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Speaker Isolation feet,- worth looking at, or nonsense?

A

andrewwnbanks

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Feb 11, 2025
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I would appreciate informed views on speaker isolation feet as I am considering examining this. I have a pair of B & W 802D speakers weighing 80kg each. I currently use them with their factory fitted wheels. Rest of the system is Cary DMS 700 streamer, Music First Baby Ref V2 passive preamp and 2 x Pass Labs XA 60.8 class A monoblocs. Yes, usual speaker cable, Shunyata Venom X and AVID SCT XLR connectors

The floor is Travertine tiles on concrete. I am considering Isoacoustics Gaia 1 Neo feet. I have quite a number of friends and acquaintances who say they have had a really noticeable effect on the soundstage.

Would appreciate informed opinions on the matter
 
andrewwnbanks said:
I would appreciate informed views on speaker isolation feet as I am considering examining this. I have a pair of B & W 802D speakers weighing 80kg each. I currently use them with their factory fitted wheels. Rest of the system is Cary DMS 700 streamer, Music First Baby Ref V2 passive preamp and 2 x Pass Labs XA 60.8 class A monoblocs. Yes, usual speaker cable, Shunyata Venom X and AVID SCT XLR connectors

The floor is Travertine tiles on concrete. I am considering Isoacoustics Gaia 1 Neo feet. I have quite a number of friends and acquaintances who say they have had a really noticeable effect on the soundstage.

Would appreciate informed opinions on the matter
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I don't think there is a clearcut answer with the most likely correct answer being it depends. See link to a thread on the subject https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ffect-or-fancy-accessories.59214/post-2275290
 
They don't contribute to anything we see in measurements. Although intuitively compelling, the verdict is usually that they make no difference.

Edit: I own and use GAIA feet but not the most expensive kind. I just like the way they look I guess.
 
Bogus. Unless the speaker itself is so shoddily-constructed that the feet somehow help counteract strong vibrations of the cabinet, but that would have to be very carefully tuned.
 
One thing to remember is the cabinet should not be vibrating enough to contribute anything significant to the sound in the first place. The sound is supposed to come from the cones, period. So what are the spikes / feet going to do if the cabinet isn't vibrating enough to hear?

If the cabinet is vibrating enough to hear above or in addition to the sound coming from the cones, the problem is arguably your speakers, not the feet.

I think some subwoofers might be an exception to this rule. But in that case it depends a great deal on what your floor is made of, whether it resonates, and how those resonances are re-radiated into the room, if at all.

And, even if you do need some kind of isolators for a speaker cabinet, they don't need to be fancy and made of exotic materials, they just need to be appropriate for the frequency range and weight of the speaker. If a manufacturer of speaker feet isn't providing those numbers, just walk away.
 
The only real and measurable effect of such feet is that they rise the speaker a bit higher. You could try with books underneath instead.
 
How about when an enclosure is also being deployed as a stand for another sitting on it?

Even if I was not concerned about using a spike in between, I think I'd prefer a thin layer of dense closed cell, say neoprene
 
Does the same go for spikes on floor protection disks on a wood floor? Are they of value? Could I just use easier to manage rubber feet?
 
Jaudio7 said:
Does the same go for spikes on floor protection disks on a wood floor? Are they of value? Could I just use easier to manage rubber feet?
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Using spikes on a hard floor doesn't make sense. Spikes are for stability on a carpeted floor. For a hard surface, rubber feet are appropriate.
 
andrewwnbanks said:
I would appreciate informed views on speaker isolation feet as I am considering examining this. I have a pair of B & W 802D speakers weighing 80kg each.

The floor is Travertine tiles on concrete.
Click to expand...

This is a simple matter of materials. You have a heavy weight on a hard floor. If that floor is supportive and nothing from it can move or vibrate, there isn't much for you to do. You can go with what looks good, allows you to still move the box around, doesn't damage the floor. Just put a little distance between the box and the floor.

andrewwnbanks said:
I am considering Isoacoustics Gaia 1 Neo feet. I have quite a number of friends and acquaintances who say they have had a really noticeable effect on the soundstage.
Click to expand...
That's audiofoolery. If they did not have a real problem with their floor (like tiles vibrating from a subwoofer on them), then they did hear their brain getting excited about the purchase. Or maybe the nice looks. Those feet are good looking, nothing wrong with liking them.
 
While I agree that in general making audibility claims about "Isolation feet" can be snake oil I don't think they belong in the same category as expensive cables or similar devices that have no real use cases that can improve audibility.

I recently had a genuine use case where I was stacking my KH310's on top of some very large subwoofers. When I ran measurements I noticed a resonance centered around 300 Hz that I knew was not coming from the KH310's and was above where the subs were playing. After some trial and error I found that the KH310's were exciting a resonance in the cabinet of the subwoofer through mechanical coupling. I found some sorbothane pads (feet) with the recommended durometer for the weight of my speakers and these sorbothane feet did indeed prevent the mechanical transfer and eliminated the resonance issue.
 
levimax said:
While I agree that in general making audibility claims about "Isolation feet" can be snake oil I don't think they belong in the same category as expensive cables or similar devices that have no real use cases that can improve audibility.
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Sure, but you don't need expensive "isolation feet" for edge cases like yours. Simply sticking some adhesive rubber bumpers on the bottom is often enough, or at worst some rubber (or other cheap plastic material) feet. Pretending that the issue needs some complicated and expensive solution to resolve is quite similar to expensive audiophool cables. Cables can be a source of issues in certain circumstances, but you don't need expensive ones with pseudoscientific nonsense attached to do the job.
 
levimax said:
found some sorbothane pads (feet) with the recommended durometer for the weight of my speakers
Click to expand...
Any simple calculator out there, avoiding AI?

Edit: My LS50s are 15.8lb / 7.2kg

Reasonably priced reco sources?
 
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john61ct said:
Any simple calculator out there, avoiding AI? My LS50s are 25.8lb / 7.2kg

Reasonably priced reco sources?
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Try Amazon, altho sometimes the spec for weight isn't there. Probably not crucial for a speaker (I had some for a turntable where an unrated model I used on the recommendation of someone made it worse).
 
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