Isolation feet and speaker stands
- Thread starter Paulq2
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Big John
pfm Member
Bodhi What bloody good reviews. On a pension Auva 100's are probably beyond my reach Auva 70's may be! I don't know if their discount deal is still available Josh at Stack Audio said on an email. The code is 7.5wigwamgroup, it is currently active until the end of May.
Bodhi
Well-Known Member
Yeah that is a very informative review. You might be able to find a set of pre-owned Auva 100's if you look around & maybe post a WTB ad here and on Audiomart. Still from what i've read, the biggest jump in performance is going from the 50's to 70's.
Big John
pfm Member
I will email Stack Audio about the Auva's & see what they say....
gustav_errata
pfm Member
It has been extended by a couple of weeks! I enquired when I ordered some AUVA EQ a few days ago.
I owned the Harbeth Super HL5 non-Plus for 7 years and HL5 Plus for 6 years. Unfortunately I didn't try any isolators beneath the stands. When I switched the Super HL5 Plus to Graham LS5/9 about 2 years ago, the bass of the Grahams sounded terribly wrong. It's just an unnatural bass response in the room with the LS5/9. I immediately acquired a set of Gaia 3s for the Grahams and they totally transformed the sound of the speakers. To my mind, the Gaia footers are indispensable for BBC speakers.
I didn't try the Auva but my very positive experience with the Gaias on Graham LS5/9 led me to believe that all BBC speakers with thin-walled cabinet from the likes of Harbeth, Graham, Spendor etc. will benefit with any form of (good quality) footers below the stands. I can vouch for the effectiveness of the Isoacoustics Gaia on Graham ls5/9.
All my speakers are fitted with Gaias below them. Gaia III on Graham ls5/9 and Gaia II on Marten Duke 2.
CraShWilliams
pfm Member
Yes please Chris, I'd be very keen to hear your thoughts - hope you're having a great weekend.
Big John
pfm Member
By way of an update on the seemingly more balanced set up of right hand OTA Quad 57 via the Auva 50's that my son John achieved the other day.
Today I was playing some simple 2 instrument Indian music with some deep bass from a Jori drum wooden made, unlike the metal Tabla it is pair of more resonant drums, I put my hand on the outer frame/screwed on wood side strip, there was less apparent vibration than previously, I noticed that I could effectively through my fingertips feel high or low notes depending on what instrument was prominent at the time the other being a Rudra Veena , a plucked multi stringed instrument with large gourd resonant chambers at each end, on the change over of instrument prominence, there was no smearing of the notes both instruments could be felt, corelating to the audible effects I heard particularly clarity & fine detail when I fitted the Auva 50's under the OTA Quad 57 OTA Rupert stands, I can only think that the particles in the Auva chambers have settled & are absorbing more?
CraShWilliams
pfm Member
So, and after reading through the thread I ordered the ISO Puck Minis and took delivery of them last night - previously I had my Chartwell LS6s atop SS6 stands (3/4 filled with fish tank sand). Between the speaker and the stand I was using Atacama pads...
Well, I'm very impressed - my LS6s appear to be more dynamic (though I have some bias as to whether it the cash spent and/or the speaker being a fraction higher), I was certainly smiling last night and been back this morning to play some more of my fav tracks. I'm now also wondering whether to spend the money on the Gaia IIIs, or quit whilst I'm ahead!
Well, I'm very impressed - my LS6s appear to be more dynamic (though I have some bias as to whether it the cash spent and/or the speaker being a fraction higher), I was certainly smiling last night and been back this morning to play some more of my fav tracks. I'm now also wondering whether to spend the money on the Gaia IIIs, or quit whilst I'm ahead!
CraShWilliams
pfm Member
The LS6 weight is only 9.5kg with each individual puck supporting 2.75kg / combined 11kg - at least that's how I read it!
Sounds good mind, so I'm happy
Big John
pfm Member
The Stack Audio Auva 70's that I ordered arrived this morning. I had an important task to do for a very sick friend so my daughter came & waited for them.
