Jim Smith's book is great. Very helpful. He like me from experience are very iffy about using spikes on speakers, and many sound better without them on carpeted floors floors with a good carpet pad, my Spatials sound better without them by far, top to bottom improvements, including the balance from the highs down. My speakers come with feet in the front where the spikes screw into, so I still get a tilt back without the need of the spikes at all. Everyone whose heard my system, I play with the front spikes on, and they say wow these sound real good, then I take off the spikes after awhile play the same song, I say zip and wait for their reaction and its OMG 100% of the time. One way sounds good the other world class.