Under my tower speakers -- Isoacoustics Gaia, other options?

Spikes affect the sound. I have heard it firsthand. I used spikes on my Thiel speakers for years. I could hear the difference between the speakers sitting on the floor vs on spikes. Imaging improved. But when I put my speakers on tuned spring platforms it took them to another level. The same thing happened when I put my amps and preamps on tuned spring platforms. In fact, the increase in detail and resolution was so great that at first it was distracting me from the music. I could hear hum in mic cables, talking, footfalls- things I had not heard before in recordings. I almost put things back to the way they were before, but I finally adjusted to the new level of resolution and transparency. I can’t go back now that I have heard what tuned isolation can do. I no longer have anything resting on spikes.

Spikes do not isolate. They might sink vibrations or whatever the claim is but using an accelerometer I do not see any real change in vibration levels myself. Springs isolate and rubber dampens. Just look at a car suspension. It is a combination of springs and dampers- rubber and viscous dampers.

Funny thing is being an engineer I still went along with the prevailing winds. Since I could hear a difference with my speakers on spikes I assumed spikes were a good thing for all of my stereo gear. Why did I check my engineer brain at the door for so long, I wonder. For example, back in 1979 I was shopping for my first turntable. I remember looking at a Philips belt drive and a Garrard DD turntable. The Philips had a suspended table while the Garrard was fixed. But the bouncy Phillips looked so 1960s to me while the Garrard looked nice and modern. It wasn’t until 1992 when I brought home my first Sota Turntable that I realized how important isolation was to the sound. Even then I did not think to apply that principle to my other gear using mainly Sorbothane pucks for damping.

It is not a simple solution. Spikes impact the sound of components, isolation and damping are effective but like room dampening- too much of a good thing is bad. I learned that first hand too. Even my Sota Turntable can be sensitive to the type of platform it rests on regardless of its remarkable isolation. I learned that as well. One thing about the audio hobby- anyone who assumes to be an expert and scoffs at the various tweaks and setup configurations be it mechanical or electrical will almost certainly be humbled at some point.

@tonywinga, good post. May I ask what you use under your components and speakers. I'm hoping you'll say rubber pads that cost $1 each on amazon 😀 

Thank you.  Unfortunately, I have not found $1 solutions but the spring platforms for my Thiel speakers were pretty reasonable.  The price of 8 springs and two butcher blocks was not too costly.  I designed the springs for the load of my speakers and the spring rate to achieve a Fn= 3 Hz and ordered them from McMasterCarr..  I counter drilled the butcher blocks to a depth to leave just a small amount of travel when loaded and to support the springs so they remain vertical.  I also stuffed some foam inside the springs for damping and added rubber feet.  I used the same springs on my amp stands to isolate the amps from the floor.  My amps are beasts but not quite as heavy as the Thiels so the Fn (resonance point) is about 3.5 Hz.  I bought the Nobsound spring footers online.  These are clever little devices that are perfect for stereo components.  These footers hold up to 7 small springs which allows you to tune them for the weight of the component that you are isolating.  These are inexpensive but very effective.   

Now, like I said before, out of curiosity I bought the Gaia footers for my Thiel speakers to try them out.  While they did not perfectly isolate the speakers from the floor like my tuned spring platforms, they did improve the sound of the speakers.  Enough so that I kept them and put my spring platforms on my HT subwoofers.  Wow, did that make quite a difference.  Life begins when you isolate your subwoofers.  

So last summer I bought me a pair of Wilson Sasha DAW speakers.  They sound good.  They come with the Wilson spikes which I used.  Wilson now offers their version isolation spikes made from their X material.  I have no doubt that they are effective but they are an additional 10% cost of the Sasha DAW speakers.  Therefore, I bit the bullet and bought a set of Gaia Titans.  If you think buying the Gaias hurts- try getting a set of their Titans.  The Wilsons will give you all the bass you want.  I could feel it in the floor even after set up per the Wilson method.  I found the Gaia Titans improved clarity and imaging.  The floor doesn't vibrate like before with the spikes but the furniture, pictures and windows still shake and rattle. I had to put sticky tack on all of my pictures to keep them from rattling.  

I'll add that when you use the Nobsound spring footers on your components, they need to be tuned to maximize the isolation.  Do that by using only enough springs in each footer to have about a 0.100" gap when under load.  So the footers are still floating- don't let them be grounded under load but provide the lowest Fn possible. My preamps, for example are heaviest in the front where the transformers sit, so I have one more spring in those front footers vs the footers in the back.

Ok, so this is the post where I eat some of my words. I’ve been reading your posts, and others, and watching videos about the Townshend podium. I really like my speakers enough to try to bring out their best qualities. From what I am reading and seeing. -- e.g., here: https://youtu.be/IvTrtMmrfE4?t=1088 there’s a lot that could be gained by a profoundly isolated speaker. If it all does nothing, well, shipping is a small price to pay to really know that.

The other thing I am thinking is that I’m not really going to be ready to go to a "next" level speaker for a while, in part because I really think these speakers are quite a great value and match very very well even with my lower powered tubes and subs. My next speakers are going to be at least 2x or 3x my current pair, and I’m not ready to go there, yet.

With the Townshends, I can try do a real comparison with the spikes or even some Gaia.

The other thing a podium could do -- if it works well -- is know that I can move my speaker into my next (new) room (which has a wood floor on some cork over concrete) without worrying about how the speakers will sound in there. Or to a room upstairs (over suspended wood).

I’m almost over my reluctance to try the Townshends.