When I got home, After playing some music, I spun off the Auva 50's from the OTA Rupert stands under my OTA Quad 57's & screwed in the Auva 70's using the existing 6mm-8mm adapters.
I wrote a few posts ago that touching the outer frame "I noticed that I could effectively through my fingertips feel high or low notes depending on what instrument was prominent at the time the other being a Rudra Veena , a plucked multi stringed instrument with large gourd resonant chambers at each end, on the change over of instrument prominence, there was no smearing of the notes both instruments could be felt, correlating to the audible effects I heard particularly clarity & fine detail". Well today noticeably less perceived vibration in the frame.
The Audiophile man wrote a review that interested me, he wrote "In my mind’s eye, I imagined that Stack Audio had designed and possibly even tested these feet with conical drivers in mind.
So I attempted to second guess my imagination and wrong-foot Stack Audio.
That is, picking up the AUVA 70 feet first, I decided to give the 70s a tough test from the off. To begin, I decided to place them under my Quad 57 electrostatic speakers.
Here, you’re looking to install some control on two sheets of shimmering cling film. To me, if you can bring a semblance of order on those, then your basic speakers will be child’s play, by comparison."
I have the same, 57's on Rupert stands. I believe it is the insubstantial narrow Quad 57 frame with limited bracing that is the main culprit. Counter intuitively they may have more need of damping/absorption than a lot of stiff braced box speakers
Alastair Robertson-Aikman (deceased) former owner of SME famously had an enormous subterranean listening room, I read that he attached large solid brass side pieces to damp the vibrations in his Quads, these days brass would probably be more expensive than the Auva's that do not damp but in their Auva chambers absorb & convert vibration into heat.
The Audiophile man quoted a CD. "Created by Aziza Brahim, the CD was released by Glitterbeat. Called Abbar el Hamad ait, it is a bit of a stunner, especially my test track, a sumptuous romantic piece called El canto de la Arena featuring a melancholy female vocal, a slow-paced yet chocolatey romantic guitar, bass guitar, pipes, small sets of bells and a host of organic percussion (no digital is allowed in this one) the type of which I have no clue so please forgive my ignorance. They sounded wonderful though. Deep, tight when hit and effective"
I bought that CD to evaluate the Auva 50's fitted to the OTA Quad 57 stands using his evaluation as a sort of bench mark. With the Auva 50's the CD sounded very good with the Auva 70's percussion not just drums but blocks etc & acoustic/electric guitars are much better still. I would not argue with Audiophile man when he wrote. "With the Stack Audio AUVA 70 feet in place? Errr, blimey! I mean….blimey! I felt like I needed to suddenly sit up straight and pay attention. I actually did do that, without realising. As if the music had just woken up. The entire soundstage was suddenly precise and focused. The mids were crisp. The treble was exacting. The bass was even tighter than before. It started and stopped on a pin head".
I'm now listening to Brian Wilson & Friends DVD which I am very familiar with, as with the preceding music the volume control is a notch or three lower. The soundstage depth has increased in line with it being a very deep stage they are spread over, instruments are etched in space the OTA Quad speakers seem revitalised, more exciting. the punch of drums is stunning, the little sounds like drumstick's hitting each other, rimshots whether Guiro Jam Block an instrument with ridges that are rubbed/strigilated! Bell Splash Cymbals ringing or Triangle. Human voices/whistling are projecting they have an almost magical quality. Acoustic/Electric/Mandolin Guitars superlatives fail me. Trumpets/Cornets have a real rasp where intended. Zoe Deschanel of She & Him, singing God Only Knows is mesmerising. Took me right back to a unbelievable party in the Kings Road Chelsea late 1966...
As I listen, like the Auva 50's & Auva EQ's the sound is improving as the Auva 70's Auva Chambers settle when I last spoke to Josh at Stack Audio he said customers said the material in the Auva Chambers of the 70's could take 10 hours to settle, the 50's took 2 or three days here to settle properly.
