Great deal on IsoAcoustics Gaia and results from purchasing

[toms wait]

I have a suspended floor and it sounds great (and feels great) when it joins in.

 

[JezR]

I installed the GAIA II on the speakers Christmas eve and have managed to get a few hours in each day since, initial observations is that even at low volume they tighten up the stereo image pleasantly, I haven't used the zaZen II yet as I'm still waiting for the Atacama rack to arrive soon, but expecting good things with more of this isolation stuff.

 

[Rockchild]

I installed the GAIA II on the speakers Christmas eve and have managed to get a few hours in each day since, initial observations is that even at low volume they tighten up the stereo image pleasantly, I haven't used the zaZen II yet as I'm still waiting for the Atacama rack to arrive soon, but expecting good things with more of this isolation stuff.

Sounds promising 👍🏻
I’m wondering if @rabski installed his yet 😊

 

[newlash09]

Regarding the Gaia .....before i had mine ,...i had listening to them at several trade shows ...two sets of same speakers . one without one with ...the difference was night and day ...i was convinced ......they were that good.

Fully agree 😁

I've had only pleasant experiences with isolators under everything.

I presently use gaia II, gaia iii, oehlbach Air springs, Townshend seismic pods and Townshend seismic podiums. I also got very good results from cheap as chips noob spring isolators.

 

[ChemMan]

I installed the GAIA II on the speakers Christmas eve and have managed to get a few hours in each day since, initial observations is that even at low volume they tighten up the stereo image pleasantly

Replace "Christmas eve" with "today," and that sums up my initial impressions. It's not night and day yet upright bass notes are more defined and there is a certain crispness and punch that may not have been there before. I've been looking for an upgrade for quite some time now. This fits the bill.

 

[Boycie]

Been listening for a few hours today and I think that they reduce the smear, that I didn't think was there before and now it has opened up the soundstage so that it is much easier to hear individual instruments within the mix. I was, like many, sceptical but without a doubt, in my system, they work.

 

[ChemMan]

Been listening for a few hours today and I think that they reduce the smear, that I didn't think was there before and now it has opened up the soundstage so that it is much easier to hear individual instruments within the mix. I was, like many, sceptical but without a doubt, in my system, they work.

This.

 

[nak]

I got a pack of isopuck minis to try. There's 8 in the pack so I'll try them under my TT, phono and cd player and see what happens.

 

[Amormusic]

@wolfman
You asked me in the Art thread if I'd report back on the Gaia's and I mentioned I was already fully on board (as it was my second set).

Here's a stream that might interest you.

 

[JezR]

@nak I see they're part of the pro range, I've just ordered some for some of my smaller items.

 

[newlash09]

When I first tried the gaia iii 5 years back on my bassy pmc speakers, they cleaned up the bass bloat a lot. A lot means a LOT😂😂. That opened up the detail in the mid range and treble which was previously being drowned. It improved imaging significantly.

Then I tried the Townshend podiums, but couldn't make out similar huge gains over the previous gaia's. I do have poor hearing. So I can only make out significant improvements, and always miss the small ones that my friends usually hear. So I still have the Townshend podiums in my closet. But I wouldn't advocate the Townshend over the gaia's considering the huge price difference, unless one has a super resolving system and excellent hearing.

Then I tried Townshend seismic pods under my esoteric CD player. Again couldn't make out anything.

But when I tried some cheap noob springs ( properly spring loaded for the weight) and also some cheap ohlenbach isolators under my tube gear. That was another moment of wow for me. A significant improvement all across the board.

My current favourite are actually the cheapest of the lot. If you don't need to move kit frequently, and don't need to touch it. Then the noob springs are simply great. I would even rank them next to the isoacoutics pucks if one has the time and patience to balance the weight properly and manage to keep the kit level, especially tube gear, which tends to lean towards its transformers. How to properly use them, will have to be a separate post in itself. In fact I even use them under my external crossovers, and even with my shot hearing, I can sense a cleaning up of the sound.

 

[nak]

@nak I see they're part of the pro range, I've just ordered some for some of my smaller items.

Seemed like a more cost effective way to try something. From what I've read they're very similar.
No harm in trying 👍🏻

 

[Rockchild]

Sounds promising 👍🏻
I’m wondering if @rabski installed his yet 😊

Obviously not lol

 

[I.D.S.]

Well i for one am very pleased with what they did in my set up,as others have alluded to a tightening up of the bass so as to improve on mid and treble.
For the record floor is concrete overlaid in solid oak flooring.

 

[Nifkin]

I bought a set of IIIs secondhand last March and I'm very pleased I did: I have a suspended wooden floor and I concur with what's been said about the Gaia's doing more than firming up the bass: they have a positive, focusing effect across the frequency range that needs to be heard to be believed. If you have a set of floorstanders on wooden floors and you don't have a set of these then you haven't heard your speakers at their best yet.

