2. speakers
  3. 129108-85809

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 OP
170 posts
 
hi Geoff,
I highly respect your opinions and fact based knowledge, i did start to isolate my equipment first, 
I tried Stillpoint ultra ss under my lector cdp707 and psu7 and allegri passive pre and ultra 5s under my amplifiers which were a pair of krell fpb 450mcx, back then,
I found they changed the sound which became forward, exciting and dynamic, 
When i weighed up the price i decided the change in sound did not justify the very high price tag,
Then i tried Clearlight Audio RDC cones and bases under my electronics and speakers all for less than 350gbp which for the improvement in sound quality was a bargain,
I got obsessed with trying to get my speakers positioned to sound there best, i had a mid bass hump,
I read the reviews of the Speaker Bars and Seismic Podiums, i became very interested in trying them,
For my sound-lab dynastats i was recommended to audition the Seismic Podiums with blue load springs,
When i heard the benefits the Podiums had i wanted to share my findings with everybody they made the biggest improvement to my system to date,
Speaker placement was now not such an issue,
The sound was similar to the Stillpoints, but much more organic and natural,
The price was much less as well which helps, but it was the performance that really did it,
Geoff if you can imagine the vocals when using the mpingo discs the Podiums bring that flavor but using the discs as well brings it out even more, 
The Stillpoints are probably the best bearing isolation i have tried for my electronics,
Adding the Seismic Isolation Platforms increased the effects of the Sciesmic Podiums, 
I am in the process of selling some old cables and bits and bobs to save up for the Stillpoints,
When i have enough funds i will have the home demo, if they bring what they brought last time to my system, i feel i am in for any incredible experience, 
I will put the Stillpoints between my electronics and Seismic platforms,
At the moment under my cdp i have added Final Lab Durama which has added an increase in detail,
The Stillpoints are better performers than the Duramers so i am expecting something very special but then i always do that is what makes it all so exciting and enjoyable. 




Post removed 
mains OP
170 posts
 
hi,
Please check the Max Townshend video spikes v Podiums on you tube, the Podiums are somewhat of a new product maybe a couple years old now, here in the UK they have received great reviews, the 3 top sounding rooms at the Bristol in the UK all had there speakers on Podiums,
If you try them under your speakers and your system sounds so much better then they have done the same to your system as they did to mine, its difficult to comment on something unless you have tried it, i believe there are other ways to break the acoustic connection between your speakers from the floor/room,but I found the Townshend Seismic Podiums achieved this for me, the newest edition to the Townshend Seismic Isolation technology is the Piano bars, used by owners of Grand pianos, they are also receiving great reviews and magnificent customer feedback, please check out the Townshend Audio website in the UK many vary famous musicians have had them installed.

hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,832 posts
 
@kosst_amojan
Religion plays no role in my preference for decoupling. It works in my environment and experience. I adhere to no dogma about it, I just think it is something people should experiment with and let their ears be the judge. My guess is that the creator cares little for my audiophile preferences.

Might "science" be your religion?
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
If decoupling, and I mean competent decoupling, didn't work and and didn't keep most seismic type vibrations from getting up into the electronics then LIGO - long distance interferometer gravity wave observation - would not have been successful last year in detecting and observing gravity waves. LIGO would have done so a long time ago if it could but the sensitivity of the experiment required development of exceptionally robust isolation systems.

As has been pointed out already, resonant frequencies of cartridge, tonearm, platter of turntables as well as the resonant frequency of the laser assembly (spring mounted!) of CD players and the Fr of all the various electronic elements in components require relatively robust isolation devices, too. That's precisely why audiophiles discover that more expensive iso systems are superior to the usual DIY inner tubes and tennis balls. It's because their resonant frequencies are much lower and therefore more effective at 10-12Hz or wherever.
More to discover