Anyone try Isoacoustics Gaia’s and Townshend Seismic Podiums?

[ozzzy]

oracle1974,
Thanks for the message. Yes, I did consider the bars but with the weight of my speakers (140lbs.) I just decided the platforms would work better.

ozzy

 

[BruceD]

Hello Ozzzy, did you also consider buying the Townshend Seismic Bars which probably do the job of the Seismic podium and at a lower cost.
All the best for the speaker platforms and look forward to hearing your views once both the platforms arrive.
Thanks!

No No--I'd definitely get the Podiums--over the Bars--

I ordered a set of the bars for my speakers--and upon opening the box 3 of the the feet fell out with the spring part broken off !

I contacted Townshend and the reply was

"just get a Heat gun and soften the edges and reattach"--um really?

This is no putdown of dear old Max--but he needs to up his QC maybe--tough market out there now for footers /etc.

Anyway check your purchase carefully I'd advise.

BruceD

 

[Oracle1974]

oracle1974,
Thanks for the message. Yes, I did consider the bars but with the weight of my speakers (140lbs.) I just decided the platforms would work better.

ozzy

Got this response from a dealer to a similar query I asked and sharing for the benefit of all here:

"For ultimate performance the Podiums are better than the bars, although both products are highly effective.
The Podiums spread the weight more evenly than the bars and are much easier to set up and fine tune. Also, for speakers over 50kg in weight, the podiums are very much recommended over the bars.
The bars are there really for customers that don't have the budget for the podiums".

 

[cal3713]

Got this response from a dealer to a similar query I asked and sharing for the benefit of all here:

"For ultimate performance the Podiums are better than the bars, although both products are highly effective.
The Podiums spread the weight more evenly than the bars and are much easier to set up and fine tune. Also, for speakers over 50kg in weight, the podiums are very much recommended over the bars.
The bars are there really for customers that don't have the budget for the podiums".

I'm not arguing that there are not audible performance differences, but it's crazy when you start opening up footers and realize how little differentiation there is in the various technologies used. Do you want springs, rubber, or hard metal with minimal contact area? If you're going under electronics, then you can add air bladders and magnetic floats. And once you get within a product line, there's almost no differentiation. Just different types of metal, rubber, or spring thicknesses. All the Townshend products, for example, are going to use those same springs we see above covered in heat shrink and glued to threaded insert.

 

[ozzzy]

BruceD,
Wow! Those are some nasty photo's. I think all the pods are basically using the same approach but perhaps the design is better in the more expensive platforms. The outward appearance of the pods on my platform looks better than the pictures of your pods only, for whatever that is worth.

Since I have at this time only one platform installed I can compare the sound between the 2 speakers with or without. Right now, it is tuff to decide, but I do think there is more presence of the left speaker with the platform.

ozzy

 

[ozzzy]

The Eagle has landed! DHL just delivered the 2nd Townshend platform.

ozzy

 

[ozzzy]

Check out my review on Audiogon.

Townshend Seismic Isolation Podium Platform Review: | Audiogon Discussion Forum

ozzy

 

[Hear Here]

Looking at BruceD's horendous photos, one has to ask what materials are used and how much they should cost. Size 3 Townsend Seismic Podiums are about £2000 per pair but how much SHOULD they cost? A few steel springs embedded in rubber and bolted into a steel plate really doesn't warrant anything like that price - or does it? Are we being taken for a ride - as we are when we spend our children's inheritance on cables?

 

[BruceD]

Looking at BruceD's horrendous photos, one has to ask what materials are used and how much they should cost. Size 3 Townsend Seismic Podiums are about £2000 per pair but how much SHOULD they cost? A few steel springs embedded in rubber and bolted into a steel plate really doesn't warrant anything like that price - or does it? Are we being taken for a ride - as we are when we spend our children's inheritance on cables?

