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If the additional height given by a stand is of no advantage, spikes may be
also used directly with our floorstanding RGS38i model. The benefits
here are the same as for stands with spikes – spikes allow the speakers to
be rigidly coupled directly to the floor, increasing the isolation of the
speaker cones from unwanted vibrations (both from other equipment and
up through the floor) and speaker resonances. Adjust the height of your
spikes so that all of them are making good contact with the floor, and the
speakers’ sides are vertical. This can be checked by applying some
strong sideways pressure to make sure that the speakers do not rock in
any direction. This lack of movement should also be checked for when
speakers are mounted on stands with spikes.
Using spikes to connect your speakers to the floor may sound a little
drastic, but it really is one of the simplest and most effective
improvements you can make to your sound system. For those with
polished floorboards or other similar surfaces, place a large coin under
each spike to minimize any marks on the floor. The coins can be safely
secured to the floor by using pea-sized pieces of blu tack/poster tack.
The addition of lead shot
As has been mentioned in passing in the section above on Stands and
Spikes, using lead shot (or sand) is one way of adding to the mass of a
speaker stand and thus increasing its resistance to the movement set up
by the cone’s forward excursion. Any way of increasing the inertia of the
speaker-stand combination will be effective at reducing the rocking
motion which creates the unwanted resonances that lessen performance.
Thus, it follows that being able to add lead shot directly to the speaker
cavity is also desirable/effective.
The RGS38i Floorstanding model has an isolated chamber in the base of
the cabinet for this purpose. A metal “plug” can be unscrewed on the rear
panel of the cabinet and through this lead shot (or clean dry sand) can be
added. As lead shot is deceptively heavy, we recommend deciding on the
final position of the speakers before filling the cavity. Lie the speakers
face down from that position so that the effort to lift the “filled” speaker
will be required only for a brief moment.