 

[rabski]

Finally got round to fitting them.

It's a bit disconcerting the way the speakers wobble around it bit, and trying to get the feckers stable and dead straight was the expected pain, as the floor is very, very not level in exactly the spots where the speakers are best placed. Nevertheless, after a lot of twisting, turning and tightening, they're in and sort of straight according to my spirit level.

First thoughts? I need to adjust to it. It's certainly different. Anne's about to go out, so the system is warming and in a minute I'll get the chance to wind it up a (lot) bit.

Bass was never really a problem here, but I agree with other people that it seems to have 'tightened' a bit. Drums in particular seem to have more force to them at lower volume. The image does seem cleaner and more focused too. No (as always) it's not like I've just bought new speakers, the neighbours haven't been phoning to ask what I've changed in the system and I doubt Anne will notice anything.

Can't get my head round it yet. To me, it seems 'wrong' in terms of the physics, in that I'd expect a rock-solid cabinet to work better and that there ought to be some 'smearing' if the cabinet can 'react' to movement rather than resisting it. We'll see if there are any negatives when I get the chance to be slightly deafer.

 

[Nopiano]

Can't get my head round it yet. To me, it seems 'wrong' in terms of the physics, in that I'd expect a rock-solid cabinet to work better and that there ought to be some 'smearing' if the cabinit can 'react' to movement rather than resisting it. We'll see if there are any negatives when I get the chance to be slightly deafer.

It does, doesn’t it? We had decades of bolting everything tightly, and spiking speakers to floors, didn’t we? Then, presumably with the aid of computer analysis, manufacturers like B&W and Q Acoustics began introducing lossy fastenings. Especially to isolate relatively delicate tweeters from the rest of the box. Now entire cabinets have gunge of some type sandwiched in the middle, to absorb unwanted vibes.

Gaias seem designed to secure the wanted front-back pistonic effect from a woofer, but act lossily in other directions. I presume this makes the boxes less likely to resonate with the floor. In effect making them closer the hypothetically perfect ‘anchored in space’ speaker. Just guessin’ though!

 

[rabski]

I've got it quite loud at the moment and it's even more noticeable on vinyl. There's just that bit more 'force' to everything, but I'm less certain about the soundstage. It's always been notably big and quite precise in terms of placement within the image, but I need a fair bit more listening before I decide whether there's any change in that department.

Oddly, as Jonathan noted right at the start of the thread, it seems to be louder, though I don't mean it's physically actually louder. It's like a comment I made when I reviewed the Audio Note Meishu: you aren't aware of how loud you're listening until you go out of the room then come back in, and it hits you.

So far, no negatives. A possible 'maybe' in terms of imaging and soundstage, but we'll see.

 

[Rockchild]

Finally got round to fitting them.

It's a bit disconcerting the way the speakers wobble around it bit, and trying to get the feckers stable and dead straight was the expected pain, as the floor is very, very not level in exactly the spots where the speakers are best placed. Nevertheless, after a lot of twisting, turning and tightening, they're in and sort of straight according to my spirit level.

First thoughts? I need to adjust to it. It's certainly different. Anne's about to go out, so the system is warming and in a minute I'll get the chance to wind it up a (lot) bit.

Bass was never really a problem here, but I agree with other people that it seems to have 'tightened' a bit. Drums in particular seem to have more force to them at lower volume. The image does seem cleaner and more focused too. No (as always) it's not like I've just bought new speakers, the neighbours haven't been phoning to ask what I've changed in the system and I doubt Anne will notice anything.

Can't get my head round it yet. To me, it seems 'wrong' in terms of the physics, in that I'd expect a rock-solid cabinet to work better and that there ought to be some 'smearing' if the cabinit can 'react' to movement rather than resisting it. We'll see if there are any negatives when I get the chance to be slightly deafer.

The most noticeable difference for me was at around 70dB. Definitely more control and accuracy across the range. It is not an exaggeration when the reviews say they encourage you to play at louder volumes.
This means to me that there is less cabinet/ floor/room interaction allowing the speakers to perform at their best.
Can’t ask much more than that really.

 

[rabski]

The most noticeable difference for me was at around 70dB. Definitely more control and accuracy across the range. It is not an exaggeration when the reviews say they encourage you to play at louder volumes.
This means to me that there is less cabinet/ floor/room interaction allowing the speakers to perform at their best.
Can’t ask much more than that really.

Haven't bothered to measure the SPL yet. At the moment, I've got Gary Moore Live at Montreaux running at the sort of level that may be close to contravening the strategic arms limitation treaty. I like it