Speaker stands on spikes or just set-screws? Make a difference?


I recently purchased some nice steel stands. They came with the option of holes in the bottom to attach spikes or not. I opted to get holes + spikes. The spikes which came along with the speakers were not spikes at all, but rather a simple set-screw, like a bolt but without any point at all. I wrote to the stand maker and he said he thought they'd still do a good job of isolating the stand from the floor but also offered a refund for the error. I took the refund. (I'm not disgruntled, mind you; we're talking $40 for 8 nuts and 8 set screws, plus the labor to have drilled holes into the bottoms of the stands. I don't think the price was unreasonable, but they should what they were supposed to be, and the maker agreed.)

In your experience, how important is it for a speaker stand to be on spikes and — given the case described above — do you think that simply perching stands on the included set-screws would do a decent job, even without the spike point?
128x128hilde45
Very little.  Stability and how big the footprint is matters much more, but bolts are ugly.

What is important is minimizing the contact area and the motion of the speaker, ESPECIALLY back and forth. 

I'd go with rubber half balls if the stand was stable enough> :)
Thanks, Erik. On my concrete floor with 1/4 carpet, those bolts are invisible and pretty stable. I'll skip the spikes.
@hilde45 , your set screws will probably perform sonically equivalent, or maybe better, than spikes.  In fact, there are several footer manufacturers that offer hard footers with rounded tips.
If you ever decide to consider expanding your options, you may want to look at posts like goose's response yesterday to the following thread since he actually tried a variety of solutions.
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/anybody-have-both-herbie-s-cone-spike-pucks-and-isoacoustics-gaia-s