Isolation

Question
Do ISO Acoustics Gaia or any isolation devices work on floor standing speakers ??
If so what effect would they have
Many thanks

I have found them to work very well and exactly as promoted by Isoacoustics when fitted to our ART Alnico speakers. There is a thread about it on the old Naim forum.

A fellow Naim Forum member has them fitted to his Dynaudio Confidence C2 speakers and he enjoys similar benefits.

However, the benefits really do depend on the construction method of your floor.

Hope this helps, BF

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Found the thread on the old Naim forum. The thread name is:
Speaker isolation - An eye (ear!) opener

My post after trying the Gaia II feet for a week or so:
Roll forward a few years and the ART Alnicos have been one of few full range speakers that have been fairly resistant to room boom in our living room.

A combination of curiosity, the lack of dabbling over the last 2 years and positive results from some “sensible” fellow Naim forum members got the better of me, so time to find out if the system would benefit from some form of isolation. We know that our living room floor (a large concrete raft) does like to sing along when the volume is turned up a bit…

Townshend Audio probably make the best known speaker isolation platforms (and the intriguing explanatory video on their web site) but those platforms would be deemed unacceptable on aesthetic grounds. So the search moved on the isolating feet.

The ART standard feet are a solid aluminium turned block that screws into the speaker base and can, at the owner’s discretion sit on top of a large ball bearing, as below:

After much searching and a helpful conversation with Alastair at Signals, he kindly sourced a set of IsoAcoustic Gaia II speaker feet. There are 3 sizes, the middle being the right one for the 50kg of each speaker.

The four Gaia feet installed under each speaker:

But do they work (other than re-painting the back wall a much nicer shade of Calke Green!)?

As a mechanical engineer by training, I can fully appreciate why they wouldn’t and also why they would. So forget the contradictory theories and just spin up some vinyl to listen.

Ooh.

Bass. Much clearer, more pistonic, better defined bass. Less vibration through the floor back to the listening sofas. I can turn the volume up higher before the sound starts to harden.

Imaging. Crikey that’s ridiculously clearer and sharper I hadn’t realised that the imaging was so-so before. Bigger, wider, deeper soundstage, with each instrument sitting in its own stable space. I’m liking this!

Voices and cymbals all much clearer too.

These may well be keepers after a more extended trial.

Others’ impressions most welcome.

Hope this helps, BF

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Many thanks for that
Appreciate it mate
B

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Bought a set at Bristol hifi show stunning a relatively cheap upgrade like I had new speakers

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So they sound good then
My speakers are on a carpet floor and I believe they will change and tighten the base response
Cheers
Barry

Ordered

I used then on my Focal 1008be and they cleaned up the bass very nicely.

Currently using some SBLs, haven’t tried them and having redone the gaskets I suspect it will have to wait until another time …

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I also have Gaia 2’s under my speaker stands (B&W 803 D3’s) having heard a clear change in sound when demonstrated at the Hammersmith hi-fi show a few years back. But does a change experienced at a show equate to an improvement in my own system? I had two sets on trial for a week and found the answer to be yes. I also took a punt at Bristol in February and now have Bronze and Indigo feet under my 5XS and SN2 receptively with equally good results. I find it hard to express the changes in usual hi-fi terms except to say the system is now more natural and easer to listen to with no undue emphasis in any part of the frequency spectrum. Worth a home trial would be my suggestion.

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Using 3 OREA Bronze under my 272 with great results. The key is to not under load them

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I have an ancient Atacama sorbothane footed isolation platform under my 272.

G

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I use Audiophile Base isolation platforms under the electronics (on a basic Atacama rack). I haven’t tried other isolation systems, but I find them rather good.

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I have the Townshend Podiums under my Apogee Scintillas. Made a very noticeable difference. Clearer tonality. Noticed the difference is just a few bars of music. They really work.

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Popped a set of Gaia II under my Isobariks this morning.Huge difference in the clarity. Much more of that “outside the box” presentation. I do most of my listening while working, so very off axis, so not able to comment on the imaging improvements yet. But they are definitely a keeper. Bit of a bargain really.

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Pleased that they worked for you too Mark.

Best regards, BF

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Put GAIA 2 under my B&W 804D3 and was impressed by the bass control, clarity around instruments and vocals and sweeter treble. Liked so much that I ordered some OREA Bronze and these went under the NDX2 this morning. Similar impact again. Extremely good value for money given improvement. Now looking to get more Bronze and some Indigo for the 250DR.

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I have been very happy with my Herbie’s Fat Gliders. About $100 per speaker. My former Naim dealer friend who got me onto Herbie’s has upgraded his setup to these and he prefers them. They are $100 per corner. You order the ones that match your speaker weight and he recommends the felt covered ones so you can glide these across the floor, too. I am sticking with the Herbie’s for now. We lost my Merlins into a bank of flowerpots during a holiday party, and my wife still blames the spikes. It might have been the egg nog. Either way, we are done with spikes. The Proac K2’s sound great with the Herbie’s.

AV Room Service. Check it out. All these things are basically glorified floor padding, after all.

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