Boy, Oh Boy! Towshend!


OK, I have elevated my belief in isolation.  For the first time I feel I have entered the Hi Fidelity zone.  About 3 weeks ago I purchased the Townshend Speaker Bars.  My muddy bass cleaned up, I have better imaging, clarity, precision, speed and focus.  My buddy who is not not into HiFi but has followed my adventures, was blown away.  He said, "OK, now I get why you do this."  Best money spent! 

Denon DL160 (re-tipped by Soundsmith) > Thorens TD150 > McIntosh 8900 > ALK Extreme Slope in Klipsch Belles.  Just another step in the long journey, but a Giant Step for my enjoyment.  My system took a large enough step forward that I am drawn into listening to all of my 2K plus albums again just to enjoy them in a new way. Great people to deal with too, even with Brexit messing things up.  Highly recommended!
I am not associated with them in any way, just want to pass it on.
128x128edgyhassle
@arthur1260 I use springs on my stand mounts, and it makes a very significant difference.

You could use Blu-Tack to secure the flat bottoms of your stands on the podiums, or drill tap and bolt them once you’re satisfied they are the bump in performance I suggest you will hear. Bolting the stand to the podiums, or clamping them ensures security for your handsome looking speakers.
I just saw the PULSAR2 Graphene - just wow.

You haven’t posted a system page, I went to see if they have a space enough to pass a beam or something to clamp your tri-stands on podiums without modifications. You just never know when you might want to upgrade and sell me your podiums... (did I really just type that out aloud?)
@arthur1260I agree its best to secure the speakers and stand if using them with the Townshend podiums, bars or pods.  It is pretty crazy watching my 125 lb 20"x30" Belles float.  When I touch them they move like a suspended turntable.  It would make me nervous if they were on stands.  Definitely want to secure them.

The reason for going for bars over podiums was due to the size of my speakers they would have necessitated a custom built podium, which they will do, but out of my budget.  Picked up the bars for much less and am very happy.  They told me that the advantage of the podium over bars was that the isolation was spread out over a larger area.

@edgyhassle - I suspect (it is a guess, I will admit) that the bars do such a significantly effective job with your heavy speakers, that the small increase in performance the podiums may represent would not represent the bang for buck you have made. I think it was a prudent choice, one for which you are not suffering at all. And being able to secure the bars to the body of your enclosure (did you use screws?) would certainly give peace of mind.

It is curious to move such a heavy object with a small gesture from just the pinky finger, and for those who haven't experienced it.... They do settle down to equilibrium, and when music is playing literally appear totally motionless.
@arthur1260

FWIW, I did not have a positive experience with the Podiums and my Harbeth 30.1 on TonTräger stands. I believe that there were two reasons, the first being that the 30.1 have limitations in terms of bass reproduction, and the reduction, slight as it may be, due to the Podiums, was too much, to my ears.

The second relates to the stands themselves, and likely to any stands that are used. The Podiums are, of course, designed to decouple the speakers from the floor, but when speakers are placed on stands, there will be some vibration between them. So even if the Podiums have their intended effect, they obviously can't prevent interaction between the speaker and the stand. I do not know to what degree that latter issue is a problem, as the reduction in bass was enough for me to sell the Podiums on. 

To be clear, they are very well made, and based on the testimonials, they seem to perform well when used with (certain) floor standing speakers. But I do have some doubts about their benefits with stand-mounted speakers for the reasons mentioned, and would suggest proceeding with caution.
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