Improve Your Loudspeakers Sound with this Tweak?

Do IsoAcoustics Isolators Really Work?

  • Yes. It's a great tweak and must have despite their cost.

    Votes: 9 22.0%
  • Not sure. Sounds like snake oil to me.

    Votes: 32 78.0%
  • No. I tried them and heard no difference.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    41
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
I never thought that decoupling my loudspeakers from the floor would have such a profound impact on their sound. IsoAcoustics GAIA Isolators showed me otherwise and there is real science behind them which we will explore in this review. I tried the GAIA isolators on both of my reference systems featuring Revel Salon 2s and RBH Sound SVTR speakers. What I heard was nothing short of marvelous. Read on to find out why.

iso-sub.jpg


Read: IsoAcoustics GAIA Isolators Review
 
H

Hetfield

Audioholic Samurai
I do this with my bookshelf surround speakers and my SVS subs have isolation feet. When I had bookshelf speakers for main speakers I also decoupled. I swear by it but others says it's the "placebo effect". I gave up trying to convince anyone.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
I never thought that decoupling my loudspeakers from the floor would have such a profound impact on their sound. IsoAcoustics GAIA Isolators showed me otherwise and there is real science behind them which we will explore in this review. I tried the GAIA isolators on both of my reference systems featuring Revel Salon 2s and RBH Sound SVTR speakers. What I heard was nothing short of marvelous. Read on to find out why.

View attachment 51609

Read: IsoAcoustics GAIA Isolators Review
Isn't your floor on a concrete slab?
 
Replicant 7

Replicant 7

Audioholic Samurai
I've always isolated my speakers from the floor. A good isolation pad works great.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
I've always isolated my speakers from the floor. A good isolation pad works great.
Nice thick carpets over concrete/tiles are good enough for my seven RBH towers. :cool:

No way I would spend another $1K+ for that last bit of 1% sound. :D

Now if people have creaky wooden floors that are very prone to vibrations (instead of concrete + tile + thick carpet), I could maybe see the use of these.
 
Replicant 7

Replicant 7

Audioholic Samurai
Nice thick carpets over concrete/tiles are good enough for my seven RBH towers. :cool:

No way I would spend another $1K+ for that last bit of 1% sound. :D

Now if people have creaky wooden floors that are very prone to vibrations (instead of concrete + tile + thick carpet), I could maybe see the use of these.
Same here, I live where the building is on 18-in concrete pillars. Wood floors, now haven't put the tower speakers I have now on an isolation platform. Only because of the way my speakers are designed, they're pretty much sitting on a platform of their own built in kind of. My Polk S60's have this power port thingy built-in at the bottom of the tower so they sit on top of a platform like, already. The feet that support the tower's have a nice rubber pad under each one, that keeps the tower's from sliding on the floor during high levels of volume which I rarely go to anymore anyways.
IMG_20211119_063155637~2.jpg

So, the actual speaker box is sitting on that built-in isolator, which in itself raises the speaker box 4 1/2 in off the floor also a 1/2 between the floor and the base of the platform thingy for a total of 5" off the floor. No boomy Bass!
 
Last edited:
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Price of entry is a thousand dollars? I dunno man, that seems like a lot of money for what they are.
 
H

Hetfield

Audioholic Samurai
Price of entry is a thousand dollars? I dunno man, that seems like a lot of money for what they are.
Yeah zero chance on that. I didn't see the price. I use the cheap stuff to isolate speakers. I thought Auralex was expensive but this is nuts.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 
Replicant 7

Replicant 7

Audioholic Samurai
Price of entry is a thousand dollars? I dunno man, that seems like a lot of money for what they are.
@Pogre hey you got those Umm speakers built by Dennis right? You have yours on pads or not? Just asking is all, have your ever post up photos of them?
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
@Pogre hey you got those Umm speakers built by Dennis right? You have yours on pads or not? Just asking is all, have your ever post up photos of them?
Speakers built by Dave at Ascend Acoustics actually. Sierra ribbon towers and the Horizon center channel. I do have some pics floating around here somewhere...

