After over 3 years of wondering, and almost exactly 3 years since a pretty impressive demo, I am now auditioning the GAIA isolators. I'll just refer to them as feet most of the time, but interchangeably as isolators.
I'm cautiously wading into this pool with hope that these feet do what they are purported to do, and, that they provide a similar experience to what I got at AXPONA in 2019.
Seismic Isolators provide a great benefit for those who live and work in large buildings. The Earth vibrates and moves, wind forces tall buildings to sway, and isolators reduce the feel of these forces so the building occupants don't feel the effects. I'd say it's mostly from this technology on a grand scale that audio equipment isolators on a small scale came about. Removing or reducing unwanted vibration is a good idea I don't doubt that isolation is beneficial to some audio equipment, maybe even all equipment, but my take right now is solely on the GAIA feet and my speakers.
Speakers vibrate. The vibration can be transferred into the floor unimpeded, or impeded ("coupled" or "decoupled"). Which is better? I think it's viewer's choice. Try both ways and decide. Normally, when thinking about this, most folks first think of using the floor as a bass control of sorts. But with the GAIA feet, it's really more about the presentation. Bass is part of it, but when I installed the GAIAs on a subwoofer and measured before/after and looking at SPL, Frequency Response, and Waterfall plots, there wasn't much difference in the first two and a bit more difference in the Waterfall. I didn't really do the testing as scientifically as I'd like to have done, but even so, if there was a major difference to be had it should have shown up somewhere.
So that was with just one source of sound, how about two sources, like Left and Right speakers? This is where it gets interesting. I measured each of my speakers (L, R,) and both together (L&R), and it was when both play together that differences show up. It was so difficult to maintain continuity between the before and after that I can't rely on the measurements to be accurate, but there probably is some validity in them - so I'm repeating the process but will be meticulous about it. As such, I've come up with a game plan to keep the speakers placed exactly the same when measured with spikes/cups and GAIA feet. I plan to try this over the weekend.
Meanwhile, I notice a difference in the soundstage. It seems both baffling and logical. I thought, if one speaker doesn't show much difference, then maybe both together will present a difference. I figured that maybe there's some sort of cancellation or something destructive that isolation helps with. Listening sure seems to bear this out, at least with a single compare. Going back to spikes, I'm hoping, will impair the soundstage back to what I was used to hearing. And before going back to spikes I will meticulously measure how the speakers are currently setup, and then match the setup with the spikes installed (it's actually easier to do it this way because the GAIAs need to be installed with the emblem facing forward, so they must be adjusted in full-turns only, whereas the spikes can simply be screwed in however many full and partial turns as necessary to match the feet.
The soundstage seems more "complete" somehow, more alive with the GAIAs. I haven't moved about much recently to know exactly how large the sweet spot has been, but it might be better also. I'll need to check these things out and compare to spikes, then back again. Once this has happened I'll be able to better explain things.
My decision to keep or return the GAIAs will totally depend on if they are destructive in any way to the sound. If they reduce sound quality in any way, they'll be returned, if not then I'll keep them simply because I like the way they look and how easy it is to move the speakers - even if they give no other other benefits vs spikes. But as I said above, it seems the feet have altered how I hear the soundstage in a beneficial way, so . . . .
It'll be a busy weekend for me.
I'm cautiously wading into this pool with hope that these feet do what they are purported to do, and, that they provide a similar experience to what I got at AXPONA in 2019.
Seismic Isolators provide a great benefit for those who live and work in large buildings. The Earth vibrates and moves, wind forces tall buildings to sway, and isolators reduce the feel of these forces so the building occupants don't feel the effects. I'd say it's mostly from this technology on a grand scale that audio equipment isolators on a small scale came about. Removing or reducing unwanted vibration is a good idea I don't doubt that isolation is beneficial to some audio equipment, maybe even all equipment, but my take right now is solely on the GAIA feet and my speakers.
Speakers vibrate. The vibration can be transferred into the floor unimpeded, or impeded ("coupled" or "decoupled"). Which is better? I think it's viewer's choice. Try both ways and decide. Normally, when thinking about this, most folks first think of using the floor as a bass control of sorts. But with the GAIA feet, it's really more about the presentation. Bass is part of it, but when I installed the GAIAs on a subwoofer and measured before/after and looking at SPL, Frequency Response, and Waterfall plots, there wasn't much difference in the first two and a bit more difference in the Waterfall. I didn't really do the testing as scientifically as I'd like to have done, but even so, if there was a major difference to be had it should have shown up somewhere.
So that was with just one source of sound, how about two sources, like Left and Right speakers? This is where it gets interesting. I measured each of my speakers (L, R,) and both together (L&R), and it was when both play together that differences show up. It was so difficult to maintain continuity between the before and after that I can't rely on the measurements to be accurate, but there probably is some validity in them - so I'm repeating the process but will be meticulous about it. As such, I've come up with a game plan to keep the speakers placed exactly the same when measured with spikes/cups and GAIA feet. I plan to try this over the weekend.
Meanwhile, I notice a difference in the soundstage. It seems both baffling and logical. I thought, if one speaker doesn't show much difference, then maybe both together will present a difference. I figured that maybe there's some sort of cancellation or something destructive that isolation helps with. Listening sure seems to bear this out, at least with a single compare. Going back to spikes, I'm hoping, will impair the soundstage back to what I was used to hearing. And before going back to spikes I will meticulously measure how the speakers are currently setup, and then match the setup with the spikes installed (it's actually easier to do it this way because the GAIAs need to be installed with the emblem facing forward, so they must be adjusted in full-turns only, whereas the spikes can simply be screwed in however many full and partial turns as necessary to match the feet.
The soundstage seems more "complete" somehow, more alive with the GAIAs. I haven't moved about much recently to know exactly how large the sweet spot has been, but it might be better also. I'll need to check these things out and compare to spikes, then back again. Once this has happened I'll be able to better explain things.
My decision to keep or return the GAIAs will totally depend on if they are destructive in any way to the sound. If they reduce sound quality in any way, they'll be returned, if not then I'll keep them simply because I like the way they look and how easy it is to move the speakers - even if they give no other other benefits vs spikes. But as I said above, it seems the feet have altered how I hear the soundstage in a beneficial way, so . . . .
It'll be a busy weekend for me.
