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Has anyone had experiences good or bad with speaker isolation or isolation in general ?

hi
i have been enjoying buying and listening to hifi for some 35 years now and have seen many items come and go.I have also been interested in the audio cable discussions and i agree that cables do make a difference how much of a difference is a very individual, and a system dependent situation. There has been nothing that has got me so excited and improved the sound of my system that has ever made me want to really share it with fellow audiophiles until i started to try various isolation products.With so much choice from affordable to very expensive i found the hole subject very confusing and i did not know where to start. After trying lots of various products all shapes and sizes with very different results i decided to read reviews which is something i do not usually do to get some advise.I read a review on the Townshend audio seismic podiums they are isolation platforms that go under your speakers .This company is very famous for isolation ideas and have been around some 50 years based here in the UK they also had a factory in the USA back in the 1980s. I contacted Nick at Emporium hifi  and he agreed to install a pair for me so i could have a listen. My speakers are sound-lab dynastats which i use in quite a small room but with the adjustments give a nice sound. After installing the podiums we both sat down with jaws hitting the floor these podium things completely transformed the sound of my system to absolute perfection. After all this time trying various products under my equipment i have now isolated my speakers and the sound quality is exactly what i believe we all are chasing, my sound-labs are now transparent no more bass problems i have just got one big 3D sound stage the dynastats are now very open with deeper much better bass everything is perfect. I now believe isolating your loudspeakers is the first port of call i was so impressed by the Townshend audio seismic products i now sell them as i have never come across anything that has given my system such a great upgrade , the sound is the same as before but now its just so much better its playing deeper bass but tighter much more resolution and no boom , the midrange is so much more human sounding realistic and spacious with the top end so refined and perfect , is anyone using podiums and had the same experiences i would love to hear from you thank you john 
mains
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,445 posts
 
Kenny, my table is also non-suspended---a Townshend Rock Elite. Max Townshend incorporated his Seismic Pod into the last version of the Rock (Mk.7, I believe), a quartet of Pods that function as the tables suspension. The Rock Elite has a trio of Sorbothane-like rubber half-spheres on it’s bottom surface for isolation, and I will shortly be replacing them with a trio of the Seismic Pods.
mains OP
170 posts
 
Would it not be better to place your Rock Elite as it is on a Townshend Audio Seismic Isolation Platform, i have no experience of the turntable, but if it was originally built with a trio of sorbothane-like rubber half-spheres on its bottom surface for isolation, maybe placing the TT on a Seismic Isolation Platform could raise the performance even higher, if not the seismic pods are very good,, i preferred the look of the platforms and i am very happy with the improvements they brought to my system. The seismic Podiums brought the biggest upgrade my system has ever experienced. 
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,700 posts
 
I have had excellent results with Symposium platforms under my speakers.
kennythekey
571 posts
 
Thanks, guys. If we can take a brief moment to get away from the springs, my bouncy floor can cause foot falls that can cause my rack to slightly wobble. If I throw a party, forget about it!

Without moving the rack, I want to tie the top rear outside corners of the top shelf to the front wall behind the rack. So, hard maple 2x4" rail across wall directly behind top shelf with maple 1x2" boards connecting the top shelf corners to the rail. BTW, maple because it matches my rack. My isolation/non-isolation question is, should I use any damping material where the 1x2" members are connected to the rail on the wall and top shelf? I was checking out Acoustical Solutions isolation pad that you can cut into individual 2x2" squares. They are a 3/4" sandwich of rubber- cork-rubber.

The more general question is, do I want to limit vibrations from the wall coming into the rack due to the direct connection, or do I want to isolate those vibrations? I have heard both opinions.
Kenny
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
Obviously, springs were a popular topic. Ha!

@kennythekey my first guess would be to rigidly mount it to the wall. But that’s just a guess without having any experience of how wiggly your wall is, etc..

In general, I’ve had the best success with a rigid rack and a floating platform for my turnable on that. But since your floor is bouncy, it would make the most sense to try and tie as rigidly as possible to the wall and use isolation under the rack legs, since that is where the problem is.

I think putting foam between the wall coupling would only reduce the effectiveness of tying into the wall.

Incidentally, will pieces of 1x2 be strong enough to be effective? Again, not sure how heavy your rack is, so they may be more than adequate. They certainly would not be on mine!
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