Podiums are based on the same basic engineering used in Pods. A spring is encased in a rubber sleeve that functions as a sort of bellows, trapping the air inside. At the top the spring is attached to a threaded metal plate with a single very precise small hole in it. The threads are for height adjustment and the hole is to allow air to pass through. A very small, precision-controlled amount of air. This tiny little hole allows the air to function as a damper.
A fundamental challenge with springs is they bounce. We want them to bounce. But we do not want them to keep bouncing! When that happens we say it resonates, and resonance adds color. It is a form of distortion, and we don’t want it. Springs all by themselves are already very good at isolation. Please read the above threads to see just how good they are. But even as good as they are springs do have this problem of resonance.
The problem with damping is figuring out how to achieve it, and how much to use? The air valve method Max Townshend invented uses only a couple percent damping ratio and does this with air alone and no moving parts. Genius!
The four damped spring towers are attached to a very dense, massive and inert plinth. My traditional knuckle rap test yielded a very satisfactory ’thunk’. Stiff and highly damped, it is also covered in an extremely durable and beautiful finish. Sliding speakers on and off left zero marks on them, and they really are handsome to look at.
The damped spring towers at each corner are threaded for two different leveling adjustments. The first is to level the unloaded Podium on the floor. This first step eliminates any problems or situations where the floor is not perfectly level. This adjustment (if necessary) is made with a special thin wrench that comes supplied with the Podiums.
The speakers are then placed on the Podiums and fine tuned for precision placement. At this point, loaded with 150lbs worth of Moabs, making fine positioning adjustments on my thick carpet proved a bit of a challenge. The solution I came up with was BDR Round Things under the footers. Furniture gliders would probably also work. If it is even a problem. My carpet and pad are very thick. They do look like they will work beautifully on hardwood flooring.
Once perfectly positioned the speakers are raised by turning the knobs at each corner. There is a process to doing this. First all four are turned equally, until all four corners are floating free and clear. It is essential to allow freedom of motion in all planes. Once this is achieved then the speakers can be adjusted perfectly level by turning the knobs in pairs- the two on the left or right, or the two on the front or back. Adjusting in pairs this way avoids diagonal rocking.
Describing this process in print is hard but doing it in practice is easy. In fact this was the coolest part of setting them up! With the Podiums I was able to place my level right on the Podium. Even fully loaded with about 150lbs of Moabs and BDR the knobs turn silky smooth, and precision leveling is super easy.
Okay, okay, so how do they sound? In a word: wonderful! This can’t come as much of a surprise. They are after all basically Pods attached to a plinth, and the Pods work wonderfully under everything I have tried. Still, the Podiums are pretty impressive.
The first thing I noticed was improvement in the direction of what I would call a more natural sound. Natural sounds are almost never described as having glare or strain. Natural sounds can be quite loud. But there is a difference in nature between a loud natural sound and the same sound through a system. They may measure the same volume but we have no trouble hearing the difference.
At this point I have to agree with Max and say that the difference is ringing. Natural sounds start and stop very quickly. Sounds reproduced by our systems cause the system itself to vibrate, then the room, and the room feeds back into the system until the whole thing is ringing like a bell. This all happens very fast and can be seen demonstrated on a seismograph placed on a speaker.https://youtu.be/BOPXJDdwtk4?t=6
In any case, whatever the explanation it is clear there is a lot less glare and strain with speakers on the Townshend Podiums. This results for me in a lot less listener fatigue. Another thing I find is that while I don’t necessarily need to turn the volume up, when I do it is way more enjoyable! The combination of speakers like Moabs capable of playing very loud and strain-free with Podiums is intoxicating!
The next thing I’m hearing is a massive improvement in what I would call truth of timbre, or tone, or whatever you want to call it that makes each individual instrument sound more like itself and not any other. Not the big differences that distinguish a steel from a string guitar, but the little details that distinguish one wood-bodied gut-stringed guitar from another. Not hyped-up count the spittle hitting the mic details either but the sort of tonal shadings that distinguish the real vocal talent from the second-tier. Even now after more than a month on Podiums still I put on records that have me going Wow that wood block really is awoodblock!
