I'm reviewing two Iso Acoustic products: Iso-Pucks and Gaia IIIs.
Back story... A few years ago, my audio pal, Sam, loaned me a Luxman tube power amp and a controller amp along with a pair of Nordost cables. Combined retail value was close $16,000. Something I'd never spend, but nonetheless I got to run them with a pair of Proac Tablette Anniversary speakers. This was THE best stereo I've ever had in my possession ever. Absolutely lovely to listen to. Good solid separation that was clear and distinct. Low volume bass was beautiful. There was no mud that I could detect. My vinyl never sounded better... ever.
After a few months it was time to return the components to Sam. He'd been really generous with a good long-term loan. After returning his equipment I hooked the Proacs back up to my Primaluna Classic and Nordost Red Dawns. Sadly, the low volume bass was essentially gone. The separation was there, but not nearly as clear as before. It was muddy.
My speaker stands are made of stainless steel and have solid brass toes that sit on a tile floor. They are also hollow. If I place a hand on one of the stands while playing music, I can definitely feel a lot of vibration. I rolled some tubes to see if I could get some bass back (KT88s back to EL34s) and tried a few pairs of 12AX7s to see if I could get some clarity back. The changes were minimal. I then began toying with filling the stands with something to deaden the vibration but hadn't settled on a material. Got busy with puppies and other life commitments and really just accepted what I had.
Then Sam called and said "Hey, come on over and help me install some new pucks I just bought to go between my speakers and stands." I said "Sure." We listened to a few pieces of music that each of us knew well and then slapped in the Iso-Pucks. WOW! Sam's got a really kick ass system as it sits, but the pucks definitely cleaned things up even more. As soon as I got home, I weighed my speakers, got online and ordered a set of eight. My speakers are relatively light, so I was able to get away with the smallest in their line. Which was cool because they were the least expensive too at $100 for a set of eight (four for each speaker). I read the return policy to ensure I could return them if it turned out to be snake oil.
They arrived a week later, and I got them into my system right away. OMG! The difference was stunning! Low volume bass was back; although, I can't tell you why. I don't understand the physics behind them. Clarity was MUCH better by a long shot. Sam loved his, so he ordered a set of feet for the bottoms of his stands. I jumped on the band wagon and decided I would too. Weighed my speaker and stand together and again I was able to get away with the smallest set in their line. They were a bit more expensive at about $320 for a set of 6. Once they arrived, I got them installed and fired up the amp. My wife was home, so I put on some music that she knew well. I was surprised when she said she could immediately hear an improvement. I could too. I'm definitely keeping them. At a total cost of a bit more than $420 they were well worth the cost, IMO. If you have a vibration issue you might consider them...
Back story... A few years ago, my audio pal, Sam, loaned me a Luxman tube power amp and a controller amp along with a pair of Nordost cables. Combined retail value was close $16,000. Something I'd never spend, but nonetheless I got to run them with a pair of Proac Tablette Anniversary speakers. This was THE best stereo I've ever had in my possession ever. Absolutely lovely to listen to. Good solid separation that was clear and distinct. Low volume bass was beautiful. There was no mud that I could detect. My vinyl never sounded better... ever.
After a few months it was time to return the components to Sam. He'd been really generous with a good long-term loan. After returning his equipment I hooked the Proacs back up to my Primaluna Classic and Nordost Red Dawns. Sadly, the low volume bass was essentially gone. The separation was there, but not nearly as clear as before. It was muddy.
My speaker stands are made of stainless steel and have solid brass toes that sit on a tile floor. They are also hollow. If I place a hand on one of the stands while playing music, I can definitely feel a lot of vibration. I rolled some tubes to see if I could get some bass back (KT88s back to EL34s) and tried a few pairs of 12AX7s to see if I could get some clarity back. The changes were minimal. I then began toying with filling the stands with something to deaden the vibration but hadn't settled on a material. Got busy with puppies and other life commitments and really just accepted what I had.
Then Sam called and said "Hey, come on over and help me install some new pucks I just bought to go between my speakers and stands." I said "Sure." We listened to a few pieces of music that each of us knew well and then slapped in the Iso-Pucks. WOW! Sam's got a really kick ass system as it sits, but the pucks definitely cleaned things up even more. As soon as I got home, I weighed my speakers, got online and ordered a set of eight. My speakers are relatively light, so I was able to get away with the smallest in their line. Which was cool because they were the least expensive too at $100 for a set of eight (four for each speaker). I read the return policy to ensure I could return them if it turned out to be snake oil.
They arrived a week later, and I got them into my system right away. OMG! The difference was stunning! Low volume bass was back; although, I can't tell you why. I don't understand the physics behind them. Clarity was MUCH better by a long shot. Sam loved his, so he ordered a set of feet for the bottoms of his stands. I jumped on the band wagon and decided I would too. Weighed my speaker and stand together and again I was able to get away with the smallest set in their line. They were a bit more expensive at about $320 for a set of 6. Once they arrived, I got them installed and fired up the amp. My wife was home, so I put on some music that she knew well. I was surprised when she said she could immediately hear an improvement. I could too. I'm definitely keeping them. At a total cost of a bit more than $420 they were well worth the cost, IMO. If you have a vibration issue you might consider them...
Last edited:
🤣
