@drack1 Thanks for the tips!
Under my tower speakers -- Isoacoustics Gaia, other options?
I have Ascend towers (45lbs each) on a concrete floor covered in thin wall to wall with an area rug on top of that. I am looking into different footers for my speakers and am curious what people with towers on concrete have tried and liked.
To my mind, something as expensive as Townshend platforms do not seem worth it, as they'd cost about a third of the price of the speakers themselves.
If you've tried Gaia III isolators or other kinds of feet for your speakers, especially on concrete floors, I'm curious to hear your observations. Thanks.
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@surfcat Thanks for relaying your experience. Your floors are hardwood and mine are concrete on the basement level. They are very very solid. So, I'm not sure whether your experience will translate much for me. That said, I'm getting a lot of good information about Townshend, here. It's still too costly given the cost of my speakers, but I'm mulling it a bit. |
Townshend is reported to be much better than Isoacoustics Gaia. However, the price is higher and as a result it’s more suitable for higher end systems or speakers. There are folks who upgraded from the Gaia to Townshend and found the latter to sound noticeably better. The difference is claimed to be not subtle. Isoacoustics Gaia can work on all surfaces - concrete, wood, tile or carpet. Carpet discs(additional cost) can be used with the Gaias if the floor is carpet. With Gaias, it’s mostly an improvement but there are cases where people don’t hear a difference, or it’s a degradation rather than improvement. With the Townshend, I believe the success rate is 100%. If tight on funds, I can highly recommend the Isoacoustics Gaia. |
@ryder Thanks for your comments. The Townshend is only portable IF any new speakers I purchase have a base that fits on the podium purchased. My present (somewhat trim) speakers would get a size 1 podium; unless future speaker fit this podium, then the it is not portable. The alternative is to spend extra money, now on a podium for future (possible) speakers. But now the expenditure is even beyond what is already a questionable investment. That's the challenge. It’s not a question of funds being tight, really; rather, it’s a question of whether it makes sense to spend a third or more on a platform, given the speakers’ cost. Maybe your rule of thumb is different? Would you spend 1/3 of the cost of your speakers on a platform if your speakers had a concrete floor under them? Take that as a serious question -- I’m curious about your way of doing things. I would prefer to get any number of other tweaks -- skyline diffusers, isolation for other components, a better DAC, etc. before pouring money into more isolation than is really justified by my conditions and speakers. As for success rates being 100%, I would like to know what percent of those folks have concrete floors. If wooden floors are a major problem for speaker vibration, and I assume they are, then it would make sense for most Townshend podiums to be sold to folks solving that particular problem. And if that is true, then the success rate would be quite high. |
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