@noromance , Hi , thanks for the info. In purchasing the Townsends I pretty much went from zero to one hundred overlooking a lot of good stuff, point taken. I have a modded Thorens TD-180 with a Grado cartridge. Your TT is fabulous and you are light years ahead of me and I appreciate the direction. When my kitchen remodel is done and the dust settles I’ll begin the new setup. So I’m looking at a rack/shelf, something like Timber Nation. I’m cost driven , so I might build something and go from there. I have my TT , DAC, Streamer, CD transport, all the usual stuff. My new pre and power amps are about 55bs X 3 pieces , so I’m looking at decoupling 7-8 items. I’ll definitely try what you recommended and I started to read your previous thread. To be cost effective and experiment I will probably try multiple combinations of affordable stuff like repurposed cutting boards and marble or quartz. The springs you mentioned , some pods , maybe absorbing materials like mats. For a few hundred dollars and a few hand tools I should be able to come up with some methods that yield improvement and have fun doing so. Thanks for your guidance, 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.
- ...
- 233 posts total
@pindac , Yes I hear you. I’m not sure what I will do in regards to cabinet resonance at this point. But first I’ll be looking at proper placement/ set up for my speakers. That will be after my remodel when I move to a different wall and have the room to place my speakers 2-4 ft off the back wall to optimize positioning. After some initial setup I’ll get a mic and software to measure the sound in the room and begin some room treatment. After that I’ll probably look hard at my cabinet resonance, but I’m not ready to modify my cabinets at this point in time, but I get it. So thank you for your suggestions as they are certainly applicable to where I’m at. Happy Listening, Mike B. |
I’m very glad it worked out for you so well !
I started off using some cheap spring footers from Amazon just to try bring isolation under my Thiel speakers. As I mentioned, I was impressed enough with the changes that I moved on to ordering the Townsend isolation bars.
I found that with the cheap spring footers underneath my Thiel speakers it changed the tonality a bit more than I liked, and I figured that was likely attributed to the way those footers raised the height of the speakers as well. I liked the idea that the Townshend bars were designed to not raise the speaker height substantially.
And they worked as promised that way. They changed the tonality less than the cheaper footers.
Though interestingly, it was a different case for what I ended up with under my Joseph audio speakers - the marble platform I built. In that case, I actually ended up enjoying the speakers being raised substantially - about 6 inches above the ground. They maintain their tonality really well even raised up that high, but there’s also the bonus of the higher and broader and more realistic sized sound stage.
So different speakers, different solution solutions. |
I just changed out Gaia's for Stack Auva 100's and am very pleased with 2 things that improved: 1) Tone - the tone of voices and instruments jumped up nicely. Maybe it is clarity, but my brain said tone. 2) Bass - it got punchier, less blurry, not sure the exact frequencies, but the Wilsons punch more and seem more engaged. Great folks to deal with and after researching these they make more sense than Gaias. Gaias isolate, the Auvas absorb. |
- 233 posts total