This is why I spent so much time explaining Max’s damping mechanism. Before Podiums my Moabs were on springs. The load was the same, and the springs were properly sized for the load. However, the springs on my DIY platforms were not damped. Consequently, they had their characteristic resonance. This resonance colors everything played on them. Like viewing the world through rose-colored glasses- you may like what you see but that ain’t the world! Now on Podiums the world as presented by the Moabs is full blown Ultra Panavision 70!https://vashivisuals.com/the-hateful-eight-ultra-panavision-70/
Those who follow me know I am not just about sound quality, I am also about value. Because I am so passionate about sound quality, but have only limited resources, I have to be. No way I have enough money to go chasing the latest and greatest. One look at my system anyone can see how hard I will work if it will get the job done for less.https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367
For sure springs will do a very fine job for very low cost. Just about any spring, properly tuned and used, will outperform an awful lot of stuff that costs a whole lot more. For sure anyone in the market for good vibration control solutions- and that should beeveryone! -should consider springs. But Townshend Podiums are so much better than ordinary springs that I have to say that even at their price they are not just as good value, but even better. They are that good.
I dont understand at all why someone can contest the benefit of isolation... The problem is what is the best results possible? i dont doubt the Tonwshend platform reviewers....I am pretty sure the product is very good...
Myself i cannot buy for a 500 bucks system a so costly design....
Marginal returns cannot be meaningful for me ....The relation between increase of positive S.Q./ cost of the device, is not significant in my case because the device exceed many times the cost of my system....My homemade device on the other hand cost peanuts....
What is significant is the effect of springs vibrations controls on my audio system.... It is huge and irreplaceable by any other devices .... It cannot be replaced by controls in acoustical or electrical working dimensions for sure.... Then in a more costly system than mine the addition of the Townshend platform is justified by the improbability to obtain better isolating result by any other means, and the impossibility to replace vibrations controls improvement in any way by other means than vibration device control anyway....
The problem is simple in my experience: Almost all people are completely unconscious of the negative impact of any source of noise in their system... Be it mechanical electrical or acoustical....Nobody can listen to his noise floor and say i know where you are "noise floor" now, dont hide yourself anymore! 😁😊
This is the reason why they spend money in the wrong place most of the times and upgrade an already good dac, or amplifier or even speakers without having never listen to them at their peak potential....
Isolation was mandatory for me.... My 2 speakers were on the same desk than my gear....My homade sandwich isolation device was very good before springs, BUT they introduced a "tuning" that was not what we all wish for unbeknownst to me....Coupling/decoupling tune the speakers in a negative way most of the times.... Springs isolate first.... They dont tune first....And modulo some precaution they finely isolate without too much tuning of their own...And i let my sandwich under the springs then even the springs are relatively isolated .... 😊😊
Myself i cannot buy for a 500 bucks system a so costly design
Well, at least you are speaking for yourself. In my case, I would pay money for a properly designed and constructed isolation platform, as I am busy making a living.
I do not doubt your isolation system performs adequately, but I take exception to your denigrating a product solely due to price. Now, if you could install the Townshend or any other isolation device and compare it to yours, then I would find a reason to accept your point of view. B
I do not doubt your isolation system performs adequately, but I take exception to your denigrating a product solely due to price. Now, if you could install the Townshend or any other isolation device and compare it to yours, then I would find a reason to accept your point of view.
Do you read my post before attacking me?
These are my words:
i dont doubt the Tonwshend platform reviewers....I am pretty sure the product is very good...
Then in a more costly system than mine the addition of the Townshend platform is justified by the improbability to obtain better isolating result by any other means, and the impossibility to replace vibrations controls improvement in any way by other
I dont doubt tough that the Townshend platform will exceed my device in S.Q, because their fine engineering....
These are MY EXACT WORDS IN MY LAST FEW POSTS....
