Too Big to be called a Tweak

[jazzmatazz]

I'm the happy owner of a pair of Expression 13a's and formerly Montis.

The Expressions are incredible speakers--I knew this from my first audition.

BUT in my listening room (industrial carpet over cement slab) I noticed their sound was greatly influenced by the type of footer I used. The spikes seemed to focus things better than the rounded feet but gave leading edges, well, an edge.

Long story short, I did some research and ended up buying the Townshend Audio Speaker Podiums (from the UK).

The benefits of the Speaker Podiums under the Expressions are galactic: they make the speaker better in every way: clarity, transparency, timbre, sound staging, base, PRAT, everything. It is as if they release the true quality of the Expressions. But it's a transformation that is not about audiophile qualities, it's about how much more you will enjoy the music. (And, yes, leading edges are still there, but they are just dynamic and tuneful and part of the music.)

Yes, you'll need the size 4 Podiums and they cost about $2K. But what you get--well, how do you quantify an improvement of this magnitude?

I have been an audiophile for over 30 years. My system is comprised of TotalDAC, Shindo pre, Pass amp, Antipodes server, Audience power treatment and High Fidelity cables. I would have to rank the Speaker Podiums as the biggest single "tweak" I've ever experienced.

Honestly, the folks at Martin Logan should invest in a pair of Speaker Podiums. I would love to be a fly on the wall to hear their comments. Yes, maybe the conversation would veer towards not wanting to increase their price point by incorporating this technology. But the reality is, anyone spending $15K to purchase these wonderful Expressions is doing themselves a dis-service by not spending the additional $2K to bring them up to the I WILL NEVER WORRY ABOUT UPGRADING MY SPEAKERS AGAIN level.

No, I don't have any skin in the game with Townshend or anyone else. And, no, I'm not usually this effusive. I've made very few posts on forums. But I feel it's my duty as an audiophile/Martin Logan community member to pass this on. (You can find other raves about the Speaker Podiums, but I haven't run into any regarding their use under ML's speakers.)

You can thank me later.http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/images/icons/icon12.png

Steve

 

[JLasher22443]

Ok I watched their video and I'm impressed. But $2k is a lot for some stands. Do you have a photo of yours on the stands?

 

[jazzmatazz]

Ok I watched their video and I'm impressed. But $2k is a lot for some stands. Do you have a photo of yours on the stands?

Don't think of them as "stands". Think of them as the best of the best component you could buy--those $35,000 mono blocks you've lusted after. But for some crazy reason you can buy those SOTA amps for $2K. Those "stands" will make that much difference, probably more. Read some of the comments by others on Audiogon for instance who will say things as crazy as I am.

 

[Gordon Gray]

Wise investment. Given the overall system, it is a small percentage of cost to realize a larger gain.

Thanks for sharing.

PS: Unfortunately, I think many folks don't realize / appreciate the importance of eliminating vibrations from all the hardware.

 

[jazzmatazz]

Wise investment. Given the overall system, it is a small percentage of cost to realize a larger gain.

Thanks for sharing.

PS: Unfortunately, I think many folks don't realize / appreciate the importance of eliminating vibrations from all the hardware.

Hi Gordon,

My appreciation of eliminating vibrations began with Stillpoints. In fact, I had both my Montis and Expression Speakers on Stillpoints which did bring forth improvements. But the Expressions are so revealing that I felt I could do better. Now I'm wondering if replacing Stillpoints under my components with the Townshend Pods or Seismic Platforms would yield better results. But right now I'm in that glorious place called DONT' TOUCH ANYTHING THIS IS SOUNDING SO GREAT.

And congrats on what looks to be a great system!
Steve

 

[GW1800]

Wise investment. Given the overall system, it is a small percentage of cost to realize a larger gain.

Thanks for sharing.

PS: Unfortunately, I think many folks don't realize / appreciate the importance of eliminating vibrations from all the hardware.

I totally agree with some type of vibration control. In my case I have went the Nordost Sort Fut and Kones direction. Stillpoints are a fine product and highly recommended and I'm sure there are differences in opinion but either way its far better with some type of vibration control then none. I have went to the extreme putting TC Kones under my Aurender N10 and Nordost QX4's QB8. My Bricasti M1 DAC and M28 mono's actually come with Stillpoints incorporated into their feet design - its pretty neat how they did it. Also I have Sort Fut under my CLX's, two 212's, QB8 and my rack. There is a great improvement in clarity and focus. The last thing I did were there subs and could not be happier with the results.