I was in a quandary whether to post the pics --but yes I agree the pricing is not cheap and that particular quality control I felt needed to be addressed.
Yes it can be rectified as I was told -ha!--and I agree when placed with 100Ilb of Speaker downforce they ain't going anywhere.

The principal is excellent and kudos to Max -you don't still kick ass in this business after nearly 50 years of operation unless you know your Market !
I would still endorse the Podiums over the Bases-I think they are being phased out anyway.

I've had close look at the Podium feet and they seem to be a more substantial finished product --so no problems there I feel
Expensive maybe but recall the Gucci --or Smucchi quote?

"The quality remains after the price is forgotten"

BruceD

 

[dennisbinda]

I have podiums under speakers and subwoofers, custom made by Townshend, and pods under streamer and DAC, they make a huge difference in my system. Not cheap as already mentionend but worth every penny !!

 

[wokeuptobose]

I have had both the Gaias and the Podiums under my Sasha 2s. My floor is cement with stone on top. The Gaias were very good and the Podiums were better yet. Both, but especially the Townshend's go agaist everything I thought I knew about vibration control!

 

[taww]

I have a review of the Gaias coming out at some point. I initially hated them - slow, muffled, rolled-off, dynamically dead. Then I gave them some time to settle and took some more care with leveling and tightening based on some suggestions from another owner. Huge improvement and I can now say the Audiovectors are vastly superior sounding with the Gaias in place. In particular, there were some bass resonances that I had assumed were room acoustic modes that are now entirely gone - turns out it was my suspended floors and/or walls resonating, or inducing resonance in the speakers themselves. I can definitely recommend them.

As far as I can tell, everyone who has tried both Gaias and Townshend Podiums agrees the latter are superior (as they should be given the price difference). I may still try to get Podiums at some point but I suspect my wife will not be a fan of the speakers looking even larger than they already are. I do think if you have poor results with the Gaia, it's worth letting them settle in (particularly if your speaker is on the lighter end of their capacity) and tuning them carefully. I'll share some tips in my upcoming review.

 

[dubselect]

In particular, there were some bass resonances that I had assumed were room acoustic modes that are now entirely gone - turns out it was my suspended floors and/or walls resonating, or inducing resonance in the speakers themselves. I can definitely recommend them.

I can confirm that improving speakers vibroisolation reduces the intensity of (low frequency) room acoustic modes, caused by resonating materials. The better isolation you provide for your speakers and subwoofers, the better room acoustics you get.

 

[Motoman]

Can someone explain why isolating a big amp like the Pass Labs 250.8 has any effect on the sound? It just seems like it is illogical that it would do anything to affect the sound. My Pass Labs is already on a rack coupled to the floor with spikes on each of the three levels. It is easier to understand how vibration might affect speakers, I suppose, but amps, DAC's and preamps? just doesn't seem to make sense.

 

[Cellcbern]

Can someone explain why isolating a big amp like the Pass Labs 250.8 has any effect on the sound? It just seems like it is illogical that it would do anything to affect the sound. My Pass Labs is already on a rack coupled to the floor with spikes on each of the three levels. It is easier to understand how vibration might affect speakers, I suppose, but amps, DAC's and preamps? just doesn't seem to make sense.

Two issues with an amp, power conditioner, or source component: 1) Isolation from floorborne and airborne vibrations, which can subtly muddy the sound, and 2) Draining and/or tuning the components' internally generated resonances, which can cause distortion. Isolation requires decoupling. If your rack is coupled to the floor then it is providing a path for floorborne and airborne resonant energy to enter your components, unless you have taken other steps to isolate the individual shelves and/or devices. Even if the rack also drains some of that resonant energy to the floor, if it is coupled to the floor it is a two-way street for resonance. How big an issue this is will vary from system to system, and depend in part on how resolving/revealing your system is. If your amp is well made with resonance damping materials and structures designed in, and/or there are other factors (e.g., "dirty" power) contributing noise to your system, you may not hear the impact of such resonances. Size/weight alone will not provide resonance control.