My own experiment with springs isolation in this thread are there precisely here to CONFIRM the powerful positive impact of springs isolation design....NOT denigrating it....
But all thing said for me it is ILLOGICAL to add a device so costly to my peanuts cost 500 system....But i will buy it immediately if my system was not so average and like millercarbon valued system for example... But you dont put costly formula one tires on LADA russian car..... DO YOU? Is it difficult to understand for you?
You owe me apology for attacking me without reason at all....Confirming the value of a technology is not denigrating it....Nowhere i suggest that my use of springs is superior to the platform.... am i an idiot equating my creative but improvised and not always practical double springs under tuned heavy concrete load with a genuine researched simple to use quality design ? No i am not, but i am proud for my improvisation at peanuts cost, yes....I only REPORTED my experience here, and it is powerful....Springs are powerful for isolating...Then Townshend like i said is very good and no long brain work is necessary before buying ....Springs work...
Read someone posts and intention before insulting....
I am tired of idiotic posts....Too much for my evening....By the way revise your understanding of Newton interpretation...And read about vibrations....
I personally agree with you about isolation for electronics (with the possible exception of tube microphonics in certain extreme situations, I suppose).
However, as I said, it was only the spring-based system that totally stopped large vibrations from getting to my turntable (e.g. my family/son walking on the floor). It was measurable, and in practice simply worked.
As for the springs under the speakers, your recommendation to simply "fix your floor" is hardly practical for many if not most people. It’s a hell of a lot easier to just shove some springs device under the speaker rather than go about reconstructing the floor!
And even the cheap spring devices made a very audible difference, really like an "upgrade" of the system in the direction many of us are seeking.As a proof-of-concept example in my own experience, it certainly isn’t pissing away money; it reaps just the benefits I was seeking!
Though, as I said, I’m going to see if the Townshend devices will refine that effect a bit more. If the devices deliver, as virtually every single person who has tried them has happily reported they do, I’d hardly call that being crooked. That’s getting what you paid for.
It reminds me of those who seek accuracy and neutrality above all, and declare that good audio is ABOUT accuracy. Hence any gear that may deviate from neutral or add any level of coloration are deemed "silly" and for suckers. It's a failure to understand other people have different goals, and if something suits that goal, it's worth it for them.
I’m all for skepticism as many here know. But it can lower in to cynicism and also value judgement if we don’t watch it, where something "I" would never care about buying is therefore ridiculous for anyone else.People have different criteria and goals.
I have Isoacoustic Gaia feet under my B&W 804s and they work on a similar idea to the Townshend podium. They made such a massive difference.
I use the Townshend Seismic corners under the corners of my rack. It effectively suspends the whole rack. That really helped too, not as big a difference as the speakers, but noticeable nonetheless.
I also think Max Townshend is a brilliant cable engineer. His F1 Fractal speaker and interconnect cable is absolutely superb.
I’ve had the F1 for some time. I’m in the UK where Max is based so maybe it’s easier to source here.
I tried many different interconnects including costly ones from the likes of HFC and Transparent. And by far and away the best were the F1. Interestingly the rca version sounded better than the XLR even though I have a fully balanced amp.
I did have HFC CT-E speaker cable as it was by far the cleanest, crispest and most detailed of all the cables I had tried. Then Townshend launched the F1 and I managed to borrow some. Oh man, I only had to listen for a few minutes and I bought them. They had all the clarity and detail of the HFC but added the most amazing richness to it, a real holographic 3D deep texture to the sound, and incredible controlled and extended bass. And I had never understood the meaning of the Hifi term ‘black background’ before hearing the F1 speaker cable.
