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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
 
Folkfreak wrote,

"Of course they are a little more expensive."

I’d opine beyond the means of most people, in particular most people participating on this thread. Of course you can obtain Halcyonics or TLC or other expensive devices, even the Vibraplane and Minus K are not exactly inexpensive, but if you have many components to isolate one trusts you have really deep pockets for all active devices. Obviously for speakers the problem is a little, well, quite a bit different since the speakers only go down to what, 35Hz - if you’re lucky. 
folkfreak's avatar
folkfreak
1,349 posts
 
Yes expensive. But buying used you can get them for the price of a minus-k and they come up regularly from instrument sellers on eBay

 I'd argue that anyone with a $10k plus vinyl rig should definitely invest and some would suggest that a $5k turntable on such a platform can outperform a $20k one without it and my experience says that could well be true
mains OP
170 posts
 
Thank you Geof again for explaining this hole isolation problem every audiophile is having to deal with,
I am happy with the spring type speaker isolation platform but i am considering placing a ball bearing type platform on top,
The product is a three piece wood type materiel sandwich,
I would place the bottom slice on top of the podium roughly the same size as podium platform , Then you place the middle slice with cones at the bottom and discs cut out with balls in on top , so when you add the top layer the balls and cut out discs line up creating circular bearing movement,
With the podiums using there spring type system i believe this could add further isolation so increasing again sound quality, the bearing product is a cheaper type Symposium type platform.
I am finding the mpingo discs extremely effective, i am going to order some of your crystals that rest on the rca connectors where i cannot put mpingo discs 
Thanks for every piece of information you have posted on my discussion,
Am i correct in thinking the mpingo discs are dealing with airborne and internal equipment born vibrations,
My aim is to reduce all vibrations that are in my system done to next to zero if possible,
This isolation journey started for me years ago with the SR migs , then found i worked my way up to stillpoints which if i can remember so much has been and gone i got great results but the prices were high and have just gone up again,
If money was not a problem i believe Seismic Podiums with stillpoints would be a very effective isolation pairing,
With the odd mpingo disc here and there, maybe i should remain happy with the springs and get a loan for the stillpoints sounds like a joke but also could be the ideal solution any opinions or ideas anyone on the springs with stillpoints?
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Folkfreak, how does the Herzan deal with turntables since it’s a six degree of freedom platform? Wouldn’t the twist direction isolation interfere with the spinning turntable platter? As I recall the Minus K disengages the twist rotation isolation to be able to accommodate turntables, not sure if that’s really true but I think it probably is. And everything really should be isolated, the CD player, the amplifiers, the preamps, the DACs, everything!
folkfreak's avatar
folkfreak
1,349 posts
 
@geoffkait not sure I understand your question? If there's rotational energy being propagated into the platform the turntable sits on isn't that a bad thing? Don't most competent turntable designs isolate the platter from the motor anyway (in my case decoupled via a magnetic drive linkage). Finally since the rotational energy is at .55 to .75 Hz (33-45rpm) then the Herzan will not do anything about it anyway. Having said all of that my turntable does run quieter (i.e. I hear less motor noise) since installing the platform so maybe the Herzan is actually helping by cancelling out motor noise transmitted into the stand (even if it was not going into the platter) -- who knows 😏

Your point on isolating everything is well taken, and very well heeled Asian audiophiles have been known to employ multiple Herzan type platforms just for this
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