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
Ag insider logo xs@2xpuppyt
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.   
@puppyt,  No I did not have to.  The footers made a huge difference with my speakers placed as is.   
Hi,
I have used several expensive and cheap devices for this kind of problem. My speakers are 40kg heavy and my floor is made of gres. I have found the best solution for me is the following:
A base of thick bamboo (I bought it at Ikea, but they can also be found online or in highly specialized hifi stores); then a single or double layer of 1cm cork panel (a good quality pressed cork panel); then 4 feet made with the same cork.
A variant of this system includes two layers of plastic bubble for packaging.
This is a very cheap but really effective combo.
In the past I also used a Townshend platform, different dampeners (the best being one type made for industrial machines... I don’t recall the brand name), spikes, balls, stone platforms, graphite, everything else; so please don’t think this suggestion is bad because cheap!
For my room and speakers it has been the best.
Try placing something on top of the speakers.
Wood blocks (one pound, rosewood) can help tame vibrations.

Experiment with fo.Q tape!

Once the speaker is isolated form the floor, doesn't it still
vibrate when reproducing music?