I also have tried and purchased Townshend Podiums. I have placed them under Linn Akurate speakers and I have to say they have resulted in a considerable improvement in my system. The improvement is not subtle and all one needs to do is to walk around the sound room and notice that there are no noticeably bad areas for the sound being produced. I am not saying there is no sweet spot, there is. I am saying that these devices seem to have the effect of eliminating areas in the room that existed before where the bass seem to overwhelm the music being played and the music itself would otherwise sound somewhat distorted. All rooms seem to have areas where the sound being produced by the system seems to be almost -if not actually- unlistenable. Over the years I have tried every equalizing device I could get my hands on and I can't recall anything that works as effectively as the the Podiums and it absolutely does not color the sound coming from your speakers - you get what you had but in a more refined form. There is a review of these things by Neil Grader in the Jan., 2021 edition of Absolute Sound. This article is responsible for first introducing these things to me. If you chose to try them, measure your speakers and you only need the platform the speakers would sit on to be approximately 1"-2" or so larger on each side than the speaker itself.
pmiller115, that is a really good description, and I noticed the same thing but get so focused on sweet spot listening I never mentioned it so glad you brought it up. My first time coming home after being at Mike Lavigne's, his room is so neutral-flat across the band and it really hit me at first like my room is all tubby and bloaty. That was last summer when my Moabs and everything was on DIY springs. I was left with the impression a whole lot of tube traps are needed....
More recently though when I did the same thing I was really pleased to hear my system when I got home. All the bloat was gone. No tube traps. The only difference, this time instead of springs everything is on Townshend- all the components on Pods, speakers on Podiums.
You are absolutely right. I am pretty OCD about putting a record on, sitting right down to listen. Hardly ever put anything on and walk around. But you are absolutely correct. Nailed it.
The difference has to be that now the room- floor, walls, ceiling- are being mechanically vibrated a whole lot less. What vibrations there are, they are from sound, not nearly so much mechanically transmitted through the speaker cabinet, floor, etc. Pretty obvious with bass, you feel it in the chest and body not coming up through the floor and chair. That same sort of thing is probably causing the walls to vibrate and act like speakers, with the ringing being what makes the unlistenable areas.
Pretty crazy good stuff to be getting from just one thing like that, eh?
millercarbon: There is a good deal of skepticism about these things and I think I may understand why. At a certain point in the development and "perfection" of an audio system you have likely already tried many, many things that make intuitive sense and are left to experiment with things that are less obvious. Spikes were what many of us were taught were essential and the Podiums reverses all of that thinking. The longer you work on your system the more things you have likely tried and, at a point, the population of things that "could" offer improvement gets smaller and smaller. Springs sort of conjure up the idea of a BS idea - I mean doesn't spending a couple of thousand dollars and ordering devices from England so your speakers can set on springs sound like the result of some unique/different thinking? I think it does but, nevertheless, I was and continue to be surprised at the level of improvement that these things produce.
Well, I went a ahead an ordered a set of the Townshend Seismic Platforms #3 from England for my speakers. One was delivered yesterday the other is due to arrive on Monday.
I cannot wait to read your report here...
You could not be wrong, if i judge by my own experiment with springs done right...
My own homemade approximate engineering experiment is very good and not comparable to my previous isolation sandwich which was good....And certainly not on par with the professionnally engineered and tested design of Townshend... Then....
ozzy4 - the same EXACT thing happened to me. The packages got separated and one was delivered on Thurs. and the other on Mon. Something that might be helpful - find a level area and level these things before placing them on the floor at which point you will relevel to conform to the floor. It you start with these things levelled that helps the levelling process on the floor. As the instructions will tell you, once the speaks are on the platforms you then re- level using the top nobs on the platform/podium. Good luck.
The longer you work on your system the more things you have likely tried and, at a point, the population of things that "could" offer improvement gets smaller and smaller.
I know just what you mean. Because I was right there with that same way of thinking. First it was all you need is speakers, amp, source. Then wire. Okay so speakers, amp, source, wire. Then conditioner. Okay so.... you get the idea. Then if you clean the contacts, okay contacts clean, but now we are really running out of things to do. Right?
Not so fast: Room. Okay so acoustic panels. Rack. We have a good rack. Surely we are done now? What? Cones? Wait, what- springs are better than cones???! Okay now we are done. Sorry. Back to wires. It matters where they go. Okay so move the wires. No, not on the floor. Okay so up off the floor. Are we there yet???
