Isoacoustics Gaia Speaker Footers


Replacing the spikes in my Soundocity outriggers (Soundocity made me a set of outriggers with threaded holes) with the Isoacoustics Gaia 2 footers has improved the sound of my Merlin VSM speakers.  They now sound more open and articulate than with any combination of Z-feet or other spikes, with or without outriggers, on the floor or on a platform, that I've tried.  Like the Townshend products the Gaia footers completely decouple the speakers from the floor, allowing them to float.  See:

http://www.audiostream.com/content/isoacoustics-gaia-isolation-pucks#IVXH8EtVAjQdwbuj.97     

http://www.isoacoustics.com/products/gaia-series/gaia-i/


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In the new Stereophile Art Dudley reviews two different IsoAcoustic footers, and says he prefers the GAIA to the Oreo under his Garrard 301. The GAIA is intended to be used with loudspeakers, the Oreo with components, but Art found the GAIA to provide more improvement with his table than did the Oreo. Since it comes with mounting studs in three sizes including the 1/4-20 used on the feet of VPI turntables, it occurred to me that the GAIA is a good candidate for use with those tables.

A set of four GAIA III (which support up to 70 lbs.) retails for $199, about half the price of four Townshend Audio Seismic Pods. The Pods are really good (I have them under my Townshend Rock Elite table), but for only $199 the GAIA is worth a try bolted onto my Aries 1, in place of the stock cone "isolation" footers. The parens is in recognition of the fact that cones (and spikes) are not isolators, they are couplers. Why that myth continues is a mystery to me! 

Geoff Kait's springs are also worthy of consideration, but for use under a turntable---which requires precise leveling---the height adjustability of the GAIA (via the threading on the studs) makes it ergonomically better.

Just placed an order for two sets of GAIA IIs for my 2A3 monoblocks. IsoAcoustics helped with choosing between OREA and GAIA as well as between the GAIA IIs and IIIs.

I had been looking at various options and landed at the Critical Mass CenterStage2 footers as the high performance/high price option and IsoAcoustics as the value/performance option. I will revisit the CenterStage2 Footers at a later date.

I should have them on Thursday and will report back with initial impressions after I’ve installed them.

FYI, I did have the GAIA IIs for my Tekton Design SE speakers but ended up preferring my own ’double’ isolation solution using two sets of Herbie’s Giant Gliders with a TAOC isolation platform in-between.

A shout out to @mac48025 and @audiotroy for their assistance. Thank you!
@bdp24 

After reading same review I stumped up for a set of 4 Gaia to go under my Nottingham TT.
Should be here tomorrow......
Great @uberwaltz, can't wait to hear what you think of them. My VPI Aries is taken apart at the moment, so I'm in no hurry. By the way, the GAIA III (good for up to 70 lbs., sufficient for most tables) sells on Amazon for $189/set of 4.