Townshend Isolation Products.
Update on the Townshend platform: initially the wrong cells were installed on the platform per the weight of the turntable. I was then sent a set of the corner platforms for my rack. This was the solution to a number of problems. My footfall issues are gone and the overall sound has improved with a quieter background and a wider soundstage. my entire system has seemed to benefit from the corners. I have moved the platform over to my DAC. I am so astounded by the benefits of the platform and corners, I have ordered the podiums to go under my speakers. I'm totally bought in to the benefits of the Townshend isolation products. A huge shoutout to John Davis Hannant for his tireless customer service and his dedication in getting me the solution I needed.
Using the Townshend Seismic Isolation Podiums under my speakers was a revelation: the music sounded completely freed from the loudspeakers: clearer more dynamic bass, more open midrange and an expanded well defined soundstage. I had previously tried several other speaker isolation products but the Townshend are in a class by themselves. I use their isolation products under all my electronics with similar gains in SQ. Well worth the expense. |
@barts It has to be a wooden nickel…. Congrats on Hartley - store i worked at sold Hartley subs and drivers long ago in the golden age…. |
I’ve used Herbie’s (Tender Feet, Big Fat Dots, Spike Decoupling Gliders for speakers), all to great effect. I tried IsoAcoustics Oreas under my amp and other components and returned them. I’ve now tried Townshend Pods under my Tambaqui DAC and now under my new Makua Preamp (with embedded Tambaqui) and I think they are the best. That said, I’m not convinced yet that they are the best for all of my components. I find each have their own impact on tonal balance. Herbie’s tamp down upper mids a bit while creating a pleasing highly rhythmic and deep bass and opened up the soundstage while unlocking upper frequencies. IsoAcoustics Oreas boosted the overall sense of scale and “bigness” under my Gryphon amp, also opening the soundstage and improving upper frequency clarity, but they sounded overblown and overdone on my system - too “big”. Also they boosted upper bass in an unnatural and bloated manner. Townshend Pods under my Makua (and before that my Tambaqui) was more even-handed, but MAY have slightly boosted upper mids a bit. But clarity is improved, soundstage depth improved, bass is tighter, and I think the impact on tonal balance may be the most even-handed of them all. They make the sound less “dark” with a more free flowing sense in the upper mids and high frequencies. Of course this is in my system. I’ve ordered a couple of platforms for my Gryphon Amp and Makua preamp. Based on my experiences so far I feel confident this is a good choice for the Makua. Not sure about the amp yet. And not sure about the Pods (vs Herbie’s) for my other lighter components. Once the platforms arrive I can experiment moving the Townshend Pods under my other components. It’s hard to do that now as I lose the benefit of the Pods under the Makua when I do the switch. I’m not convinced at present that I will prefer the Pods to Herbie’s on the other components but we’ll see. One thing, I think the highest value is with Herbie’s and at least from my experiences in my system would far prefer them over more expensive IsoAcoustics products. If you are on a tighter budget I think Herbie’s is a no-brainer, and for me the jury is still out on whether I prefer Herbie’s to Townshend for SOME of my components. So far I know Townshend is the winner under my preamp/DAC.
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I bought the Hartley Reference from the owner of the company (Rich Schmeterer) amazingly the year was 1980 and the Hartleys cost $10,000 for the pair, I was 26 at the time. Rich an EE did a bread board of a three way electronic x-over and had Furman build three of them. He offered me one (because he knew I was nuts) and I purchased it for $700 in 1982(?). He never put it on the market. So I have one, he has one and the third is MIA. Ripped out the x-over, added some other terminals and hard wired the internals with 10 gauge Hartley Reference speaker wire Rich had custom made. First it was all David Hafler stuff, which I have in a closet somewhere, then all ARC stuff which I still have also (LS15, D110B, D110B, D111 and a D60). The last iteration just came together and its a REF6, Pass Labs X260.8, X260.8, XA30.8, XA30.8. Also changed the x-over to a Marchand XM-44 that I spec'd. I know that there are better speakers out there, but it’s been a 44 year love affair and these puppies still kick my butt down the block. Regards, barts
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