment. This will also give me some time to save my pennies so I can buy a better solution in the future if I decide to do so.

I am rather intrigued by the Herbie's Audio Threaded Stud Glider that they sell for speaker isolation feet. Supposedly nicely isolates the speakers from the floor and makes it very easy to move the speaker to get that 'perfect' spot without fighting with spikes dragging on the floor. Has anyone tried these out? If so, are they a good alternative to spikes? Here is a link: http://herbiesaudiolab.net/spkrfeet.htm#stud The threaded stud glider feet are about halfway down that page.

@Mofimadness: My rack was actually made by Andy Misco in Utah, not by HRS. At the time he was calling his business HGH Stands - Handmade Granite and Hardwood is what "HGH" stood for. I don't think he is in business any more, at least his website no longer exists. Too bad; he was a very good craftsman, IMHO, and I really like my equipment rack - bird's eye maple, curly bubinga and emerald pearl granite for the shelves - yummy! lol

Back on topic: I did get the broken footer on my rack replaced; a bit of a struggle to remove the equipment (that Teres turntable is HEAVY, and so is the Carissa Signature amp!!) and then the heavy granite slabs so I could tip the rack over to work on it, but relatively easy to get the broken stud out and screw in a new footer spike. I still couldn't get the rack perfectly level - my house's floors are just too crooked! - but it is much, much better. It took me two days but I finally got the top shelf level, too, and the turntable as well.

I tried Sistrum speaker stands shortly after I got the Abbys, actually got a whole Sistrum system with the rack and the stands. This was back in 2005 or 2006 so probably some of their original offerings. My HHG stand replaced the equipment rack and the first time one of the speakers tipped over and hit the screen of my flatscreen TV, the speaker stands went away, too. The Abbys just weren't 'happy' balancing on three points I guess, or my wood floors are too unstable - someone walked across the floor and the vibration caused the speaker to tip over. I bet you could imagine the horrified expression on my face when the speaker began to tilt. I envisioned it wiping out my whole audio system and destroying itself as well, but it only scratched the screen and no harm was done to the speaker itself.

Sorry about the babbling post. Maybe I have had too much coffee today!

Holly
You may also consider throwing some Sistrum Apprentice stands under them as a reasonable (but not cheap) option.
I agree with Mofi, the spikes will help with imaging and soundstage. If moving the speakers, or scratching your floor is a concern, look into a set of spike floor pads to sit under the spikes as well.
Holly...after seeing your setup, I would recommend
contacting Dan at Eden Sound. He makes some really nice
items and they aren't too expensive. He can also thread
them with any size of thread needed. I think they would work
very well with your system.

IMHO, spikes/cones will indeed help with sound quality.
Better imaging and more stable soundstage.

[url]http://edensoundaudio.com/index.html[/url]

Did you get your HRS rack fixed and leveled? That will
really help also :-)