20210528_142011_copy_2016x1512.jpg
20210528_141927_copy_2016x1512.jpg


And my newest nearfield toy.

20210530_102352_copy_1209x1612.jpg


I do have the center sitting on isolation pads now, but it's more to raise it up another 2" to get the tweet level with my towers than it is for isolation.

 
Replicant 7

Replicant 7

Audioholic Samurai
Speakers built by Dave at Ascend Acoustics actually. Sierra ribbon towers and the Horizon center channel. I do have some pics floating around here somewhere...
View attachment 51613View attachment 51614

And my newest nearfield toy.

View attachment 51616

I do have the center sitting on isolation pads now, but it's more to raise it up another 2" to get the tweet level with my towers than it is for isolation.

Absolutely beautiful! Wish I was your friend and lived close.:( I would love to have a sit-down with your setup and watch Mad Max Fury Road on that setup with that Sub you got, gotta be phenomenal! Thanks brother for the pics very nice indeed!

PS, So you do have a built-in isolator, plus carpets, so no crazy bass booming cancellation thingy's.
 
H

Hetfield

Audioholic Samurai
Speakers built by Dave at Ascend Acoustics actually. Sierra ribbon towers and the Horizon center channel. I do have some pics floating around here somewhere...

View attachment 51613View attachment 51614

And my newest nearfield toy.

View attachment 51616

I do have the center sitting on isolation pads now, but it's more to raise it up another 2" to get the tweet level with my towers than it is for isolation.

I like that room, looks very spacious and good for a home theater. Ascend acoustics I have wanted for a very long time, Dave is a great guy.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
 
Replicant 7

Replicant 7

Audioholic Samurai
I like that room, looks very spacious and good for a home theater. Ascend acoustics I have wanted for a very long time, Dave is a great guy.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Yeah, he does have it set-up nice, room for his L/R mains to breathe nothing jammed up. I've been eye-balling a pair of those for a long time. Anyone who knows anything of what a high-end set-up looks like can tell he's put a lot of time into setting it up right
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Gene isn't the author of this article, he is just making a link to the article for the forum.
I figured that out but the SVTR towers and pics threw me a little bit. At first I thought it was Gene.
 
B

beaRA

Audioholic Intern
I could see how zero impact on the anechoic response could be spun as a benefit. You'd have to show some impact on the in-room response for me to believe these do anything audible at all.
 
Mark E. Long

Mark E. Long

Audioholic General
I use the SVS isolation feet on my subs and decent Dayton audio feet on my towers all this sits on there own independent sand filled custom risers. Overkill with out question dose it work for my rig yea it does . Sub risers weigh 80 lbs and set on there own isolation feet , the tower risers weigh 30 lbs and are on there own feet .side surrounds sit on sand filled 4 inch risers .
 

Attachments

Last edited:
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Yeah, he does have it set-up nice, room for his L/R mains to breathe nothing jammed up. I've been eye-balling a pair of those for a long time. Anyone who knows anything of what a high-end set-up looks like can tell he's put a lot of time into setting it up right
I appreciate you noticing that. I really do put thought and effort into placement and positioning. Good speakers are only a part of the puzzle. I'm a firm believer that you have to optimize your room acoustics with good placement to get the most from your system.

I also have carpet over concrete so isolation never really even entered the equation for me.
 
Mark E. Long

Mark E. Long

Audioholic General
I appreciate you noticing that. I really do put thought and effort into placement and positioning. Good speakers are only a part of the puzzle. I'm a firm believer that you have to optimize your room acoustics with good placement to get the most from your system.

I also have carpet over concrete so isolation never really even entered the equation for me.
It’s a well thought out killer system for sure we’ll done .
 
bombadil

bombadil

Junior Audioholic
I call BS and shame on Audioholics. Where are the blind listening tests? Any conflict of interest?
 

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top