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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
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Mains wrote,

"I am now experimenting with Shun Mook Mpingo Discs in various places, which i am enjoying and hearing different effects, thanks for making me aware of these, When i remove the mpingo discs i can say with certainty i prefer the sound with them included in the system, Its quite difficult to explain the improvements they bring, if pushed i would say realism across the board ie bass is better, instruments are clearly defined and vocals gain a human like texture, im not saying the sytem is lacking without the mpingo discs, but definitely improves with them,"

Yup, that pretty much sums up my experience with the Mpingo discs, especially the part about the more human sounding voices. I still remember when the two Shun Mook dudes walked into the room at CES 20 years ago in the Mapleshade room where my knock off of their Mpingo disc was sitting right there on the floor. My heart was in my throat but I'm pretty sure they didn't notice it was a knock off. Lol And knocking them off is no mean feat. If you look closely you can see a small circular area on one side of the Mpingo disc that is a slightly different color from the rest of the wood. That is apparently where a crystal is buried inside, although I've never opened one up to confirm this. 
cellcbern's avatar
cellcbern
61 posts
 
Having tried every conceivable spike/footer/platform combination I have at this point satisfied my own ears that speakers should be isolated from the floor.  A speaker sounds best when it can "float" so that the cabinet can move in response to the movement of the drivers ("equal and opposite reaction.....").  The two product lines that reflect this relatively recent viewpoint are the expensive loudspeaker platforms from Townshend Audio, and the much more reasonable "Gaia" footers from Isoacoustics.  The view that speaker cabinets should be spiked to the floor so the cabinet is stationary and resonances are drained is simply obsolete.  On both concrete and wood floors, with and without carpet, my Merlin VSM's for example sound much more open and articulate on the "floating" Gaia footers than on the Merlin Z-feet or any other spikes.  I had Soundocity make me outriggers (for stability) with threaded holes so I can attach the Gaia footers instead of spikes.   See:

http://www.audiostream.com/content/isoacoustics-gaia-isolation-pucks#YTiJfV2Yw8kssDGk.97

http://www.isoacoustics.com/products/gaia-series/gaia-i/
mains OP
170 posts
 
hi geoff,
I have been reading a lot about the Mpingo disc thanks to you suggesting them,
They recommend place one badge towards the wall socket dot facing down at 6 o'clock onto the plug that feeds your mains block, and try this at every connection point threw out your system, ie rca input rca output , speaker terminals amplifier terminals, 
I am also when funds permit going to place the mpingo discs on top of my equipment and bass box to my sound-lab dynastats,
Its getting expensive but worth every penny to my ears, 
Can you please recommend to me the products that can be placed on top of the cables at roughly the same places as the discs,that you sell, maybe i can then place the mpingo discs on top of the equipment to see if the results are better, or i wonder if i should keep with the mpingos threw out the system, if i win the lottery i would like to use all the Shun Mook products as they are working in my system, have you any experience with the rest of the Shun Mook range please,all your help is very much appreciated 
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
@cellcbern how stable are those iso pucks on carpet? Would I need to have a spiked platform to put my speakers on if I fitted them with the iso pucks? They’re still expensive, but..

Never you mind. I just looked at their web page. They sell cups with little spikes on them. 
kennythekey
593 posts
 
Mains,

After, I stabilize my rack, I think my best approach is to isolate my speakers and especially my subs in the beginning. Then, go ahead and better isolate my equipment.

I had checked out the Townsend website due to this post, and sent an email seeking equipment recommendations. I'm waiting to hear back. Checking out the products, I can't use the podiums due to proximity of other equipment, but the Bars would work for my subs. An additional thought would be to put the Bars under my existing Symposium isolation platforms that the subs currently sit on. From your experience with the product, do you think this application of the Bars would be my best starting point?

BTW - I will be adding to my rack, side boards at the rear with a 1" dowel running across the backside of the rack at the top. From the dowel will hang strings attached to my components' ICs and power cords for the purpose of relieving strain due to the weight of these cables on the connectors. This was recommended to me by Bill at Shun Mook, and the side boards will also help to make my rack more rigid.
Kenny
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