Isoacoustics Gaia three feet review

3t3P

3t3P

3t3P

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I've been reading and wondering about these for a year or so. These are isolation feet for speakers tuned for different weights of speakers.

Gaia three are the babies luckily for me as my cabinets weigh 17kg EA I didn't need to buy the much more expensive, larger Gaia's.

Interestingly for a non electronic piece of hifi hardware they received pretty much universal praise with similar sentiments being reported by different people in different places e.g. magazines to Amazon buyers.

I folded of course and bought a set, I got them for a bit less than RRP by messaging an ebay seller who always sells them.

So I attached them to my Dali iKON 6 Mkiis and had a listen...

RIGHT away bass is more impactful and cleaner. Things start and stop and have timbre to them. I'd guess it was 30-40% better than what I had and my GF noticed it right away (she has good ears growing up in the countryside she's not deaf like me!).

Then second thing I noticed, stereo image is much more focused and in the centre, it's like the room has been acoustically treated a notch.
This makes the speakers disappear more or in some songs completely, very nice as before I was always aware of my speakers.

Next thing to notice, spatial resolution and transient response. Especially in regard to higher pitch percussion any trailing edge smear is reduced, things start and stop are crisp and 3D soundstage extends to make things very nicely holographic. Depending on production value you can hear different instruments in fixed places in the air.

Everything is clearer, call it removing a haze if you like but things are closer to 'correct' now.

Something else to notice is during films the front soundstage is together more and cohesive. I have my centre channel raised on monitor foam wedges so is relatively isolated (highly recommend doing this too), now there is much less distinction in certain times between the front left and right speakers with the centre. Like additional timbre matching has occured.

So I'm waxing lyrical right? Guy spends stupid money on speakers feet and placebo effect wins the day? I don't think so. I was not sat there straining to hear these differences, they are there immediately and with no doubt.
All speakers idealise cabinet inertness, look at the Q acoustics concept 500 speakers (will buy these one day!) and the lengths designers went to to dampen the cabinet.
This can be considered hifi dogma and the Isoacoustics feet are allowing you to improve on this after the fact.

I would not be without these now and they do actually justify their price. Why?

Because in effect you have upgraded your speaker to a whole tier above at less money or when you don't want to/can't replace your speakers.

Think of it that way and you're doing good man maths now.

They look good but sound better. Highly recommended. My system is now a pleasure to listen to.
For those that want to know here's the chain.

Tidal Cd-quality--Sonos connect digital out--Arcam IrDAC analogue out--Yamaha A-S1100 integrated--Dali iKON 6 Mkiis + BK XXLS400 (X2) configured in stereo via high level with low pass @~50hz

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The guy I bought my Tekton Double Impact speakers from had a set of Gaia two’s on them when I went to collect them, I tried to persuade him to part with them but he wanted to keep them for whatever he bought next so they must make some improvement. I can’t bring myself to part with £600 to buy a set brand new so my speakers will have to go without these for now.
 
don't get it - aren't they designed for hard floors, as opposed to carpet, there'll be no good mechanical contact on the carpet, so that the speaker weight will hold it still. ?
I guess you used spikes before

I recently inherited hard wood floors, and need to get some of the metal cups, with a thin layer of elasto-whatnot, so that I can recommence with spikes, and, also use the compressed ku-stone bases, but, these would be an elegant alternative.
 
RRP £200 for four. Amazon used to have them £180 for a while but alas no longer. That is the price I negotiated on eBay however so £360 all in.

Can't do high pass just low. I used an app called spectroid and an album on tidal that does test tones. My speakers did 50Hz fine then gave up at 40hz so set the sub so work at that range which seems to work well.

I'd love to not send any bass below 45hz or do to the mains but not possible with my gear setup.

I was on spikes which ultimately still couple to the ground underneath (concrete) in my case.

Per my review these things do work and are not BS.
They sell spiked shoes for carpets at £49.99 for four but for now I cba with those.

All things in hifi are expensive honestly. These make a great sonic impact that youd notice way before changing cables or the average DAC IMO.
 
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jpaul said:
don't get it - aren't they designed for hard floors, as opposed to carpet, there'll be no good mechanical contact on the carpet, so that the speaker weight will hold it still. ?
I guess you used spikes before

I recently inherited hard wood floors, and need to get some of the metal cups, with a thin layer of elasto-whatnot, so that I can recommence with spikes, and, also use the compressed ku-stone bases, but, these would be an elegant alternative.
Click to expand...

Yeah I use cone thing, bottom one looks like small volcano, spike goes into the crater.
 
The Isoacoustic isolators have to be orientated either logo facing out or 180 degrees to this. This is due to their design to reduce motion in certain directions.

They said they used a laser pointed at speaker cabinets to workout how best to reduce unwanted effects.
So the money here is R&D into an acoustically designed product. It's not bunging a speaker on some sorbathane.
 
what are they made of though ... as 3t3p mentioned I thought sorbothane was the king ... and it's not so cheap - at least in insoles form.

I'd like to know the relative benefit of the Gaia's (Athur c clarke ?) versus adding acoustically dense mass at the speaker base , like the ku-stones I mentioned
 
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=s...Vxo3EKHdKwD_kQ_AUoAnoECA0QBA&biw=1534&bih=767


I did not want to be the 1st to upset anyone but this is snake oil like the expensive cables, no feet are worth £600.

I do understand vibration and the big engine I worked with need cushyfloats of different grade due to different weight and this stops vibration that is noisy and could sheer the engine mounts.


https://www.trelleborg.com/en/anti-...-energy--solutions/cushyfloat--product--range


Speakers could be vibrating sitting on something and sound bad but a speaker cone is moving back and forth anyway and its not connected to the cabinet apart from some foam to its own surround.

Again I can understand putting a submate or such under speakers but not something "so special its that price"

I have used Sorbothane based product for Ext HDD's, TV boxes with fans/HDD's etc and Acousti products for my PC's


At end of the day its not my money or my mind telling me its sounding better (asides from fixing any vibration making a thud a bit of rubber/foam could do).
 
Same principle as not having near field monitors on a desk with no isolation.

Newton's third law, no matter how you say a speaker cone is suspended it has mass and if it is made to move one way then the cabinet will go the other.

The change isolation makes must be small but audible and that's what any improvement in design is, improvement for improvements sake.

My system is a resolution monster now, (the Yamaha amp is an outstanding bargain IMO). To the point where you play a song you know well (pre Gaia), hear new things, install feet then hear new things on top of that.

Plus I saw them installed on a $1,000,000+ system on YT so must be good:D
 
b00merang69 said:
Speakers could be vibrating sitting on something and sound bad but a speaker cone is moving back and forth anyway and its not connected to the cabinet apart from some foam to its own surround.
Click to expand...
action and reaction .... ?

but agree, they, would need to convince me why they are so much better than sorbothane.(onto solid floor)
 
If you want to use high pass it maybe possible with the in/out inputs, put high pass between that maybe?

Have got a outlaw icbm-1 in the hi-fi I don't use it anymore as room is big enough with my 45hz floorstanders. It worked well in previous small room, and with standmounts. Used it between pre and power.

Also got a sub that has high pass (low and high level) but that is fixed to 80hz so to high, more suited for smaller standmounts
 
Guys reason I made this review is that I had all these same doubts. I thought at first they were snake oil products, that they were a rip off.

It's a total leap of faith product I get that. But I've done a 180 on both the points above.
 
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