Soundocity Outriggers: The Outriggers in Action
So, once
you turn your speakers over, what can you expect? First, you’re going to have
less maneuvering room. The base of the speaker is considerably wider (depending
on what size Outrigger you went with). If your room is small and the space
between everything is pretty close, these may make thing a bit more difficult
for you. If you have lots of room, no worries. In my case, I went from having
4-5 inches to roll out my entertainment unit to only having about 1.5. Not a
dealbreaker for me (and really 0” would be OK for most people – I’m one of the
few that have to get behind their equipment on a daily basis) but it is a
little problematic at times.
I can not express in words the convenience of having the spike adjustment on the side of the speaker. It is… an indescribable difference. I used to dread having to move my speakers. Once I got them set I’d put little pieces of tape on the ground so I wouldn’t have to guess where they once were. Being an Audioholic, I can’t help but occasionally adjust the toe in or position based on something I read, a suggestion from my compatriots, or just a whim. That mostly stopped once I started using spikes. I’d only do it if I was really dedicated to the idea. That just takes a lot of the fun out of this hobby. With the Outriggers in place, I felt empowered to move my speakers at will. Adjustments were easy, convenient, and most of all – effective.
When the spikes are located under the speaker, you end up having to lie down on the ground and either attempt to adjust the speaker while it is sitting on the ground, or continually tip the speaker up, adjust, set it back down and test, and so on. More times than not you’ll finally get the speakers set right just to stand up and realize that they are leaning a bit to one side. Sure, the spikes are level but the speaker is just a little off plumb. Back you go to the floor…
With the Outriggers, it’s a couple of twists here and there, and tada! it’s done. The knobs have a spring on them not for any functional reason other than feedback to the user. Without the spring, it is too easy for the knob to be over adjusted or knocked out of adjustment by a careless foot/leg/animal/child. The 100lbs sq/in tension spring keeps the adjustment firmly in place but is still easy for an adult to adjust. On my “less than even” floor (as Gene likes to call it) it took seconds to get the speaker sitting properly. That’s right, seconds. And when I was done, they were rock solid. Much better than anything I’d ever achieved before.
