IsoAcoustics Gaia w/MAGICO

Mechanical isolation and decoupling are myths. Only in audio are we taught, brainwashed, or advertised into believing so heavily in them.

Bravo!

Hi Robert,

Brilliant!
Thanks for Your active participation and everyone for bringing expertise  and experience around the table and engaging in such constructive exchanges.

I also use Gaias on a pair of Magico A3’s which are on a solid 3/4" oak floor. My experience has been very good and in line with skyscraper’s.

rhg88,

Thx for sharing experience.

As I said before I am puzzled by Magico’s box design and its synergy with IsoAcoustics.

Hello OP,

I attended a private meet and greet with Magico’s National Sales Manager here at a local dealer’s storefront in Wilmington, DE., and listened to the newest series of loudspeakers in detail and with their new pods design. 

Since most of our time is spent listening to metal materials, the aluminum chassis struck my curiosity as aluminum is not one of my favorite metals for use in audio and sound. In my opinion, the speakers presented themselves well however, I kept hearing a slight distortion in the low mid-bass region that was evident to my ears. The audible dissimilarity could have come from anywhere but the speaker produced it, so I began my search there.

We had a pair of the Q3s in the Energy Room for some time and did not notice anything like I was hearing from the newer designs. My first thought was targeting the pads but when I heard the retail pricing for a set of those, I was stunned and elected not to purchase them as we have sampled most of today’s offerings in that field of study.

I cannot speak for all the pads, discs, pucks, and other absorbent “catch and hold” forms of vibration management but I have listened to them enough to understand what their sonics are capable of in performance. I also know what happens to the Q3s when directly coupled at high speed with the right platforms and that is worth the audition and at any comparable price point.

In my opinion, there is no way to attain synergy between a specific model of a footer part with that of a loudspeaker. A lot of what you are hearing is how the electronics and equipment rack is performing in partnership with the speaker system.

I often tell listeners that system synergy uses one form of vibration management applied throughout the system. If you mix a slower form of coupling, now titled ‘decoupling’ by our industry of nonscientific name birthers, with a more direct high-speed coupling process, you will discover that the synergy you seek is next to impossible to determine. In short, springs matched up to engineered brass cones (not cheap one-dollar spikes), you combine two very different technologies hence one is always working out of step with the other.

In music and musical reproduction, timing is critical to overall performance. 

I believe you are in search of the best sound that the speaker is capable of providing with a budget in mind. My experience would be to privately audition all the products but have the seller assure and expose in writing any further cash outlays governing their specific financial return guarantee.

There is a publication with an educational review comparing the springs (decoupling) and high-speed coupling products. Both are more expensive products where both companies also provide products and price points in all ranges of budget. Regardless if you like this celebrity or not, comparisons of this nature are scarce in the audio industry so it should be worthwhile to listen in. https://www.youtube.com/c/ocdhifiguy

Thank you for your time,

Robert

Sound Engineer

Vibration Management Consultant

Disclaimer: I am a Founding Father and work with a company that has been involved with vibration management for thirty years. As an engineer, I keep all doors open to discovery and learning principles and am happy to converse with listeners at any time. 330-260-6769