At the risk of stating (and possibly overstating) the obvious, it likely depends entirely on what you're spiking them to. Spike a speaker into a concrete floor and you are really grounding the thing into something solid -- which can only help stability and reduce unwanted resonances. Spike a speaker into a suspended wood floor and you are potentially only coupling the drivers to another resonating surface and turning your whole floor into a problem. Spikes might work better in one situation and isolation in the other with the same pair of speakers. Personally, I've got mine on spikes (because the sloppy wooden floor is a bit uneven and the tripod spike arrangement is the only way to get the speakers stabilized) but have a makeshift isolation deal under the spikes in order to decouple them from the same sloppy floor a bit. I'm thinking about trying a hunk of granite under the spikes as well. It's a work in progress. I'd guess there's no single answer and suggest a bit of experimentation. Mileage will almost certainly vary.
Sipkes or isolation devices better under speakers?
After reading about the importance of putting isolating devices like Vibrapods or Aurios beneath system components, I would need some input regarding my speakers (Martin Logan). Would they profit more from these devices compared to the spikes you are supposed to put under the speakers?
With spikes the speakers are coupled to the floor, with Aurios (or other similar devices) the speakers are de-coupled from the floor.
Any idea what is better?
With spikes the speakers are coupled to the floor, with Aurios (or other similar devices) the speakers are de-coupled from the floor.
Any idea what is better?