IsoAcoustics Gaia Footers AND Townshend Seismic Podiums

@alan60 The Seismic Bars are known not to provide the same level of weight distribution and stability as the Podiums, and as such, do not deliver the same level of performance. I was advised by John Hannant who is the primary distributor of Townshend that it is fine to use spikes on the platforms. But that Gaias would detract from the sonic performance the Podiums bring. I will continue to test as I get back this weekend.

@ronboco REW is a good suggestion, and I may do that. As I said, I thought I noticed it to be more tipped up with the spikes on vs the Gaia, but that could be due to more detail coming through. Sometimes that won’t show up in REW as it is not about the amplitude of the frequency that REW captures on a frequency sweep (singular frequency playing at a time), but about the imaging clarity that the Podiums bring due to less resonance and faster speed of delivery in complex passages. Only one way to find out, though, right?

@alan60    The exact same thing came to mind, I was thinking of the Isolation Bars too

You may want to consider the new Stack Audio Auva 100s.  Very impressive performance.

@blisshifi 

Whilst I take the point about weight distribution and stability, as your speakers are a normal rectangular shape and bearing in mind that you have a speaker sitting on 4 springs, whether it be podiums or bars, any the impact can only be very minimal when using the bars.

You also stated that using the spikes onto the podiums wasn't all positive and that your speakers are bottom ported, so would the bars not be worth a try as the gain from not using spikes and allowing the port to work properly might bring you more gains than the potential losses from not using the podiums. Also as you know the pods can be adjusted in height so you can raise or lower the speakers as a way of fine tuning the port.

Just to update the thread, I spent a good amount of time dialing things in last night. Only ver little needed to be done with positioning to get the best sound I’ve gotten out of my speakers with the Townshend Podiums.

They are still on their stock spikes vs directly on the platform. Where I reported the tonal balance shifting in the past, this was largely caused by the speakers being placed slightly closer together, causing an increase of energy in the center. The bass did get more taut which at first made it sound leaner, but this is likely due to less energy going into the floor. By adjusting the positioning, the speakers have reached a higher level of clarity. Microdetails are more discernable with less fatigue. With less resonance, the sonics have significantly better bass speed and articulation compared to IsoAcoustics Gaia footers. This leads to an overall more holographic presentation and improved air. 

I still highly recommend the IsoAcoustics footers as a more cost-effective solution. I’d say they get about 70% of where the Podiums take you at less than half the price. And I still very much leverage Isoacoustics Orea footers under every component that I own.