Under my tower speakers -- Isoacoustics Gaia, other options?

@whiznant 

 isolation platforms not only help eliminate the floor form adding to the sound but also vibration getting back to the speaker, especially with concrete floors. The vibrations have no where to go but back into the speaker.

That comment, especially the bold part, has really helped me see why the "concrete floor" factor is not the end of the story. Thank you! I suppose I figured that the floor was so inert, it wouldn't resonate in sympathy with the speakers -- and indeed it would not. But the vibrations coming from the speaker is the key, and thank you for pointing that out in a way that made sense to me.

@sokogear Thank you for your recommendation. It's hard to believe a platform that inexpensive is out there as a solution. I appreciate it.

@lemonhaze I deeply respect your opinion and experience. I will read the link you provided and seriously consider the platforms. It defies my economic common sense to spend that much but you're making a salient pitch, here.

Ginko Audio has some budget friendly speaker vibration control. They cost less than $400 for my speakers….the Isoacoustics for my speakers would cost me over $1500

@lemonhaze Some very helpful conclusions from your article. I quote:

Spikes came about in the early days of wall to wall carpeting to prevent the cabinets from dancing around by anchoring it to the underlying wood. Beyond that, the audiophile world has been misled as to their purpose. Rigid coupling feet will operate and perform the same function as the bridge does in coupling the strings to the soundboard of any string instrument.

In summary

• Rigid feet couple vibrations
• Vibration is a two-way street
• Spikes cannot drain energy to a heavier mass
• A small contact point actually amplifies vibrations
• Spikes cannot reduce internally generated cabinet vibrations
• Question one-size-fits-all and no lab report devices
• Isolation means the mechanical path is either broken, or the form of energy is converted to another form
• Properly designed isolation is predictable, repeatable, and neutral in performance
• Isolation will offer clarity that cannot be experienced with coupling, because with coupling comes additional, unwanted vibrations
• Isolation is easy to perceive
• Vibration transmissibility is easily measured

Also interesting, making some case for spikes (suitably tested on a particular setup): 

"By having spikes on the base of the stand (as illustrated in diagram 1) we allow the speaker stand to ‘grip’ the floor under the carpet. As a result, we can expect the spikes to reduce how much the speaker and stand wobble around, particularly at low frequencies. Unwanted vibrations or shaking of the speaker box and stand at low frequencies could then be reduced. By holding the speaker more firmly we may alter or assist its ability to radiate low frequencies. In addition, the floor may now act as a secondary radiator or medium to convey sound vibrations to the listener. Hence spikes under a stand may well have an effect we can sense, not because they “isolate” vibrations, but for precisely the opposite reason! To do so, however, they need to effectively penetrate through the carpet so the stand can grip the floor underneath.

What the above can’t tell us, of course, is whether any changes produced by such spikes will be judged to make the resulting sound “better” or “worse” – or even if the changes will be noticeable. That will be a matter of individual circumstances and the personal preferences of the listener. There are various reasons for this. One example is that, in some cases, the movement on the springy carpet might help damp out higher-frequency resonances in the stand more effectively than being gripped by the floor. Matter of circumstances which might be judged ‘best’ for changing the performance in the way the individual user might prefer."
https://www.audiomisc.co.uk/cones/speak.html

My system is on a concrete slab floor with a fairly thick carpet/pad. My components are in a massive salamander cabinet with source components on IsoAcoustic pucks and my preamp and monoblocks on maple plinths. My speakers, Dali Mentor 6s, were on spikes. Still, when I put them on GAIA IIIs I heard a significant improvement in resolution and sound staging. It may have been that the Dali spikes weren’t really long enough to penetrate the pad and carpet, but the improvemt with GAIAs is real.

In our former house, the system was on wooden floors—the speakers were on spikes there, but the speakers sound better with the GAIAs on carpet, if my memory serves me.