[DaveWin88]

Hello gentlemen
Well I needed a break from the Maggies and put the M6's back in the mix. I recently saw a video about using a Jute rug vs one that has either a rubber back (my case) or foam. What I wasn't prepared for was how reflective the floor actually is. I've never experienced the floor taken out of the equation, and let me tell you it's massive in a positive way. It did rob bass imo, and I'm a firm believer in having the speaker couple with the floor. It sounds much more natural. Not sure if the spikes are there for time alignment but when on the spikes, the ceiling really comes into play. The Jute rug really has an isolation effect, robbing bass. Have any of you guys placed the speaker directly on the floor? I want to remove the bigger cone but don't want to damage it. Guys the Jute rug is an ABSOLUTE must have if you're using one with a back I had mentioned. Any help would be appreciated. I missed you guys too

[Mr. Big]

I had written before that I tried my m3 Sapphires without the spikes and just using the footers per your photo. I have a thick carpet with an 8lb carpet pad underneath. The sound is dramatic in a good sense, more of everything the speakers do so well but adding more body and natural detail much like using decoupling footers if you have a wood floor, Isoaccutics for instance. There is a great article on the PS Audio website by Jim Smith famed audio setup man as well as the author of a book on all things audio and how to maximize your system and its sound, he has no love for spiking speakers, and Paul at PS Audio feels the same. Yes, things tighten up but the trade-off is the loss of weight, body, and soul of the music. I spoke to a speaker designer once and he said they have to put spikes on their speakers because that is what people expect, not that he felt it sounded better, but for sales they had to. With no spikes, you may have to adjust toe-in, etc., due to your setup being used with spikes before and how they push the highs forward, midbass lacking, etc. It is cheap to do and worth a tray and it's free! Keep in mind when speakers are built in a production lab they are without any spikes in them just the speaker's el-natural. Some speaker manufacturers will even say for the proper sound of their speakers leave the grills on. Your room of course also has a bigger impact than gear or cables, we are tuning our system to the acoustics of the room, and fixing the room is the best investment you can do than buying gear over and over and speakers as well. Panels 1/2 up your walls, front, and side wall, and behind you if you have a back wall, I am in an open loft on the 2nd floor thus no back wall behind me till the living room wall below so 50' or so away. Some pictures over the years with my different panels. Looking at your photo you have a lot of panels on the floor, I might suggest using 2 of the larger panels and putting them on the front wall on each side of the window, and tilting your blinds upward yet somewhat open which will make for diffusion, or better yet that and some draps, your front wall matters sound is bouncing all around when walls are bare.

[DaveWin88]

All good stuff Mr Big. Have you ever removed the footers? I want to go straight straight on the floor. I know I've been displeased with the M100 in the past, but this rug and about 5 degree? tow in sounds fantastic. Point source open baffle speakers are the ultimate. Even over the Magnepans Yes I said it. You can play any genre of music with ease!  Maggies almost sound too good

[Tangram]

Dave, you are lucky because it looks like you could pull the rug forward such that the speakers can be on the floor. Buy some Isoacoustics Gaia footers (worth every penny), set them up properly (for example, try to maintain the speaker tilt) and you will be a happy camper. You will lose some bass compared with what you are used to, but the quality of that bass improves. Even in my case, with the speakers resting on vinyl planking glued to concrete, the improvements were profound. I’m generally anti-tweak, but this one is a no-brainer.

[DaveWin88]

Thanks for the response guys. If I move the rug forward and get them on the floor, I'll loose the benefit of the Jute to minimize reflections in the back (huge deal guys) I could loose this at the back and be fine I'm sure, but I see what you're saying. If I maintain the tilt like the spikes that came with the speakers, the ceiling really come into play. I don't want anymore attention drawn to the M100 Actually I want more of the speaker on the floor. I have to keep reminding myself, I'm trying to extract bass that really isn't there I listen to classical 95% of the time, and it's not it's strong point-bass.

[kidpalce]

Beautiful Setups. Which did you ultimately prefer?

[Mr. Big]

All good stuff Mr Big. Have you ever removed the footers? I want to go straight straight on the floor. I know I've been displeased with the M100 in the past, but this rug and about 5 degree? tow in sounds fantastic. Point source open baffle speakers are the ultimate. Even over the Magnepans Yes I said it. You can play any genre of music with ease!  Maggies almost sound too good

I would call Clayton at his new company and ask him for the thread size of the footer on the speakers I know the footers are M6. Let me know if you find out. 2nd you have found that working with the speakers and learning how the speaker interacts with your room makes a speaker sound from just ok to great. You have to play with them and as you go you will learn how the speaker's sound reacts to different toe-n, pulled out from the wall, etc. There is no hard rule on speaker setup. I know a guy who has his M3s 24" from the front wall, not the 36" or more and they sounded fantastic, with real body and dynamics, and the bottom end was full and tight with a much better mid-bass which supports the midrange. He felt the speaker was bright but after he played with them he learned that as he moved them back they kept sounding better and better till he found the sweet spot his last speakers were $15,000 and he said these sounded better in every way now. He is glad he kept them. Setup matters, and learning the speakers matters. Tp gets things right takes time and effort and frustration..smile!

[Mr. Big]

Beautiful Setups. Which did you ultimately prefer?

Picture #3. I loved that setup but then I wanted to make my loft look more inviting not like a studio, so picture #1 is my 2nd favorite. Looks good and sounds good. Speakers river 20 years, Dynaudio Confidence 5's, then on to Quad ESL 63's then the Spatial Audio M3's. I keep a speaker for a long time if I like them. And once you gain experience you know when good is good then you change for change's sake.