2. speakers
  3. 168704-76759

Casters to replace spikes

So I'm sure this will get a lot of challenge and flak, so please helpful comments only!

Long story short my focus has changed from home theater to two channel back to home theater.  Recently got a projector and in the midst of getting a screen (have a white sheet hanging as temporary) . On a whim I moved my Revel studio 2s and Voice 2 behind the sheet which improved the movie experience 1000%. However I had to push the speakers back against a wall, which is not ideal for two channel listening. I'm planning to purchase an electric screen so on occasion I'd like to be able to pull the speakers out from the wall with little effort when the screen is rolled up. Right now they are on the factory spikes sitting on Herbie's discs, so they can slide on the carpet with some effort. However, every time I've seen Wilson speakers in show rooms, they always seem to be on casters which made me wonder if that's a normal type of arrangement or at least a good enough arrangement.  my system is decent but my room needs lots of treatment so I'm taking an 80/20 approach here.  

Has anyone done this/ can recommend any type of solution for being able to move the front speakers with ease?  Thanks!
esthlos13

Showing 4 responses by classdstreamer

classdstreamer's avatar
classdstreamer
160 posts
 
Yeah, 130 lbs does seem heavy. What about copying Wilson?

When I've visited the Wilson dealer, I've seen these wheels on their speaker (which seems hilarious for something costing ~17k). https://parts.wilsonaudio.com/3-caster/

If you can do some research to find out the thread pitch and length, you can grab you some Wilson wheels. 
classdstreamer's avatar
classdstreamer
160 posts
 
Hi Op, you say you have "factory spikes sitting on Herbie's discs." Which type of "Herbie's discs" do you have? Also, what kind of floor do you have? (I imagine that cement would be difficult.)

I use the Herbie's Threaded Stud Gliders on a wood floor. My B&W are simple to move around. Maybe factory spikes into their gliding spike feet are not as simple? If your spikes are lifting off from the feet when you move, just know that problem doesn't exist with their threaded gliders. 
classdstreamer's avatar
classdstreamer
160 posts
 
@esthlos13, my understanding is that the purpose of spikes is actually to *couple* the speaker to the floor. The spikes pierce through the carpet to reach the concrete slab underneath into which they transfer their energy. The idea is that a giant concrete slab won't resonate much and is therefore good for absorbing vibrations. In contrast, when coupling a speaker to a wood floor, the wood would be too excited by the speaker vibrations, and the resonances created in the wood floor would negatively interact with your speakers. 

Another way to think about this is that with wood and tile, you only have one choice--to decouple. But with with a cement floor, you have another option--to couple. 
classdstreamer's avatar
classdstreamer
160 posts
 
@almandog I sounds like moving from casters to spikes was a downgrade in your experience. Then moving to isolation feet had the effect of returning to the caster-sound plus some? Or did the Gaia's just get you back to were you started?

It's my experience that using isolation feet is a giant improvement vs resting the speaker directly on the ground. I use Herbies Gliders now, but Gaia's were my other option. I haven't tried the Gaia's yet. 
More to discover