Thanks Kelpi. Il know you are on Cerabase. I should receive the Ultra SS for a trial later this week.
Don’t forget to share. You remember my avatar on the French forum 
. I didn’t last a long time there . Your friend 
did his job. 
Answer: 42
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Thanks @Thomas. That makes more sense so was a bit of a stupid question 
Although it makes you wonder why the obsession with coupling speakers to the floor via spikes. I guess it depends on the flooring though.
It depends on the flooring as you say. Plus, it’s not easy to decouple the speaker while still keeping it stable in the direction of movement of the chassis, so spikes were considered the better option for a long time when the only other option were tennis balls and the like. Townsend and IsoAcoustics seem to have mastered it to a degree (as have the ceramics people with a different approach I suppose). Spikes are still preferred by many, as always it depends
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There is no such thing as a stupid question. There are only stupid answers 
“Spikes” the big misunderstanding.
Spikes are meant to couple. Not decouple or isolate.
You don’t want your speakers to move (especially when under significant load).
But at the same you really want to avoid the cabinet vibrations to reach the floor, or the floor vibrations to reach the cabinet.
To achieve that last goal, there are different approaches :
-
the TownsHend approach allows to cabinet to move but provides an extremely good vibration damping.
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the Magico approach is some kind of a compromise. The cabinet is still firmly coupled to the floor while damping some part of the frequency range.
Both prove being extremely good designs : theoretically and in practice. Hence the price…
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I have the new Ultra SS V2 (with an additional tier of ball-bearing - I was told) on trial since last night.
My reference is spikes > Chips > 30mm granite > 5mm dense rubber > suspended wooden floor, alternatively with 5mm dense felt soon to be replaced by office grade but resistive wool carpet patches à-la-Colloms under the Chips.
The good news is that the SS V2 between speakers and granite are very good indeed: A stage of a greater scale and a bit cleaner across the entire spectrum and particularly in the midrange. Impact of snare drum and cymbal now is very very quick, crisp, airy with really a great sense of immediacy, just like the attacks of piano mid notes. But the V2 seem a bit flat layered if not fuzzy in the back of piano harmonies - a slightly different sound presentation after all.
The (other) good news is that I am not really behind with my simple spikes and Chips either, fast coupling - the virtue of the Fraim Chips. Felt cleaned jazz music but dirtied classical - go figure - I just need to replace the felt discs when Archie or Sonny have the urge to play… I shall try the small mechanics bare on the wooden floor this weekend and the Podium next year.
It would be interesting to see some before and after shots to illustrate the size difference.
Maybe you should try without the granite bases. As French say « le mieux est l’ennemi du bien « .
Use your Stillpoints directly under speakers, on the floor.
I feel it will sound better. ( only feeling).
Thank you for the images. Their not as big looking as I expected and seem quite flush with the floor. Something for me to consider in the future. 
How are you finding the effect? ATB Peter
You are very much needed round here and very much appreciated .
Many of us are tenser than we like to be, I for one am tighter than a guitar string stretched to breaking point.
Hello Peter,
I must admit I have not listened as much as I have wanted to, due to a couple of family crises.
However, what I do notice is the individual sounds that make up the soundstage, seem more holographic with a greater sense of space in between them I.e. more air.
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Oops, hope you get things sorted and once you get a chance, it would be interesting to see if the bass has improved 
ATB Peter
I thought at first that the bass had reduced, when I had fitted the Podiums. However, the more I listen, the more detail I can hear in the bass. It is like switching a loudness button to the off position. You think at first you have lost something. Yet with time, you realise the sound has a more organic feel to it.
P.S. Belated congratulations on your S1 purchase.
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Thank you very much NoNaim. Your findings sound very much along the lines of what I found, a cleaner bass allowing everything else to shine. The S1 has in a way highlighted how good the speakers are with the added positive effect of the Podiums. Have a musical Christmas Peter
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Same to you Peter 
. Let’s hope 2021 will be a better year for the world.
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There is a review of the Seismic Podium in TAS issue of January. Hopefully it is not just another reprint of Kennedy’s articles of 2016 and 2019.
Hi @NoNaim, did you decide to keep the Townshend Seismic 2 podiums in place of the Gaia III ?