Changing the feet on 802D’s

[james_dmi]

After hearing that people are experiencing extra base definition by using spikes I'm thinking of doing the same. This will involve swapping round the feet on my 802D’s from the soft rubber end to the spikes. These will then be seated in spike shoes so as not to damage my flooring.

With each speaker weighing 80Kg’s this will not be an easy operation. For those of you who have done this what would be your advice on what / what not to do? Is there any reason why I could not do this just by having one person tip the speaker one way so that I can swap 2 feet then the other way for the other 2? Or is it better to lay the speaker down, in which case I will need to move it to a new position and back again as there is not enough space where they normally sit? I would like to do as little handling of the speaker as possible.

[misterdoggy]

James,

It is way too involved to just "tilt" and work underneath. No I'm afraid you will have to lay them on their side.

You need to be 2 persons. Put something soft on the floor where you are going to lay them down ie: Pillows rug etc. After they are on their side you unscrew with the special Allen wrench supplied and put the spikes in.

After Installation I recommend putting some old very thick magazines where you will put the speaker on to. Two thick ones for each side. Then rock back and forth putting the spike cups carefully underneath. After, you can slide the unit on the cups when its on wood floor. Make sure the magazines are real thick thick as the weight on the spikes can drive right thru a think magazine. Books would even be better.

Of course don't do this until you have lived with the speakers for a couple of months and have decided definitively where the "sweet" spot is for them. Thats why they have Rollers (usually)

[jim777]

And be VERY careful not to pry the spikes while putting the speakers back on their feet...


The spikes will make a huge difference, I swear

[james_dmi]

And be VERY careful not to pry the spikes while putting the speakers back on their feet...


The spikes will make a huge difference, I swear

Pry?? Is this when the weight of the speaker will be on the side of the spike initially as its tilted back to the upright?

Having speakers this heavy does make things a pain!

[jim777]

Pry?? Is this when the weight of the speaker will be on the side of the spike initially as its tilted back to the upright?

Having speakers this heavy does make things a pain!

Yes. You must lift it in the air and put it strait on the ground. Otherwise you will have all the weight on two spikes and they might bend.

[neil w]

the spikes wont bend

neil

[jim777]

the spikes wont bend

neil

It is just a precaution. :W I don't have the same speakers, but I think it was stated in the user manual.

[JKalman]

I would be careful not to put a spike through your hand!

Ouch! That's gonna hurt in the morning. :E

[james_dmi]

Ok sounds like good advice (especially from you JKalman) cheers. I did have another idea (being a little worried about caring the 802Ds around and rotating them without damage) What I thought was if I got several bits of thick mdf and then stacked them under each side of the base. Then rocking the speaker left to right while some one puts in one more piece on each side. Repeat this until the speakers are jacked up high enough to rotate the feet. Then just reveres the process until the spikes land into the shoes. The advantages of this is that I will only need two people, no one is going to get a hernia and I minimise the amount of movement / handling of the speakers.

[JCL1]

I have done this with 800D's on my own by simply laying on sofa cushions with no problem at all

[james_dmi]

Hi JCL1, How did you stop the edge of the plinth marking the floor as you tipped it over? Also how top heavy are they? I have images in my mind of getting so far with tipping them and them slipping out of my hands.

Also once you had the spikes on how did you move them back into position?

I have decided to hold off on this until we get a rug.

[JCL1]

If you have the cushions at the right level height you can simply tilt and then lift the base unit up however im not saying its easy and you can move into poistion by balancing the speaker on one spike only to move into position.

I have also tilted the speaker so that I can put MDF board under all 4 spikes to stop any damage occuring to the floor. I have now done this 20+ plus times to get the right position and then I remove the MDF. I used 30mm thick MDF to do this. hope this helps