townshend audio seismic isolation bars

  • Thread starter Deleted member 188516
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D

Deleted member 188516

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i found this video on the townshend audio seismic isolation bars.

seems a great idea to stop vibrations going from the loudspeakers to the floor etc.

surely though some speakers are designed with hard spikes to be attached to allow vibrations to flow out of the loudspeaker and, not to be trapped, in the cabinets themselves ?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW9-r83IvhI
 
OK, I wasn't the first to bite.
I wouldn't want to spike i.e. connect my speakers to my suspended wood floor I want a way to isolate said speakers from the floor.
This I have done but not in such an expensive way.
Of course, when I had them downstairs on a carpet covered concrete floor the spikes were fine.
 

Jimboo

Well-known member
What did you do Al ? My floor is a couple of hundred years old and slopes this way and that. The spikes are an inch above the plate in one corner and as far as they can go down in the other. They are stable and sound ok. The turntable is a different matter, as someone walking past the room can make the stylus jump. There isn't a wall where I would put a shelf on before you ask. The ideal position is several inches thick hundreds of years old sandstone. The other walls? Well hanging pictures produced a comedy of errors.
 

JonB1001

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Jul 31, 2014
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Those Townshend things cost a fortune! I've got Neat speakers and they have their own brand of floorstanding speaker mounts but I'm more than happy with the spikes on the base of the speakers. I've got carpet on a stone floor so spikes ground well enough.
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
OK, I wasn't the first to bite.
I wouldn't want to spike i.e. connect my speakers to my suspended wood floor I want a way to isolate said speakers from the floor.
This I have done but not in such an expensive way.
Of course, when I had them downstairs on a carpet covered concrete floor the spikes were fine.

thanks for the non offensive / non sarcastic reply.

once again surely these devices solve one problem but create another by trapping vibrations inside the speaker cabinet ?
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
Those Townshend things cost a fortune! I've got Neat speakers and they have their own brand of floorstanding speaker mounts but I'm more than happy with the spikes on the base of the speakers. I've got carpet on a stone floor so spikes ground well enough.

i'm guessing a "similar" alternative could be made by removing the (expensive) springs and replacing with sorbothane ?
 

michael hoy

Well-known member
I have a suspended wooden floor and use the isolators under my sub, they work really well.
I purchased mine at a hi fi show direct from Townsend at a very reduced price as they had just started to come on the market.
 

abacus

Well-known member
If your turntable is jumping try isolating the rack with anti-vibration washing machine isolators, then stick a rubber car mat under your turntable. (It usually solves vibration problems cheaply)

For the speakers, replace the spikes with bolts and use the aforementioned washing machine isolators. (Gives you a nice balance between isolation and rigidity)

Bill
 
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D

Deleted member 188516

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I have no idea which 'vibrations' you refer to.

the vibrations made by the loudspeakers themselves - the speaker cones going back and forth which increase as the volume is turned up.

i believe loudspeaker manufacturers spend time designing cabinets to minimise this vibration ?

(the kef ls50's i had were like a brick !).

maybe these supports work best with budget speakers that have less "solid" cabinets ?
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
I have a suspended wooden floor and use the isolators under my sub, they work really well.
I purchased mine at a hi fi show direct from Townsend at a very reduced price as they had just started to come on the market.

so in your experience all positives and no negatives.

i wonder if any loudspeaker manufacturers have such supports built into their designs ?
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
If your turntable is jumping try isolating the rack with anti-vibration washing machine isolators, then stick a rubber car mat under your turntable. (It usually solves vibration problems cheaply)

For the speakers, replace the spikes with bolts and use the aforementioned washing machine isolators. (Gives you a nice balance between isolation and rigidity)

Bill

thats an interesting idea.

has anybody else used / have experience of the townshend product(s) ?
 
I have a suspended wooden floor and use the isolators under my sub, they work really well.
I purchased mine at a hi fi show direct from Townsend at a very reduced price as they had just started to come on the market.
Do you mind me asking how much you paid, and what list is now? Their stuff wasn't cheap when I bought it, but looks to have gone up in price quite considerably.

I'm a big fan of this place:

 

michael hoy

Well-known member
Do you mind me asking how much you paid, and what list is now? Their stuff wasn't cheap when I bought it, but looks to have gone up in price quite considerably.

I'm a big fan of this place:

Retail is about £999 for up to 30Kg, goes up by £100 for each level of weight.
I payed less than a quarter of that, but it was at first launch.
Mine aren't the adjustable ones as I only wanted to put my sub on them.
I do have a pair of the adjustable ones stuck in a box somewhere, but that is another story.
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
Do you mind me asking how much you paid, and what list is now? Their stuff wasn't cheap when I bought it, but looks to have gone up in price quite considerably.

I'm a big fan of this place:


just checked out the solid air audio website.
they have replaced the springs with magnets - wonder which is better ?

once again though, if used under speakers, surely (in some loudspeaker designs) trapping the vibrations in this manner results in a blurred sound ?

 
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I think the vibrations you are thinking of are not intended to leave the speakers, other than via the drive units. I've had no bad experiences whatever in trying to dampen out vibration anywhere in my system.

IN terms of which is better, I don't know. I have them doing different things, really. But SolidAir's stuff is definitely rather cheaper, like for like.
 
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