Has anyone had experiences good or bad with speaker isolation or isolation in general ?


hi
i have been enjoying buying and listening to hifi for some 35 years now and have seen many items come and go.I have also been interested in the audio cable discussions and i agree that cables do make a difference how much of a difference is a very individual, and a system dependent situation. There has been nothing that has got me so excited and improved the sound of my system that has ever made me want to really share it with fellow audiophiles until i started to try various isolation products.With so much choice from affordable to very expensive i found the hole subject very confusing and i did not know where to start. After trying lots of various products all shapes and sizes with very different results i decided to read reviews which is something i do not usually do to get some advise.I read a review on the Townshend audio seismic podiums they are isolation platforms that go under your speakers .This company is very famous for isolation ideas and have been around some 50 years based here in the UK they also had a factory in the USA back in the 1980s. I contacted Nick at Emporium hifi  and he agreed to install a pair for me so i could have a listen. My speakers are sound-lab dynastats which i use in quite a small room but with the adjustments give a nice sound. After installing the podiums we both sat down with jaws hitting the floor these podium things completely transformed the sound of my system to absolute perfection. After all this time trying various products under my equipment i have now isolated my speakers and the sound quality is exactly what i believe we all are chasing, my sound-labs are now transparent no more bass problems i have just got one big 3D sound stage the dynastats are now very open with deeper much better bass everything is perfect. I now believe isolating your loudspeakers is the first port of call i was so impressed by the Townshend audio seismic products i now sell them as i have never come across anything that has given my system such a great upgrade , the sound is the same as before but now its just so much better its playing deeper bass but tighter much more resolution and no boom , the midrange is so much more human sounding realistic and spacious with the top end so refined and perfect , is anyone using podiums and had the same experiences i would love to hear from you thank you john 
mains

Showing 4 responses by hifiman5

I have been using Herbie's Audio Lab "Cone/Spike Decoupling Gliders" under the spikes of my Vandersteen Treo CTs.  I got the same effect from them decoupling my speakers from the floor that you are describing with the Podiums under your dynastats.  All of my deep bass is reproduced by stereo 2wq subwoofers which are spiked into the concrete slab under my carpet and padding.  Liberating the Treos from the deep bass really revealed the openness and detail the system is capable of.
@kosst_amojan  Using spikes is not a one directional vibration reducing tool.  Just as vibrations go down the spike to the floor underneath, they come right back up again.  What's that getting you?  Your post also states that the decoupled speaker is "floating".  In my particular case, my stereo room is carpet+pad over concrete slab.  My speaker spikes are resting in a Herbie's Audio Lab cone/spike decoupling gliders, which settle into the carpet and pad quite nicely due to the weight of the speakers themselves.  There is no "floating" happening.  Regardless, the proof in this hobby is always in the listening.  The improved clarity using this decoupling method is immediate and consistent.  The comparison between coupling and decoupling yields results constantly favoring the decoupling.  

After realizing this improvement I proceeded to decouple both subwoofers using a larger decoupling device sourced from Herbie. Now all of the vibrations of the speakers and subs are not being transmitted into the component rack causing them to vibrate right along with the music.

If there is one lesson I've learned in all these many years, it is that vibration and resonance are the enemy of your stereo components.  This would help account for the considerable money audiophiles spend on their racks and component vibration/resonance damping tweaks. 

Lastly, you state "A floating floor is a less than ideal platform upon which to place a stereo. " Now that floating floor must be quite something.  Maglev technology on a grandiose scale perhaps?  That's something I would love to behold. And who says there are LAWS of physics?
@kosst_amojan
Religion plays no role in my preference for decoupling. It works in my environment and experience. I adhere to no dogma about it, I just think it is something people should experiment with and let their ears be the judge. My guess is that the creator cares little for my audiophile preferences.

Might "science" be your religion?