And a set of springs cost about 10 percent as much as a set of pods, for those who don’t want to spend $1K on 8 pods.
First impressions of the Isoacoustic Gaia 1’s
On my KEF Reference 5’s.
While I normally hear little to no change with “Tweaks”, I installed them Saturday evening and found immediate spatial differences. Just about every album sounded more open. I told my wife, who helped me install the Gaia’s, that if I wasn’t wowed, I’d send them back.
The room has wall to wall carpet and pad on the floor and when I first received the Reference 5’s, they sounded flat. I put small hardwood flooring samples under them and it helped a little. I then put a small slab of granite under each of them and they became much nicer to listen to. I was quite surprised at the change.
The Gaia 1’s are sitting on the granite as well and so far, I’m very happy.
It’s only been a few days, but I’m pretty sure they are “hear” to stay.
Anyone else have similar experience’s with speaker. Isolation?
JD
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I guess I’ll say it again, though perhaps again to no avail ;-) . The Townshend Podium cost multiples the price of the IsoAcoustics GAIA II and III (though not the GAIA I), but a set of Townshend Seismic Pods doesn’t. In fact, a set of 4 Pods costs less than a set of GAIA II, and far less than a set of GAIA I. |
havocman may well be correct. The Townshend platforms seem quite credible, as pointed out they are three times the price of Gaia footers but may well outperform them. The point here is simply that the Gaia footers are credible and worth the price of admission. I've run them on two pairs of floor standers with great affect. BTW, the carpet spikes used in conjunction with the footers provides even more improvement. Nice discussion.
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I had the Gaia 1’s under my Sopra 2 speakers and was quite impressed with them. Then one of threads talked about the Townshend podiums. I contacted them via email (in England) and they responded the next day. I ordered them and once installed I couldn’t believe the improvement in sound staging, frequency response, etc. And, I thought the Gaia’s were good! I was sold on them. BTW, when I removed the Sopra’s spikes they sat perfectly on the podiums and in my opinion didn’t raise them anymore than they were with the spikes installed. For sure they were shorter than with the Gaia’ 1’s. And you can adjust the height, rake etc. I ended up installing the Gaia’s under my JL F-113 subs. ozzy |
@norton , I completely agree with you. I moved into a new to me home and started building a new system. When I bought my KEF Reference 5 speakers they were to heavy to move around on the fully carpeted room with the spikes on, so I left them off. After I got them close to where I wanted them, I put on the spikes and didn’t hear much of a change. I had some sample blocks of hardwood flooring and I put them under the spikes and I heard a difference, things opened up and the bass was a little clearer. I then got some pieces of granite countertop and put the spiked speakers on the granite without the wood samples and again I heard a difference. So with a money back if I didn’t like sale I tried the Gaia 1’s on the granite countertop pieces and and I am really impressed! The speakers are the same and so is the amp. Neither were updated in any way. All the best JD |
I mostly agree with norton: audiophiles are sitting ducks when it comes to taking advantage of the placebo effect. Furthermore, science can explain a lot about acoustics, and even psychoacoustics; if a given tweak has no plausible scientific explanation for its effectiveness, I approach it with skepticism. BUT...it is also the case that not everything experienceable is measurable. People were enjoying savory flavors for centuries before neuroanatomists found the receptors for what is now called umami. The phenomenon existed, and was experienced, before it was scientifically understood. That said, I remain skeptical about most claims for power cords and cables (especially "break-in" and directionality), and I don’t hear a difference either. And the Schumann resonance generator is not even a do-nothing box. But sorbothane under the feet of my Scientific Fidelity Teslas did improve the clarity of the bass and the general cohesion of the soundstage. Not dramatically, but noticably. By the way, I also own a pair of PSB Synchrony Ones. Because I like the sound of the Teslas better, I canibalized the feet for the PSBs, screwed them into the Tesla’s base, and THEN set the speakers on sorbothane disks. I won’t go back. For what it’s worth, though, room acoustics—as pretty much everyone knowledgable here will agree—have a far greater effect on SQ than probably any tweak. But it’s a moot point. We have the rooms we have; few of us are in a position to build a room specifically with our music, and our music system’s requirements, in mind. Hence, the passion for squeezing just that little bit more out of what we’ve got. |
Not trying to start a war and being that as much as I love music and my equipment, I wish there were ways to improve the sound without replacing or upgrading. It’s just MO that certain ideas or tweaks that people buy into may or may not be an improvement unless you believe they do. As far as manufacturers are concerned, just like in the auto industry, profits are what counts. They saw after people bought their new vehicles they would replace the ugly steel wheels with after market alloys so they thought why don’t we put them on as stock then WE collect the profit, same with sliding rear glass windows etc. I guess the speaker builders are thinking the same thing. It’s all about the money. |
I need the 1/4-20, long studs and my local dealer didn't have them, I contacted the company who didn't have any and had no time frame for when they would. Over the course of the year, I've kept in contact with them so as to not fall through the cracks and until my last email, was told the same. Late in March they told me they should be available in April but with no specific date. I've even contacted several retailers in larger cities and offered to pay for shipping but no one has any. I'm thinking at this point, the parent company could have used just about any machine shop and had them made since their primary supplier doesn't seem to be able to provide them. |