The whole time this is going on, which is by the way not years but decades, in the background the whole time is a chorus of millions chanting, "diminishing returns, diminishing returns, diminishing returns."
Only instead of diminishing returns what I’m hearing is steady to occasionally increasing returns. One Schumann generator isn’t exactly transformative, but ten of them sure are and at only $10 each that is one hell of a strange sort of diminishing return! Don’t even get me going on the rubber bands, just one of several worth doing that cost zip!
Two plus grand for some Podiums might seem excessive under $4500 Moabs, until you hear it and realize how many tube traps it would take to clean up the bass this much, how many diffusers and absorbers, if such a thing even is possible. The improvement in clarity is so great I seriously doubt any amount of acoustic treatment can match what Podiums do.
The bottom line then is completely the opposite. The population of things that could be improvements is getting bigger. Not only that, it is no longer "could" but now with experience I know it is "will". Like for example the last thing I did was to my crossover, which I knew would be an improvement, the only remaining question being how much. Quite a lot, as I found out.
The beauty of all this is it is now quite easy to say with certainty that enough of the right tweaks and accessories can elevate performance far above anything attainable with the conventional big box component upgrade approach. This leaves me more stoked than ever to hear what lies ahead!
millercarbon: "
The bottom line then is completely the opposite. The population of things that could be improvements is getting bigger. Not only that, it is no longer "could" but now with experience I know it is "will". Like for example the last thing I did was to my crossover, which I knew would be an improvement, the only remaining question being how much. Quite a lot, as I found out.
The beauty of all this is it is now quite easy to say with certainty that enough of the right tweaks and accessories can elevate performance far above anything attainable with the conventional big box component upgrade approach. This leaves me more stoked than ever to hear what lies ahead!"
And this brings us back to the original starting point -i.e. first speakers, the amps., etc., etc. I think this is really why it is and what keeps it an interesting hobby. If you once became convinced there was nothing more to tinker with, experiment with and try it would become about as interesting as a chair and you would move on to something else that keeps your bank account at a manageably low level.
What I did was to first of all screw both the upper and lower adjusters down to as low as they would go. This automatically levels the base, at least if the floor is level.
Then I "walk" the speaker up onto the Podium- first tilt to one side so it is balanced on the two feet or cones on that side. Then tilt it onto just one corner, and rotate the way you want it to go. Tilt back and forth like this until as far as you can go over the Podium.
At this point you have a choice. Either continue to walk it forwards onto the Podium, or switch sides tilt it the other way and walk it backwards to where you want it to go.
If you are on carpet I found it useful to use something round and smooth like a furniture coaster under each foot. This will make sliding around to adjust position a lot easier.
With the speaker on the Podium and the Podium as low as it will go this is the time to move the whole thing to exactly where you want it to be. This is the time to do it because the springs will probably be fully compressed making it relatively easier to slide around. I say relatively because the way they are designed to have full freedom of movement each tower can still move around a little. This makes moving it a little more of a challenge than something like say a solid butcher block or slab of granite. Pay attention to how each foot moves, you will get the hang of it.
Once it is right where you want it then start turning the top adjusters, two at a time as per directions. Be careful, you may need to use the supplied thin wrench to prevent the lower nut turning when adjusting the upper handle.
Most speakers have drivers in the front so the center of gravity is a little forward, so in order for the speaker to be balanced it will not be centered on the Podium but a little further towards the back. But however it winds up you then turn the front two, and then the back pair, one full turn at a time until you notice the whole Podium is up high enough to be moving freely on the springs.
At this point I like to look and check each corner to be sure it is free to move in all directions. What I found worked best was to push sideways on the Podium base a little and let go. If the springs are all free to move the whole platform will oscillate side to side no matter which direction you push, and the speaker will also be free to rock side to side, up and down.