See the attached photos. My 90 lb.Pathos TT is isolated by both the corian platform and the Marigo Mystery Feet. The Marigo feet are also potent drainers of internal resonances. My Modwright Marantz player is isolated by the rack, which has decoupling feet, and by the air platform, while the Dalby Lignum Vitae footers drain and tune its internal resonances. The difference these measures make is easily audible and significant.

​

 

[Cellcbern]

Here is a company with a different approach from Townshend:

WELLFLOAT Board - WELLFLOAT English

ZERO DISTORTION – BEST HIFI ISOLATION PLATFORM FROM JAPAN SINCE 2009

wellfloat-global.com

I haven't tried any of their products, which are popular at the Audio Exotics forum.

 

[Motoman]

Two issues with an amp, power conditioner, or source component: 1) Isolation from floorborne and airborne vibrations, which can subtly muddy the sound, and 2) Draining and/or tuning the components' internally generated resonances, which can cause distortion. Isolation requires decoupling. If your rack is coupled to the floor then it is providing a path for floorborne and airborne resonant energy to enter your components, unless you have taken other steps to isolate the individual shelves and/or devices. Even if the rack also drains some of that resonant energy to the floor, if it is coupled to the floor it is a two-way street for resonance. How big an issue this is will vary from system to system, and depend in part on how resolving/revealing your system is. If your amp is well made with resonance damping materials and structures designed in, and/or there are other factors (e.g., "dirty" power) contributing noise to your system, you may not hear the impact of such resonances. Size/weight alone will not provide resonance control.

See the attached photos. My 90 lb.Pathos TT is isolated by both the corian platform and the Marigo Mystery Feet. The Marigo feet are also potent drainers of internal resonances. My Modwright Marantz player is isolated by the rack, which has decoupling feet, and by the air platform, while the Dalby Lignum Vitae footers drain and tune its internal resonances. The difference these measures make is easily audible and significant.

​

Thanks so much for taking the time to spell it out I clear and plain language. I was thinking of using Townshend Podiums under my Pass Labs amp and really was wondering if I am going off the deep end. As far as resolving, I have Focal Diablo Utopia III's and a pair of Joseph Audio Pulsars that I switch back and forth about. Sometimes too resolving, especially when I am listening to a Led Zeppelin soundboard, LOL!

 

[highstream]

For those of you with Townshend podiums and heavy speakers, say 50 kg on up, how did you get them onto the platforms and deal with speaker positioning? Thanks,

 

[Jaguar]

I worked with Townshend for several years and I work with IsoAcoustics Gaia now for the past few years. The main advantage of Townshend Podiums is that some speakers don’t have fittings to accept threaded footers but I feel their isolation performance is substantially similar. I never did a head-to-head shootout but I’ve seen professional reviews like the two from UK magazines below, who did compare both head-to-head and came to a similar conclusion. HiFi+ said, “The two perform in an all-but-identical manner in sonic terms”. That said, IMO, speaker isolation is more effective in most cases than isolating anything on your rack.

One thing about the Gaia performance... the manufacturer says the footers must be oriented with their logo facing forward (or backward) for maximum performance. Most users see footers with threads and think, just screw them in (like I did when I first installed them).

https://hifiplus.com/articles/isoacoustics-gaia-i-ii-and-iii-loudspeaker-isolation-feet/
https://isoacoustics.com/isoacoustics-gaia-receives-5-stars-from-hifi-choice-magazine

 

[Argonaut]

Here is a company with a different approach from Townshend:

WELLFLOAT Board - WELLFLOAT English

ZERO DISTORTION – BEST HIFI ISOLATION PLATFORM FROM JAPAN SINCE 2009

wellfloat-global.com

I haven't tried any of their products, which are popular at the Audio Exotics forum.

Certainly a novel approach , most interesting.