Well they finally shipped DHL from England. Next week I’ll set them up and share my thoughts. Cheers my Peers , Mike B.
Footers under new speakers
Hi , I’m seeking advice regarding footers and/or platforms under my speakers. I purchased Tekton Double Impact’s and have heavy shag carpet and padding over a cement slab floor. House is 35 years old, cement is thick and well cured. I’m from that old mindset of spikes into cement and I am looking for an improvement. I’ve looked online at Gaia footers and Herbie's Studded Giant Gliders. I emailed Herbie’s and specifically inquired about the studded gliders alone on the DI’s over carpet. I asked about stability and was told the speakers were “ heavy enough “. Unfortunately I just set up the DI’s temporarily to get a little break in time. They are without any footers upright on my carpet. At 115 lbs the speaker does about zero to compress the carpet. I understand weight Vs footprint is abysmal but they won’t even stand straight. I’ll probably put the spikes on for a bit until I formulate a plan. But my first concern is that Herbie’s gliders alone are not enough and due to the minimum cost of the speakers I am struggling with purchasing Gaia’s footers and footer spikes. The seismic stands look exceptional, but I’m trying to be frugal. So I’m looking for suggestions like, gliders or dots with or without spikes on wood / stone plinths spiked to the floor. My goal is to try some sort decoupling (Gliders / Springs / Dots) AND eliminate the need of having to rely on the carpet being compressed. And yes I have cheap speakers and seek a cheap solution, so I get that limitation. Unfortunately I can’t afford Tannoy’s or Fynes to compliment my 180 watt tube mono blocs for at least a year. Cheers , Mike B.
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@ghdprentice @jsalerno277 @052rc @slaw , @dekay @noromance @hilde45 @sls883 , @tomcarr @ronboco , @goose , @wswright20 @trecool99 , @emergingsoul Good afternoon gentleman, the Townsends arrived a Monday. My order took 3 1/2 weeks using the Townsend ad on AGON. John is the rep for Townsend and he’s been OUTSTANDING! We’ve had numerous emails and he even called me from England. He’s 110 % dedicated to customer satisfaction and absolutely fantastic to work with. I had ZERO ISSUES with tariffs, duties or shipping through DHL. I’d like to thank everyone for your help. During this thread I had many side discussions and between what was recommended and the additional discussions, I came to the conclusion that the Townsends were favored. That being said I was still apprehensive due to the price , and all I can say is PM me for specifics. So the bottom line is they are an ABSOLUTE IMPROVEMENT PERIOD! Being of the old mindset spikes are superior, I had to take a leap of faith out of my comfort zone. This was based on your recommendations to me. I went straight to the Townsends and have not tried anything else. So here’s my experience and results. I purchased the Tekton DI’s new last month. They arrived and I ran them for the first week without the supplied spikes on my thick carpet. Keep in mind we’re also in a break in period. The first week I ran the speakers on the carpet and they could easily be swayed when I touched them. They settled in and sounded pretty good considering they were new and too close to the wall. Week two I spiked the speakers and put them in the same location. I could now hear cabinet resonances that weren’t there before. I think sitting bare bottom on the carpet stopped this. So now I have hollow sounding speakers and less bass that’s booming. After about 3 days I made sure the spikes were absolutely into the concrete and using a level set the speakers. I then took a pair of 10lb dumbbells and using a small towel put one on each speaker front to rear placement. All of this almost got me back to “ No Spikes “. At this point the Townsends had not arrived , but this was my first window into the possibility that decoupling will be an improvement. So now I have the Townsends and I’m home alone. So I mark the floor with masking tape again and move the speakers. I remove the factory spikes and realize the blind nuts in the cabinets stick out about 1/16” and I’m alone. So I took a piece of Kraft Paper slightly larger than the speaker and tape it by the edge to the podiums. I set the podiums in place and slide the speakers in place. I didn’t want to mar the finish and the paper was the least invasive idea besides tape. Now with the speakers in the same location as before I gave it a try. At first it sounded mid range forward with a huge reduction in bass. I was really dismayed and thought this was a huge mistake. As I let the music play I followed the instructions and began to lift the platforms. They shipped at their lowest height and they were resting in the carpet and the 3” footers needed to settle in. Over the next hour I went in 1/2 turn increments until I had 2 1/2 turns into them and also the footers pushed way down in the carpet. I left for the evening at this point and left the music on at about 55 db. On the way home John called from England and gave me some additional instruction, what service ! At this point they had played for about 6 hours and I took my bubble and leveled them. So what do they sound like ? Wow ! And Holy Sh*T ! They are absolutely fantastic and transformational. Keep in mind I’m on the wrong wall and the speakers need about 2 more feet off the back wall. However bass is twice what it was with spikes. It is fuller and smoother and at the same setting on my pre now rattles the walls. The mid is fuller and more open. The treble is cleaner and more defined. The soundstage is considerably larger and more detailed. I’d also like to point out that the Tektons involved here are going to be paired with Rogue M-180’s , and a balanced preamp. However for this I’ve been running a Rogue RP-1 and a modded Akikita 50 wpc ops amp. Prior to the Townsends I was limited to about 75-80 db as not to have clipping. What I noticed is that there was such a huge improvement that it actually overcame the many shortcomings of this amp. The Townsends are truly a night and day difference and I can only imagine the increase I’ll experience with my other gear. In closing I have to say I’m a believer in decoupling Vs spikes. I trusted your imput and I’m a believer having heard the difference. When I set up the new gear I’ll probably decouple my TT and at least my pre and DAC. I’ve received great improvement and advise. I’ll probably step back and try the Auva, Tuffnutts, and Herbis products for my other needs. So many thanks to all , and especially John at Townsend. And you can reach him through the AGON ad in their sales section. Regards , Mike B. |
@buellrider97 Interesting findings. I just can't really fathom the science behind the Townshend (or other footers), but apparently it works. I'm happy that it worked for you. If I spend any money on audio, I'm also considering the level 3 upgrade for my Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL preamp. It's about the same cost. |
@sls883 , I totally get it , as it went totally against my thinking. However after reading for the past few years over and over again I just had to trust. I’ve done some serious tube rolling and this was bigger. Over the past few years I’ve closely watched members that are open minded and have put extensive research and time exploring isolation, decoupling and room treatments. Hilde45 is a perfect example of someone that has spent hundreds of hours experimenting with various gear and methods. I’ve tried to focus on the people that have modest priced gear as I can’t afford a $100k system. This is why I’m here and I’ve actually made a few friends along the way. Cheers , Mike B. |
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