As long as this is what you get then it is high enough. Does not need to be a great deal of movement. In actual use playing music the speaker will not move at all. Not that you can see anyway. All this rocking and rolling is just to be sure the springs are totally free to move.
Once everything is high and free then double-check location, and then finally double-check they are level. This is a lot more nit-picky than the instructions, because I am a total OCD when it comes to speaker placement. OCD is putting it mildly.
Ozzy and Millercarbon I installed using a slightly different approach. Since the idea of the Podium is to essentially suspend the speaker I avoided adjusting the what we will call the bottom feet to a minimum level. My approach was to make certain that the Podium was quite free moving from front to back and from side to side by adjusting the bottom feet up and away from the lowest setting. In other words, my bottom feet were probably 2 to 3+/- turns up from the minimum or lowest setting. Once I had done this on my kitchen counter I moved the speaker in question and placed the Podium exactly where I wanted it to be when the speaker was placed in final position. As Millercarbon points out, the weight distribution of many speakers leaves the speaker weigh-heavy toward the front of the speaker meaning that once it is on the Podium you will use the top adjustment knob to level from side to side and from front to back. It is my take on these devices that the more free moving the speaker, the better you have accomplished the desired goal. If the Podium is in contact with the floor/carpet you have partially defeated the purpose of this device to suspend the speaker. As long as you stay away from leaving the Podium in contact with the floor/carpet when the speaker and Podium rocks in any direction I don't think you can go too far wrong. As for getting a 140 lb speaker onto the Podium I would suggest a hearty breakfast and at least one weight-lifting friend. As you probably have already seen, the surface of the Podium has a pebble like surface and you will likely want to be careful so as not to scratch the bottom surface of your speaker. The speakers don't slide well on the Podium which is a good thing once the speaker is installed but a bad thing during installation so I placed a piece of fabric on the Podium and basically walked the speaker onto the Podium. That seemed to work relatively easily and without tooooo much frustration. Once on the Podium I adjusted the top adjustment knobs so as to slightly raise the elevation again with the thought in mind that I believe the objective is to leave the speaker as free moving as possible. Try rocking the speaker back and forth and from side to side -it you hear a clicking type sound I would recommend raising the elevation because I believe such sound is a sign that the speaker is not completely free moving. Good luck and for one, I would be most interested in your evaluation of these devices once installed and you have had the chance to listen to your system.
Oh, I got another tip that allowed me to raise and lower my 140+lb Moabs with one hand: leverage! Take a 2x4 about 18" long and cut a bevel on one end. Leave the 2x4 only about 1/4" thick at the end and it will slide right under the Podium. Then place a dowel or 2x2 for leverage. Press down with one hand, the whole thing lifts easily!
With the other hand slide a shim under each side and lower it down. Repeat at the other end. Repeat if needed to raise high enough for whatever clearance you require. Works so well I had my wife come and, "Do you need me, dear?" No, but watch this! 😳
The coating that is on there, Townshend is understandably tight with things from having been ripped off before (check out the bogus Podium knockoff video someone here found) so all I know, it is an extremely durable paint/coating made here in the States. My Moabs are on BDR Cones, they were walked back and forth a couple times, kept looking expecting to find marks but, nada. Tough stuff.
A 2x4 is too thick to slide under the Podium. So I lay it down on edge and cut a bevel on one end, bringing the 2" thick end down to only about 1/4". This will now slide under the Podium, with the bevel angle matching the angle of the lever. The 2x4 laying wide like this is plenty stable to support lifting the Podium without it tilting either way. I did this because the feet were hard to slide on my carpet. Raising the whole platform like this enabled me to slide BDR Round Things under each footer, without having to move the speaker off and back onto the Podium. This one cut on the chop saw saved a lot of work!
Incidentally, I would not have thought it would make much difference but BDR under the Podium is definitely better. I got this idea from another guy, who prefers PM to public comments. Also the BDR Round Things slide on carpet making it a breeze to fine tune position now.
