Under my tower speakers -- Isoacoustics Gaia, other options?


I have Ascend towers (45lbs each) on a concrete floor covered in thin wall to wall with an area rug on top of that. I am looking into different footers for my speakers and am curious what people with towers on concrete have tried and liked.

To my mind, something as expensive as Townshend platforms do not seem worth it, as they'd cost about a third of the price of the speakers themselves.

If you've tried Gaia III isolators or other kinds of feet for your speakers, especially on concrete floors, I'm curious to hear your observations. Thanks.

128x128hilde45

I bought the Gaias and returned them. I suspect any difference people report is attributable to the effect of raising the speakers closer to ear level. In my case, they made the speakers too wobbly for my liking.

@avanti1960   @audphile1 

Spikes!!!    Quite right!   I entirely agree.

Key points.

First order objective.  Prevent the speakers vibrating to the music.

Second order objective.  Prevent the speaker chassis from vibrating in response to the moving parts - cones, etc and other in-room vibrations.

Those who have concrete floors are fortunate.  More fortunate still if it is a concrete screed laid directly on footings on the ground.  Spikes are mandatory.  If the speaker is heavy enough (weight it if it's not) spikes prevent all movement of the speaker chassis.  Thus what you hear is only the movement of the cone etc and not cone movement inherited from chassis movement (better known as distortion).

Some people say the vibrations of planet Earth will affect this set up.  Phooey.  Such vibrations are FAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR less then in-room in-home vibrations permitted by flexible footers.

None of the above applies where speakers are not standing on concrete, where flexible footers are a necessary compromise solution.

I have Gaia IIIs under my standmounts/stands.

The stands are adjustable for height, and the height was adjusted so that the speakers were the same height with/without the Gaias.

The Gaias stay, they made a big improvement in terms of soundstage, and improved/better-defined bass plus they seemed to open out the music and make the whole experience simply more musical.

This was on a carpet over suspended wood floor, with the spiked carpet cups (the latter are a PITA to setup).

I would imagine that these are a lot easier to adjust on a solid floor. The Gaias are supposed to make a sticky contact with the floor and be difficult to move; Isoacoustics has a very nice video on their website that shows how to adjust the speaker positions using a tea towel.

I'd kill for a concrete floor. My listening space is in an old room build in the 1890s and the floor is a little bouncy. I had my speakers on spikes but they basically turned the whole floor into a passive radiator. The house literally shook. I tried Gaia and while they did not help with the bass problem they really focused the midrange. I now have my speakers on 3" thick granite blocks which did help the bass problem built I also left the Gaia on. Things sound very focused. 

 

Your concrete floor is great cause it's totally inert. Coupling to that with spikes should be very effective but Gaia may help bring some mids and highs into focus by stabilizing the speaker overall