The Audiophile man wrote. "Now the stereo image was placed with mathematical precision. It was like a big bloke with a luminous green jacket and a Theodolite had paid my listening room a quick visit. The sheer accuracy of the vocal now was very impressive indeed. Because of this almost mathematical precision, the supreme focus, the removing of even a hint of wooly bass or slightly meandering mids, everything sounded clearer now. Vocals, the actual lyrics, were more easily understood. Nothing got in the way of the delivery any more".
I have compared the Auva 50's with the 70's playing all the same music, as much as I loved the Auva 50's & could have lived very happily with them however the sound now is in a different league...
I will report further when the Auva 70's have settled. When I can take in my OTA Quad 57's whilst still a subtle speaker that's sounding as if they are on steroids.
When I got home, After playing some music, I spun off the Auva 50's from the OTA Rupert stands under my OTA Quad 57's & screwed in the Auva 70's using the existing 6mm-8mm adapters.
I wrote a few posts ago that touching the outer frame "I noticed that I could effectively through my fingertips feel high or low notes depending on what instrument was prominent at the time the other being a Rudra Veena , a plucked multi stringed instrument with large gourd resonant chambers at each end, on the change over of instrument prominence, there was no smearing of the notes both instruments could be felt, correlating to the audible effects I heard particularly clarity & fine detail". Well today noticeably less perceived vibration in the frame.
The Audiophile man wrote a review that interested me, he wrote "In my mind’s eye, I imagined that Stack Audio had designed and possibly even tested these feet with conical drivers in mind.
So I attempted to second guess my imagination and wrong-foot Stack Audio.
That is, picking up the AUVA 70 feet first, I decided to give the 70s a tough test from the off. To begin, I decided to place them under my Quad 57 electrostatic speakers.
Here, you’re looking to install some control on two sheets of shimmering cling film. To me, if you can bring a semblance of order on those, then your basic speakers will be child’s play, by comparison."
I have the same, 57's on Rupert stands. I believe it is the insubstantial narrow Quad 57 frame with limited bracing that is the main culprit. Counter intuitively they may have more need of damping/absorption than a lot of stiff braced box speakers
Alastair Robertson-Aikman (deceased) former owner of SME famously had an enormous subterranean listening room, I read that he attached large solid brass side pieces to damp the vibrations in his Quads, these days brass would probably be more expensive than the Auva's that do not damp but in their Auva chambers absorb & convert vibration into heat.
The Audiophile man quoted a CD. "Created by Aziza Brahim, the CD was released by Glitterbeat. Called Abbar el Hamad ait, it is a bit of a stunner, especially my test track, a sumptuous romantic piece called El canto de la Arena featuring a melancholy female vocal, a slow-paced yet chocolatey romantic guitar, bass guitar, pipes, small sets of bells and a host of organic percussion (no digital is allowed in this one) the type of which I have no clue so please forgive my ignorance. They sounded wonderful though. Deep, tight when hit and effective"
I bought that CD to evaluate the Auva 50's fitted to the OTA Quad 57 stands using his evaluation as a sort of bench mark. With the Auva 50's the CD sounded very good with the Auva 70's percussion not just drums but blocks etc & acoustic/electric guitars are much better still. I would not argue with Audiophile man when he wrote. "With the Stack Audio AUVA 70 feet in place? Errr, blimey! I mean….blimey! I felt like I needed to suddenly sit up straight and pay attention. I actually did do that, without realising. As if the music had just woken up. The entire soundstage was suddenly precise and focused. The mids were crisp. The treble was exacting. The bass was even tighter than before. It started and stopped on a pin head".
I'm now listening to Brian Wilson & Friends DVD which I am very familiar with, as with the preceding music the volume control is a notch or three lower. The soundstage depth has increased in line with it being a very deep stage they are spread over, instruments are etched in space the OTA Quad speakers seem revitalised, more exciting. the punch of drums is stunning, the little sounds like drumstick's hitting each other, rimshots whether Guiro Jam Block an instrument with ridges that are rubbed/strigilated! Bell Splash Cymbals ringing or Triangle. Human voices/whistling are projecting they have an almost magical quality. Acoustic/Electric/Mandolin Guitars superlatives fail me. Trumpets/Cornets have a real rasp where intended. Zoe Deschanel of She & Him, singing God Only Knows is mesmerising. Took me right back to a unbelievable party in the Kings Road Chelsea late 1966...
