Improve Your Loudspeakers Sound with this Tweak?

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Why do people feel the need to improve on already superlative sound or fix something not broken?

I wouldn't do anything to tweak. Everything already sounds awesome.

The best and only tweak I will do is find more outstanding video and audio contents and trash the junk video/audio contents.

 

[3db]

I'm thinking this article was published as a "feeler" to see how we would react. In this case, I feel violated!!! Talkin about putting antivibrators on bottoms. Who does that???

 

[highfigh]

Why do people feel the need to improve on already superlative sound or fix something not broken?

I wouldn't do anything to tweak. Everything already sounds awesome.

The best and only tweak I will do is find more outstanding video and audio contents and trash the junk video/audio contents.

I can't imagine being strictly a consumer of this stuff without the background info and training I gained, starting before 1978.

If I don't reach the conclusion that something doesn't sound right, I'm not gonna change anything. I'm not even in the same room as my system and I think it sounds really good. I can't imagine thinking that I need to spend a grand to make a difference of .0001%.

 

[Archimago]

Hmmm... $1000 for speaker feet?

Sure, the reviewer might be happy to own such things, but come on; "overwhelmingly positive" seems a bit excessive, don't you think? Especially here at Audioholics!?

 

[lovinthehd]

Why do people feel the need to improve on already superlative sound or fix something not broken?

I wouldn't do anything to tweak. Everything already sounds awesome.

The best and only tweak I will do is find more outstanding video and audio contents and trash the junk video/audio contents.

Because someone told them they could? How else would they reach audio nirvana if not getting that last .0001% from their system....no matter the cost, it's the journey

 

[lovinthehd]

Hmmm... $1000 for speaker feet?

Sure, the reviewer might be happy to own such things, but come on; "overwhelmingly positive" seems a bit excessive, don't you think? Especially here at Audioholics!?

What, you don't want to try that for a future article?

 

[highfigh]

Hmmm... $1000 for speaker feet?

Sure, the reviewer might be happy to own such things, but come on; "overwhelmingly positive" seems a bit excessive, don't you think? Especially here at Audioholics!?

But they're REALLY good!

 

[lovinthehd]

For all those people that are truly anti-vibration! Just fill your speakers, AND your room, with sand!
Make certain it's kiln-dried and audiophile grade!

Creepy....I just turned on youtube and the AH video for mass loading your speakers with sand for better sound came up first in the queue....

 

[Mikado463]

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

agreed but then Revel Salon 2's are a 20k plus speaker so if it makes one happy .........

 

[Pogre]

agreed but then Revel Salon 2's are a 20k plus speaker so if it makes one happy .........

Sure, if one has the money and wants some bling more power to 'em. Just like expensive cables. Audio jewelry.

 

[gene]

I don't agree with you that it is just audio jewlery. Isoacoustics/proper speaker isolation from the surface that it is standing on; is the only tweak that I really "believe in". Simply because every room/floor has vibrations/resonances, it's close to impossible to deny this, it's measurable that this is the case and in most situations it is also clearly audible. The difference with gaia's is in most cases huge because of that single reason. I don't believe in other tweaks, powercables, other fancy cables, power conditioners, netfilters, ethernet isolation, cable lifters etc.etc. all kind of nonsense snakeoil is on the market. But this is a product that really works.

I also want to add "amirm" from ASR:
"As I was saying, they did the side by side demo:

The difference with stands was remarkable. Both imaging and high frequency content changed.

Was the stand???? Or was it the fact that once the stand was added the tweeter height changed and speaker locations were different. Hard to imagine there was much side to side motion to have it make this much difference."

I think that you guys all know who he is. But he never gave extra attention to Isoacoustics after this. It's something that he missed to investigate further imo. He "assumed" probably just as Gene that it is just audio jewelry, since you two(I have Gene, amirm and Erin in my shortlist of only reviewers that I really trust without a doubt) are always on the facts and don't want to believe things that aren't proven with measurements. And products like this SEEM snakeoil on paper/advertisements/looks etc. This product is kind of difficult to measure, since it differents per room, but I am 100% sure about this product that is really does work in almost all rooms.

In my opinion speaker isolation is an underrated subject on all "scientific audio websites", it's the only tweak that really does work and Isoacoustics is best isolation that I personally found(there are probably others, but not all with the same performance to my knowledge).

Oh they definitely have a measurable affect. The question is: "Is it really better?" I think this needs further study. I call it jewelry because of the price and aesthetics.

 

[dutchholic]

Sure, if one has the money and wants some bling more power to 'em. Just like expensive cables. Audio jewelry.

