@henry53 a couple of questions are the springs between the speakers and the blocks or between the blocks and the floor? Also what type of wood did you use?
Regards
First impressions of the Isoacoustic Gaia 1’s
On my KEF Reference 5’s.
While I normally hear little to no change with “Tweaks”, I installed them Saturday evening and found immediate spatial differences. Just about every album sounded more open. I told my wife, who helped me install the Gaia’s, that if I wasn’t wowed, I’d send them back.
The room has wall to wall carpet and pad on the floor and when I first received the Reference 5’s, they sounded flat. I put small hardwood flooring samples under them and it helped a little. I then put a small slab of granite under each of them and they became much nicer to listen to. I was quite surprised at the change.
The Gaia 1’s are sitting on the granite as well and so far, I’m very happy.
It’s only been a few days, but I’m pretty sure they are “hear” to stay.
Anyone else have similar experience’s with speaker. Isolation?
JD
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Are you sure it isn't the block of wood that is making the difference (at least as much as the expensive "isolation")? You're raising your speakers by what, 2-4"? That alone is bound to change the sound. A slight change in the speaker tilt might help too. If so, this admittedly might be easier to achieve with something like the Gaia pucks. Or, you might be able to do it better and cheaper with a set of outriggers (and make your speakers more physically stable at the same time, if that is an issue). |
If you like your Gaia footers, and plan to keep them, you might try them directly on the carpet and get the same level of performance, without the granite slab. I can’t tell from the pictures how integrated the spikes are to the outriggers of your speakers. Assuming they are threaded, I can understand how you might feel most comfortable with footers that can be screwed into the outriggers, such as the Gaia footers. If I were using the Townshend Seismic Isolation Podiums, I would probably consider bolting them directly to the bottom of my speakers (or in my case the stands). IME, you can get the same level of performance for less money by using individual springs, if you size them properly and damp them. The individual springs work well when your speakers already have a solid base such as the outriggers on your Reference 5s or the Sound Anchor stands that I have under my speakers and subs. This place has a nice assortment of springs and a filter that can be used to identify an appropriate sized spring based on the weight of your speakers, but keep in mind the weight may not be distributed evenly (mine were heavier in front, since that is where the drivers are attached to the faceplate). A loosely applied layer of thin heat shrink (with a couple of holes poked in it) can be used to damp the springs and improve the appearance (you can see the look on my system page). I recently spoke with an equipment designer (not speakers) that I occasionally communicate with and he told me that some of his customers and industry folks whose ears he trusts have switched from spikes to spring type solutions with good sonic results so I am not surprised you are hearing good results with the Gaias. |
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