This is my experience too. I picked up some used B&W’s and sat them directly on the wood floor because the seller didn’t has the stock spikes. I went with Herbie’s Stud Gliders because $150 was more my speed and because these won’t be my forever speakers. The subwoofer saw a similar, dramatic improvement. This tweak is more than just a tweak. In my limited experience, the only other tweaks that made this big of a difference were a reclocker between the streamer and DAC and a fiber optic run to isolate the HiFi from the dirty side of the network. |
Yes, speaker isolation is definitely real. The puzzle in my mind is why manufacturers of good speakers don’t pay more attention to the speaker-floor interface, given the substantial sums of money that go into their products. I’ve tried the Gaia pucks, and Nobsound springs, but I’ve found that disks of sorbothane work just as well, don’t raise the speaker as much (which, as someone noted above, is very important), don’t cause as much disconcerting wobble, look better (they're less conspicuous), and are FAR cheaper. The trick is to find the right density of sorbothane for the weight you need to support, but if you guess wrong, you can usually repurpose the disks you bought for another component until you get it right. There are several reliable sellers of sorbothane in various sizes, shapes and densities on eBay. |
I also have Kef Reference 5, and adding the Gaia made every better. No brainer. I have wood floors in an ok, not great room, for acoustics. I then started adding Orea pods under each my components, with positive impact every time but nothing like the Gaia on the Kef. The only other "tweak' that made such an improvement were bass traps behind the speakers in the corners, making everything clearer. |
If you like your Gaia footers, and plan to keep them, you might try them directly on the carpet and get the same level of performance, without the granite slab. I can’t tell from the pictures how integrated the spikes are to the outriggers of your speakers. Assuming they are threaded, I can understand how you might feel most comfortable with footers that can be screwed into the outriggers, such as the Gaia footers. If I were using the Townshend Seismic Isolation Podiums, I would probably consider bolting them directly to the bottom of my speakers (or in my case the stands). IME, you can get the same level of performance for less money by using individual springs, if you size them properly and damp them. The individual springs work well when your speakers already have a solid base such as the outriggers on your Reference 5s or the Sound Anchor stands that I have under my speakers and subs. This place has a nice assortment of springs and a filter that can be used to identify an appropriate sized spring based on the weight of your speakers, but keep in mind the weight may not be distributed evenly (mine were heavier in front, since that is where the drivers are attached to the faceplate). A loosely applied layer of thin heat shrink (with a couple of holes poked in it) can be used to damp the springs and improve the appearance (you can see the look on my system page). I recently spoke with an equipment designer (not speakers) that I occasionally communicate with and he told me that some of his customers and industry folks whose ears he trusts have switched from spikes to spring type solutions with good sonic results so I am not surprised you are hearing good results with the Gaias. |
Are you sure it isn't the block of wood that is making the difference (at least as much as the expensive "isolation")? You're raising your speakers by what, 2-4"? That alone is bound to change the sound. A slight change in the speaker tilt might help too. If so, this admittedly might be easier to achieve with something like the Gaia pucks. Or, you might be able to do it better and cheaper with a set of outriggers (and make your speakers more physically stable at the same time, if that is an issue). |
@henry53 a couple of questions are the springs between the speakers and the blocks or between the blocks and the floor? Also what type of wood did you use?
Regards |
@havocman: How much do your speakers weigh?! The individual Pods are the same as the Pods that come on the Podium and Platform, available in six weight capacities, the "F" model Pod capable of supporting up to 50 kilograms. Four of the Pods can therefore support 200 kilograms (440 lbs.). If your loudspeakers weight more than that, I hope you have a concrete floor! By the way, I bought a bunch of sets of Pods from John (for my loudspeakers, turntables, CD player, phono and line stages, and power amps), and came up with the idea of using different capacity models on my loudspeakers’ Sound Anchors outrigger-style tripod base (the single rear Pod twice that of the two front Pods). Works great! |
I don't usually go for these kinds of things, but after hearing an improvement on a Youtube video, I'm a believer. Now if I could just get the longer studs I need to fit my GoldenEar Triton 2+, I can actually use them. It's literally been more than a year and Isoacoustics tells me they should ship sometime this month, but I'm not holding my breath. |
For those who balk at the price of the Townshend Platforms: imo the individual Seismic Pods can work just as well, and are considerably lower in price. If your loudspeakers have outrigger bases, the Pods (or the IsoAcoustics GAIA) can be installed in place of the stock spikes. No outriggers, and you want a larger footprint base for your speakers? Get a 3/4"/19mm piece of Baltic Birch ply, cut two identical pieces, put a piece of ASC Wall Damp between them, screw together, paint, attach the feet of your choice, and install. Best upgrade for the money! |