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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
 
Let’s review the bidding. There are 6 directions of motion, the vertical, the horizontal plane (which counts as two directions). Then there is twist, the rotational direction around the vertical axis, and rock and roll directions, the other two rotational directions. The reason there are rotational directions is because the seismic forces are frequently in the form of physical waves, like waves on the ocean passing under a boat. This is why granite’s stiffness is good for isolation, it resists rotational forces. It's mass is good for isolation because of its inertia - more force is required to move it.

toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
@mains   I understand the idea of buying well engineered products with a nice finish and I think it’s sweet how we’re all trying to get each other to the best sound possible.

Here’s my perspective: I’m a stay at home dad. My wife makes decent money, but we save as much as we can do she can retire and we can get our boys through college. At the moment I can’t justify spending hundreds of dollars on things that I can DIY for much less. Plus, I get a much greater sense of satisfaction ​using something I’ve built versus something I’ve bought. Let me emphasize these are my values and I judge no one what like else for their decisions on these matters. 

As for the springs I’ve been using, I calculated the sizes I’d need and the spring rate required to be stable and give me the right amount of preload. It’s not like I was just buying random springs and stuffing them under my turntable. I'm reasonably handy and have worked in various manufacturing jobs before kids, so I pay attention to the important details like structural stability and follow the implications of simple physical laws.

With regards to the conical springs: since the seismic waves we’re isolating our equipment from have such small amplitudes, does it matter that the spring rate is not perfectly linear? The amount of travel is so small I’d imagine that the rate is reasonably close to linear in those fractions of a mm. But then again, my imagination has lead me astray before..
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
@keithtexas just looked at your links. Thanks, some cutting edge equipment there!

:-P
mains OP
170 posts
 
hi toddverrone
your completely in the right direction with springs this is purely based on my own experiences.
if it helps Max townshend told me that you want the spring quite squashed so it is doing its job , thats why its so important to get the weight right, 
the hole idea is your equipment is actually floating so it is protected from the seismic vibrations down to 3hz,
i believe im accurate in saying no system reaches this sub bass seismic 3 hz level which means max townshends design is ideal for system isolation,
i got best results from isolating my speakers first 
if you are interested in the podiums for all speaker weights and sizes emporium hifi in the uk sells the products at some 30/40% discount so instead of gambling your money on DIY ideas which in fact could do the job there is an opportunity to buy the correct engineered product at more realistic pricing  that will do the job and look very nice too , im too only trying to help other audiophiles experience the magic of the podiums regards john
kennythekey
593 posts
 
This is very interesting, because at louder volumes my new subs will cause oscillation that's from either mechanical and/or aerial feedback. It's been in the back of my mind, because I don't get it at the volume levels that I play music, but still...
I'm getting upgraded feet for my table, that use an internal spring system, so the results may be promising, as I attempt to eliminate this oscillation.
Kenny
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