Footers under new speakers

@ronboco You have exceptionally well braced and quiet speakers with a special base, no? I don't know how much the podiums would do for you. Probably just an email to Townshend would give you something to think more about, in relation to you situation and gear.

+100 on the Townshend platforms. I have a 30 year audiophile buddy who had the Gaia footers and he did a bunch of A/B with the Townshends and they won the day. I have used the podiums with both floorstanders and bookshelves – under the stands. There is really no doubt that these do a lot for the imaging clarity and soundstage width and depth. Easy company to work with, communication wise.

I know there is a fundamental debate between using traditional spikes and advanced isolation platforms like Townshend Podiums. While spikes have long been a common solution, aiming to "couple" the speaker rigidly to the floor, the podiums offer a fundamentally different and I think superior, approach – decoupling.

Why is it superior?

Consider that traditional spikes concentrate the speaker's weight onto small points so that vibrations are drained into the floor, which then acts as an inert mass. 

But this coupling is a double-edged sword. It not only transmits speaker vibrations into the floor, potentially exciting it and leading to boomy or muddied bass, but also allows external vibrations from the floor (like footfalls or traffic) to travel back *into* the speaker cabinet. This bidirectional transmission can introduce unwanted resonances, coloration, and a general degradation of sound quality. 

Podiums, in contrast decouple the speaker from its environment. They achieve this through a spring-loaded, air-damped system (called "Seismic Load Cells" by Townshend). This acts as a mechanical low-pass filter, effectively isolating the speaker from vibrations down to very low frequencies (below 3Hz). This isolation works BOTH ways: preventing speaker-generated vibrations from affecting the floor and preventing floor-borne vibrations from affecting the speaker.

The other thing I've liked about the podiums is their ability to adjust for height and leveling and the way they can accommodate various speaker sizes and weights, with or without their original spikes. 

My two cents.

I'm using the oem spikes which sit on isolation discs.  Basically, two machined discs with carbon ball bearings between them.  My floor is carpet on concrete. I would guess that the discs prevent a lot of bass from going into the floor. 

In the test we did at my friend's room, his speakers were on carpet on concrete, in the basement. We tapped on one speaker (left) and saw a jump on the right speaker, about 8 feet away. And this was with the Gaia III footers. After the speakers were on the Townshend podiums, we tapped again – and saw nothing. Really amazing to see how much comes across even a concrete floor!

@buellrider97 Not sure if Townshend has spikes but I don't have them and I don't need them with my podiums.

There's an interesting theory relevant here called the "Theory of More Stuff" 

It basically simplifies vibration isolation abd posits that introducing "stuff" between an audio component and its support surface will always reduce vibration to some degree. 

It dismisses two impossible outcomes: 

(a) vibration increasing (violating thermodynamic laws) or 
(b) remaining exactly the same (unlikely given a change). 

Therefore, the only logical outcome is attenuation of vibration.

Various materials and combinations, from spikes and plates to sand and concrete, can achieve attenuation. And more "stuff" often leads to better results – consider, e.g., stacked platforms.

The goal is to optimize this "stuff" for the best results in the simplest way. 

Historically, the spring has proven to be the most effective solution. A spring, or any compliant material, acts as a mechanical low-pass filter when paired with an appropriate mass. 

The ideal setup aims for a low resonant frequency (around 2Hz horizontally and vertically) and a specific damping ratio (0.16) to effectively isolate audio system vibrations, which typically range from 5Hz to 500Hz. This optimized approach ensures significant vibration reduction.

Thought you'd be interested.

See: https://townshendaudiofiles.com/most-overrate-kindness-greatest-be-oh-staking-laughter/

@buellrider97 Wheatridge has an audio store, Crescendo, which has great stuff! If you visit, please give me a shout. Message me and we'll set up a listening session! I did that with another fellow visiting his kiddo and it was great fun.

I think reaching out directly to Townshend might get you a good price; not sure but they're very responsive.

Also: I totally agree about calculating the weight with stuff on top of the speakers! I love my speaker weights and I actually see them up there (they are barbells) and they have gotten me working out a bit during my listening sessions!

Thank you for the compliments about my system. I'd be nowhere without the help on this forum and via local people.

@ronboco jump in measurement

@sls883 ​@buellrider97  John Hannant is who I dealt with. Because Townshend sells on A'gon, they notice when they're discussed on fora. I had good experiences with John for purchasing and also advice. I trust him and another Colorado friend bought two large sets of podiums and was very satisfied.

See the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW9-r83IvhI&ab_channel=TownshendAudio

Here’s a guess at one question, @ronboco 

While spikes increase the coupling that helps to stabilize the speaker and direct energy into the floor, the mechanical connections are still two-way.The speaker vibrates, that energy is transmitted down the spike into the concrete and then some of that energy will inevitably reflect or be conducted back up the spike and into the speaker cabinet. Even a concrete floor despite significant mass is not a perfect absorber of vibration. It can still resonate and transmit vibrations that will then conduct back into the speaker via the spikes, potentially introducing coloration or distortion to the sound.

The question becomes: how much vibration is happening and is it audible. That would be a very specific question  – about hearing, perception, and the spikes, speakers, and floors involved.