The difference is that expensive cables make zero difference in audible performance(copper is copper only AWG matters if the basics are OK, so cheap cables are perfect). These isolators do make an audible difference in most rooms. I've tried: rubber feets, spikes, rubber anti-vibration mats (for like dishwashers) and non of them come close to the isolation what I experienced with isoacoustics. Most people including non-believers in tweaks/snakeoil(me and amirm of ASR) do hear a huge difference with the isoacoustics, this while I didn't want to believe it but after hearing it I did believe it, the difference is simply huge and it cannot be denied. amirm was also suprised why this was the case, and so was I. So I would be happy if this review included an more scientific approach in terms of comparisons with similair cheaper products, because now this review ends up in such discussions; that it's nothing more then audio jewelry which is kind of sad imo because I would like to have the answer myself too.

Edit: @gene: "I think this needs further study." I couldn't agree more! This product really deserves an review 2.0 imo.

 

[Pogre]

The difference is that expensive cables make zero difference in audible performance(copper is copper only AWG matters if the basics are OK, so cheap cables are perfect). These isolators do make an audible difference in most rooms. I've tried: rubber feets, spikes, rubber anti-vibration mats (for like dishwashers) and non of them come close to the isolation what I experienced with isoacoustics. Most people including non-believers in tweaks/snakeoil(me and amirm of ASR) do hear a huge difference with the isoacoustics, this while I didn't want to believe it but after hearing it I did believe it, the difference is simply huge and it cannot be denied. amirm was also suprised why this was the case, and so was I. So I would be happy if this review included an more scientific approach in terms of comparisons with similair cheaper products, because now this review ends up in such discussions; that it's nothing more then audio jewelry which is kind of sad imo because I would like to have the answer myself too.

Edit: @gene: "I think this needs further study." I couldn't agree more! This product really deserves an review 2.0 imo.

Right. The extra money spent on expensive cables does no better than regular cables. I'd say the same for isolation footsies. You can pick up the same type of product for a fraction of the cost.

 

[ryanosaur]

Right. The extra money spent on expensive cables does no better than regular cables. I'd say the same for isolation footsies. You can pick up the same type of product for a fraction of the cost.

Agreed.
There is nothing on their site that makes me think I would get anything from them that I couldn't get for a fraction of the cost elsewhere.
I've detailed my strategy and perceived results and am completely satisfied with what I accomplished. I see nothing from IsoAcoustics that instills any confidence that I could expect further improvement through use of their, frankly, overpriced product. Moreover, after just looking at their site, I still feel like I just read about battery packs on my interconnects.

I need a shower.

 

[Pogre]

I'm not saying they can't or won't improve the experience -

These isolators do make an audible difference in most rooms.

- but there are far more reasonably priced options and given the different types of flooring out there this is going to be very much a your mileage may vary situation. Like I said, I have carpet over concrete and for the money have doubts it would be anywhere near what some room treatments or eq can do. I mean, you can buy a nice subwoofer for a thousand bucks. I'd take an additional sub over a thousand dollar isolation tweak any day.

 

[Mikado463]

Oh they definitely have a measurable affect. The question is: "Is it really better?"

interesting, an objective measurement leading to a subjective outcome, now that's 'Audiophilia' !!

 

[snakeeyes]

I feel like I get 99.99999% of the function at a fraction of the price...

https://www.svsound.com/products/soundpath-subwoofer-isolation-system

Now these are in my price range.

 

[3db]

Oh they definitely have a measurable affect. The question is: "Is it really better?" I think this needs further study. I call it jewelry because of the price and aesthetics.

I for one welcome some independent tests and graphs that are clearly labelled. I would also like to see controlled blind listening tests performed with results published before I buy into this. The fact that the article implies through omission that solid state amplifiers behave like microphones because of physical vibration is truly absurd.

 

[mhat]

How dare you give this a 4/5-star VALUE rating. Whether it works or not, $1000 for this crap is criminal, and your endorsement of it is an embarrassment to this site.

 

[KenM10759]

What I fail to grasp is how vibrations get from my speakers into the stands. I had KEF LS50, and later, KEF LS50 Meta on metal stands...from KEF. I pored over those speakers playing louder than I normally listen, and could not feel even the slightest vibration in the speaker cabinets. My KEF Reference 1's are said to be just as or even more inert, yet the bespoke stands for those each have two big vertical channels to fill with whatever weighting you choose. Thus far, I have chosen to fill them with dead air. I'll be damned if I hear even the slightest bit of ringing or any other audible artifact.

If I ever get around to putting something in those stands, it'll be for sheer weight to get the mass of the stands more equal to the 40lb (18.2kg) speakers so they're just a tiny bit less likely to ever tip over. I will use steel metal-tumbling media and heat-seal it in this heavy plastic sleeving I have leftover from my medium-format fill processing days.