07/21/2024
A thoughtful friend of mine in Bangkok, Teerawat Jotista, posted some comments about the significance of the floor under a high performance audio system. His post was primarily focused on structural integrity and weight distribution, if I am reading these comments correctly. This is a very important factor that is not well considered by most consumers. The structural integrity and nature of the flooring is extremely influential on the potential result. Additionally, a solid and stable flooring (not just the structural substrate below the flooring) is also required for critical precision speaker positioning in space, but also maintaining that position over time and changing environmental conditions. A soft and compliant floor covering, such as a carpet and pad type is a poor solution under a speaker as it will never be “solid,@ even with extremely heavy speakers. Spikes that pe*****te through the carpet and pad into the substrate are a much better solution, but there will always be settling of the speaker into the substrate over time as the speaker pounds away into the floor with music energy. A precision set up will never maintain position in that environment. A very good flooring solution would be a very solid floor covering such as bamboo, with height adjustable feet on the speakers. If those feet are in the form of spikes (a very good choice), then some sort of interface that prevents the spike from digging into the relatively soft bamboo is also required. A small, low mass cup, maybe machined from titanium, would hold the spike securely and not hinder the energy transfer into the floor. To maintain the speaker position, a small amount of silicone can be wiped around the perimeter of the cup. Often, when my clients ask me about how they can further
improve their music system, they are surprised when it often leads to a discussion about a visit to a local flooring specialist.