OZZY I suppose it says something about us when we will sit and struggle over figuring out how to install a light switch which will control a light from 2 separate switches but yet we have the innate ability to relatively quickly figure out how to get our speakers onto the Podium platform. Now that you have done that with one speaker it likely really annoys you -as it did me- that they didn't deliver the other Podium at the same time. Glad you were able to complete step one. As I said, I am quite sure we would all like to hear your review of what this does for your system. Good luck.
Lucky mine weren't like that. As I was following tracking it went from 2pcs to 1pc and I was like Where's the other one? Then it would show, and ultimately DHL gets them both here together. If I had one and not the other, arrggghghgh! Review Monday??
I think Millercarbon and I are of the same mind in hoping your shipment shows up on Monday and, also, that you give us your reaction. You are likely to notice improvement in your system with your very first listen but you are also likely to continue to notice improvements in the sound of your system when you really don't expect it. My experience was that music pieces that in the past seemed quite ok will surprise you when played again. Are you ready?
OZZY One last note that I think has not been mentioned. Since these devices will change the way music is presented you may, as I did, find it necessary to change, for example, the volume level of your sub or bass if you are not using a sub in addition to toe-in - toe-out, etc.
Right, the improvements these things make, some of them will be familiar and similar to other stuff. Dynamics, clarity, imaging, etc. But some of it like more natural lifelike timbre and tone affects so many different instruments, some of them it seems more than others, or maybe that is just the way I notice it. But whatever the reason it kind of creeps up on you more and more over time just how much better it is. This is different than the usual deal where something burns in or whatever. Pretty sure all the improvement is there right from the beginning. It just takes a while for the depth and breadth of it all to sink in.
Millercarbon, Ozzy: "
But whatever the reason it kind of creeps up on you more and more over time just how much better it is. This is different than the usual deal where something burns in or whatever. Pretty sure all the improvement is there right from the beginning. It just takes a while for the depth and breadth of it all to sink in." I think this is a good description of what you are likely in for - you just don't know how much better it is all at once.
In hindsight it makes perfect sense. When we do something to the system, electronics or components, it affects the signal and so it does pretty much the same thing to everything across the board. So play a record, any record, you hear the improved detail, dynamics, image, whatever you play it is the same. But with this, because the effect is on resonance, well every individual instrument excites these resonances differently. So there are some similarities sure but there are also a lot of things where maybe something like a wood block or string bass has a signature sound that maybe excites and resonates more. Well in that case then when this exaggeration is gone that instrument is going to sound way, way, WAY more exactly like itself than ever.
That would explain why sometimes even now I put something on and it hits me that OMG that sounds so much more REAL! Only it is not like with say my Herron where after a month everything is sounding just that little bit more refined. This was laying there ready from the beginning, only just needing this one particular instrument to come along and reveal it.
I think this is why I find myself enjoying Sinatra-Basie, Tchaikovsky, stuff like that a whole lot more. It's not like rock and electric stuff isn't better too, but anything with natural live acoustic instruments- especially human voice!- because we know what those really are supposed to sound like, when we hear them on Podiums they actually do sound that way, for once, finally, and it really is something to hear.
Check out: Www.AluminousAudio.com A speaker system that takes vibration control, etc to the ultimate level. A monitor speaker system that hangs from a stand like a gong. Unique freely hanging speakers is said to have a very different and amazingly better SQ. Integrates with two subs that are placed on their proprietary footers. A very interesting concept.
I am tired of the PC police determining what is acceptable to say or print. Whatever happened to free speech? The PC culture is hurting this country big time, and I will not give them more fodder. I have had way too many posts or comments deleted on his site (and others) by pin head moderators. My thoughts are mine and I will not tolerate censorship. I somewhat understand that some comments may be viewed as “hate speech” but who decides what is acceptable? ...Everyone has an opinion and that should be our own and free to express.
We are way OT but I don’t understand. If you’re in favor of free speech, why did you delete your own post?
As to who decides what is acceptable here: It’s the moderators. They have a tough job but I think they’re pretty good at it. It helps that the rules here are pretty clear.
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