I was on the same journey with isolation vs. coupling to the floor on a second story carpet over wood floor. I did several experiments, herbie's gliders, 1 3/4 inch stone with spikes, spikes through the carpet and no spikes. I was experiencing some transmission of bass through the floor and it was creating a trampoline effect of where the bass was exaggerated and some nodes were showing up. I was going down the Isolation accoustics route but did like the idea of the cups and carpet. I settled on the Townshend seismic platforms and they work really well. The bass tightened up, bigger soundstage, and the placement of the instruments are more precise. They are a spring based solution and the way they are designed don't affect the overall height of the speakers. One would thing that they may be unstable but that's not the case. They do move if you touch them but can't fall over. They have become a must have accessory especially on wood type floors rather than concrete.
Question/Advice About Isolation Feet for Speakers
Was hoping to get some thoughts about isolation feet. My setup consists of a Dr. Feikert Volare turntable, Lumin T2 streamer, PrimaLuna Dialogue HP Premium integrated amp, Dynaudio Contour S 3.4LE speakers and twin REL T9i subs. The room is small/medium size and is a second story garage apartment. It is carpeted with a wood sub floor.
I have spent considerable time dialing in speaker and sub placement and finally found the sweet spot. Everything seems dialed in with a good soundstage, tight bass, warmth and generally great sound at all levels. I’m using the carpet spikes provided with the speakers. For some reason I started to get the itch to try isolation feet to see if I could make things even better. I bought the Iso Acoustics Gaia II feet along with the matching carpet spikes. Got everything set up and sat down for a listen. I was disappointed with the results. It seemed like I lost some bass and midrange on some recordings and everything sounded “thinner” if you know what I mean. Still had good separation and soundstage but something seems to be wrong and less warm. My ears admittedly have their good and bad days (tinnitus flares up from time to time) so perhaps that is part of the problem.
I’m wondering what the issue is. Does elevating the height of the speakers with the new feet change the sound significantly? I don’t love carpet spikes as they don’t seem to provide the stability of a hard floor but I don’t have that option. I’ve thought of getting some concrete pavers and placing the speakers with the Gaia’s on that surface not using the carpet spikes at all. Not sure if this would help or hurt. I could also just go back to what I was doing before. I’ve read great reviews on these Gaia’s so I’m a little perplexed at this point.
Would really appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks
I have spent considerable time dialing in speaker and sub placement and finally found the sweet spot. Everything seems dialed in with a good soundstage, tight bass, warmth and generally great sound at all levels. I’m using the carpet spikes provided with the speakers. For some reason I started to get the itch to try isolation feet to see if I could make things even better. I bought the Iso Acoustics Gaia II feet along with the matching carpet spikes. Got everything set up and sat down for a listen. I was disappointed with the results. It seemed like I lost some bass and midrange on some recordings and everything sounded “thinner” if you know what I mean. Still had good separation and soundstage but something seems to be wrong and less warm. My ears admittedly have their good and bad days (tinnitus flares up from time to time) so perhaps that is part of the problem.
I’m wondering what the issue is. Does elevating the height of the speakers with the new feet change the sound significantly? I don’t love carpet spikes as they don’t seem to provide the stability of a hard floor but I don’t have that option. I’ve thought of getting some concrete pavers and placing the speakers with the Gaia’s on that surface not using the carpet spikes at all. Not sure if this would help or hurt. I could also just go back to what I was doing before. I’ve read great reviews on these Gaia’s so I’m a little perplexed at this point.
Would really appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks