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
mains,

Google " audio snake oil" and you will be amazed at how much the term is a part of the current audiophile vernacular.  Then google the word naive and read the definition.  Sound familiar?

I too worship at the alter of music and enjoy improving the quality of  the reproduction of that music.  I am all for isolation, both of audio components and in some cases those who suffer from certain medical conditions.  I am by no means narrow minded, but am an open minded skeptic.  I just don't drink what you drink.
Certain medical conditions? What in tarnation are you going on about now, gramps? Isn't it time for your nap?

hi
abernajack
please educate yourself you cannot believe everything you read , you cannot describe everything you cannot see, just sit back and enjoy the fact you are seeing the picture from your ears
You also cannot describe how acoustic pebbles will add to musical pleasure as you have not heard them at my place and as yet neither have i, i would consider your remarks as naive and believing everything you read is naive and gullible. 
Also unless you have had experiences on the subjects and can offer first hand advice and factual accounts of your proof beyond any reasonable doubt the article is not worth reading .
Unless it a major upgrade to speaker isolation or any other isolation in general ?
My discussion was to share isolation to fellow members which i found made a huge improvement to my system,
My SR acoustic arts set also made an improvement to lessening pleasure
which i would never remove ,
Firing my sondlabs and apogees down the room was significantly better than across but my Tannoys sounded far better across.
I have met some really great audiophiles in my lifetime but not one has ever offered such detailed information regarding seismic vibrations and various ways to isolate ones system from these seismic vibrations as geoff.
From reading what Geoff has discussed and compared hes findings with my own experiences he obviously knows what he is talking about .
 I also found listening to Max townshend describing facts regarding seismic vibrations on YOUTUBE led me to buying Max townshend products which went on to give me upgrades like i have never experienced before.  
I am very curious regarding these pebbles and knowing a little about room acoustics seismic vibrations and EMF and RFI it is definitely worth the layout to install these products into my system .
If you disagree because you read it somewhere im afraid your audio journey is going to be a very limited experience,  some of the really great products that can bring the very best realistic music from your system are actually lying around you room , they are not an electrically connected part of the system they are what has been described as acoustic room treatments , this is another complete area altogether and deserves a separate discussion as most audiophiles and electrical engineers believe you must get your room acoustically damped correctly , so other than the importance of isolation you have the joy of room acoustics big colored panels and tubes or hopefully various small sized pebbles who looks naive now.


hi
has anyone had experiences with magnetic levitation , i keep seeing these products pooping up but notice a bar running threw the middle of the magnets i believe. 
If both top and bottom are still connected how does the product work ?
As long as the effects of the magnets do not interfere with the isolated equipment , seeing a gap between component and solid surface looks very interesting , its just that pole that is going threw the middle makes me think the technique still needs some tweaking 

mains OP
hi
has anyone had experiences with magnetic levitation , i keep seeing these products pooping up but notice a bar running threw the middle of the magnets i believe.
If both top and bottom are still connected how does the product work ?
As long as the effects of the magnets do not interfere with the isolated equipment , seeing a gap between component and solid surface looks very interesting , its just that pole that is going threw the middle makes me think the technique still needs some tweaking.

the issue with magnetic levitation devices of the sort that show up in audiophile systems is that two opposing magnets are used in usually four corners of the mag lev stand. As fate would have it magnets, especially the powerful rare earth type required to lift significant loads, are very slippery in the lateral direction, since there are significant magnetic forces involved that are not all vertical in their vectors as it were. Therefore some mechanism must be employed to prevent the top plate from sliding entirely off the stand and onto the floor.

There are two choices, one is to place "stops" around the stand that prevent the top plate from moving very far (but allowing it to move to some degree, at least until it hits a stop. Since isolation as I said before is defined as the ability to move freely in the direction of interest, in this case the horizontal plane. So, this is one drawback of mag lev. The other way to deal with the issue is to put pins or bars through the middle of the magnets, which accomplishes the same thing but has the same problem. In either case there is a path, albeit a small one, for vibration to be transmitted to the top plate. I built a mag lev stand for my modded Radio Shack CD3400 CD Player which gives you some idea just how long ago that was. Presumably the magnets act like springs, at least to some extent. Springs are better - easier to implement, better isolators, and they sound better IMHO.