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 21.4%
  • Not sure. Sounds like snake oil to me.

    Votes: 33 78.6%
  • No. I tried them and heard no difference.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    42
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Spartan
“And now, a word from one of our more credible sponsors.”;)
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
I didn't write the article, I don't have anything to prove or disprove. This guy stated there was a stunning improvement in sound based only his listening. Dont' we hear enough of this crap in all the forums and youtube videos? I expect it from Darko and his ilk but not from Audioholics.
I don't disagree, and I stand by my earlier statement.

This isn't the first time I have found myself questioning a review by Theo, either. In both instances, I challenged the review and encouraged discussion about the fact that it didn't match up with most people's assessment.
You can choose to participate in the discourse meaningfully, or you can just stand about making noise.
 
bombadil

bombadil

Junior Audioholic
It appears you feel you are the arbiter of what is of value on this forum and what is not. Yes, I could say nothing and if this article had appeared in any of dozens of other publications i would just ignore it. In this case I pointed out that this review is not supported by fact and that I expected more from Audioholics. You apparently think that is just noise and you're certainly entitled to your opinion, we all have one.
 
T

Trebdp83

Audioholic Spartan
C697EFEC-FF86-4153-A69B-6806595091CB.jpeg

“Want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing. Want to know what comes between my speakers and the hardwood floor? Felt pads from Dollar Tree”:D
 
M

mns3dhm

Enthusiast
I've seen these reviewed favorably in Stereophile and I see the respected PSB speaker brand is using these on their T600 tower speakers ($7999 I think) so there's probably something to this. I also think manufacturers in China and elsewhere will produce knockoffs at a fraction of the price sooner rather than later.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
It appears you feel you are the arbiter of what is of value on this forum and what is not.
Nope. I do not.

All I did is challenge you to say something more meaningful than "BS;" to add to the discourse rather than stick your head in the sand.

you're certainly entitled to your opinion, we all have one.
Again, we are not in disagreement. ;)
 
NINaudio

NINaudio

Audioholic Samurai
Another... Improves Imaging And Focus? Shall we add Soundstage Dept and Width, too? Pace, Rhythm and Timing? Ooh... CHOCALATELY MIDS!!! C'mon...
https://isoacoustics.com/isoacoustics-speaker-isolation-technology/

Manufacturer's claims for this product are:

  • tighter bass
  • greater sound clarity and openness
  • improved soundstage
  • provides a three-dimensional image of natural spatial sound
So they do claim soundstage improvements, but don't clarify if it's depth, width, or both... To me these claims scream "snake oil." If they were simply claiming reduced vibration, I wouldn't be so hard on them.
 
bombadil

bombadil

Junior Audioholic
Nope. I do not.

All I did is challenge you to say something more meaningful than "BS;" to add to the discourse rather than stick your head in the sand.


Again, we are not in disagreement. ;)
Didn’t realize my head was in the sand, should have checked with you before posting. In the meantime I think I’ll continue to point out advertisements masquerading as reviews.
done
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
https://isoacoustics.com/isoacoustics-speaker-isolation-technology/

Manufacturer's claims for this product are:

  • tighter bass
  • greater sound clarity and openness
  • improved soundstage
  • provides a three-dimensional image of natural spatial sound
So they do claim soundstage improvements, but don't clarify if it's depth, width, or both... To me these claims scream "snake oil." If they were simply claiming reduced vibration, I wouldn't be so hard on them.
Absolutely!
You read my reply. I think their claims, and Theo’s, are hogwash.
Beyond that, I don’t go around telling everybody that they need to pursue what I did. If asked, I share what I did above and make recommendations that might achieve it less expensively.
The end.
:cool:

Now, how am I going to isolate my DIYs? :)
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
https://isoacoustics.com/isoacoustics-speaker-isolation-technology/

Manufacturer's claims for this product are:

  • tighter bass
  • greater sound clarity and openness
  • improved soundstage
  • provides a three-dimensional image of natural spatial sound
So they do claim soundstage improvements, but don't clarify if it's depth, width, or both... To me these claims scream "snake oil." If they were simply claiming reduced vibration, I wouldn't be so hard on them.
Oh for $1800/pair, I would still be harsh on them. :D

There are much easier and more economical ways to reduce vibration.
 
D

Danzilla31

Audioholic Spartan
Didn’t realize my head was in the sand, should have checked with you before posting. In the meantime I think I’ll continue to point out advertisements masquerading as reviews.
done
You do know this site has to make money right? They have to put out some fluff pieces to keep the site open. I think the average member here can understand that and discern an advertisement peice like this from the real articles.

And for newbies it's why we have these forums to break down the articles so we can seperate the good from the marketing
 
davidscott

davidscott

Audioholic Spartan
Exactly where my head's at. There are a lot of things a guy could spend a grand on for tweaks and improvements that I think would be more tangible than thousand dollar footsies.
Yeah what he said. $1000 is a lot of cash to decouple your speakers from the floor.
 
J

jeffca

Junior Audioholic
Having the SVS Sub feet involved in two systems in my house, I can attest to their efficacy. Also, using Auralex GRAMMA's under my giant bass amp, they work very well, too.

If you were to use both the SVS feet and GRAMMA's in concert, for 1/4 the price of the IsoAcoustics feet, they'd most likely work better in most circumstances. Of course, they won't look as cool.

That being said, I'm not denigrating IsoAcoustics. I use their Aperta stands between my sub stacks and L/R KEF LS50's in my home theater. They do a good, not great job isolating the subs from the LS50's (they weren't actually designed for that). To make them great, I added Sorbothane hemispheres to the top and bottom feet of the Apertas. Problem solved. The LS50's do not vibrate at all from the Rythmik subs below them.

And, yes, I am using SVS Sub footies.

What is not mentioned in the article, though, is that most of the improvement is not with the speaker, but with the floor underneath it. Having your speakers or subs vibrating the crap out of the floor that supports them is much less than optimal. That is why you want to isolate your speakers: it's the floor, dummy!

While my home theater is in a finished basement that has a concrete floor with thick carpeting, I still use the SVS feet because they absorb extraneous vibrations from the sub cabinets. That energy needs to go someplace. Better the feet than back into the cabinets.

When I push the sub stack from it's top sub, the whole stack wobbles a bit. Much like a skyscraper moving in the wind, that ability to dissipate energy is a good thing.
LS50-subs.jpg
 
Last edited:
J

jeffca

Junior Audioholic
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
As I stated in a post way down the line, there are two things at play here:

• You want to not have your floor vibrating because of your speakers. That offers a lot of the sound pollution if it's not concrete.

• Regardless of the floor, absorbing excess cabinet energy so that it doesn't reflect back into the speaker is a good thing.

You can get this done as well or better for much less money, but it just won't be this pretty.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
So this helps in contrast to using spikes but not bungees? Okay. I'd like to hear more from Gene since he "heard" such massive improvements....but I'd like more to see some sort of AH objective testing as to audibility.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
So this helps in contrast to using spikes but not bungees? Okay. I'd like to hear more from Gene since he "heard" such massive improvements....but I'd like more to see some sort of AH objective testing as to audibility.
Not Gene… Theo.
 

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