As I listen, like the Auva 50's & Auva EQ's the sound is improving as the Auva 70's Auva Chambers settle when I last spoke to Josh at Stack Audio he said customers said the material in the Auva Chambers of the 70's could take 10 hours to settle, the 50's took 2 or three days here to settle properly.
The Audiophile man wrote. "Now the stereo image was placed with mathematical precision. It was like a big bloke with a luminous green jacket and a Theodolite had paid my listening room a quick visit. The sheer accuracy of the vocal now was very impressive indeed. Because of this almost mathematical precision, the supreme focus, the removing of even a hint of wooly bass or slightly meandering mids, everything sounded clearer now. Vocals, the actual lyrics, were more easily understood. Nothing got in the way of the delivery any more".
I have compared the Auva 50's with the 70's playing all the same music, as much as I loved the Auva 50's & could have lived very happily with them however the sound now is in a different league...
I will report further when the Auva 70's have settled. When I can take in my OTA Quad 57's whilst still a subtle speaker that's sounding as if they are on steroids.
Big John
pfm Member
I am listening as I type to Feist, Metal CD recommended by someone on another forum as a test CD it is recorded at a very high level but in a sorted system sounds good, now I have the Auva 70 footers it sounds bloody marvelous so much bass punch clear middle & highs creating a musical whole.
I just listened/watched an early DVD of the Mikado at one point the son of the Mikado Nanki-Poo confessing to his sweetheart Yum Yum who he is. He describes his father as the lucius soonus brutus of his age. today thanks to the Auva 70's under the OTA Quad 57's I heard for the first time the Lucius Junius Brutus of his age. (Lucius Junius Brutus was the legendary founder of the Roman Empire) also I can hear the annoying footfall of characters wearing hard sole shoes rather than Japanese style soft sole slippers however those also become irritating when they run... Rather like the thumps & bumps at the ballet
I just listened/watched an early DVD of the Mikado at one point the son of the Mikado Nanki-Poo confessing to his sweetheart Yum Yum who he is. He describes his father as the lucius soonus brutus of his age. today thanks to the Auva 70's under the OTA Quad 57's I heard for the first time the Lucius Junius Brutus of his age. (Lucius Junius Brutus was the legendary founder of the Roman Empire) also I can hear the annoying footfall of characters wearing hard sole shoes rather than Japanese style soft sole slippers however those also become irritating when they run... Rather like the thumps & bumps at the ballet
Big John
pfm Member
Phyztech My pleasure The Auva 70's are more than I expected by far, I was stunned with the difference after the very good Auva 50's, I said I could happily live with them as I can happily live with the Auva 70's, however before you spend your hard earned pennies, I'm minded of the words of Paul Rigby-The Audiophile Man as below 3 paragraphs.
"So, one final, final test then. What are the differences between the AUVA 70 and AUVA 100 feet, if any? Iturned to Ella Fitzgerald’s version of One For My Baby on the Speakers Corner pressing of the Harold ArlenSong Book double album, originally out on Verve.Differences, if any? Lots is what I’d say! But hear this, moving from the 70s to the 100s is to move from excellent hifi to truly high-end HiFi. And I mean top-of-the-line. It’s like moving from an exceptional boron cantilevered cartridge to a cartridge packing a sapphire or even diamond cantilever. That sort of standard.
"At this point, all talk stops. You’re forced to listen. There is a level of sound quality here which is just exceptional. Truly exceptional. In short? Down went the noise again, up came the detail."
"I expected some sort of improvement from the Stack Audio AUVA feet sure but nothing, nothing in sonic terms, quite like this. The sheer level of precision from the music now was quite outstanding. For my HiFi system, at least, it felt like the last ingredient to make the entire HiFi chain click into place. It’s almost like my HiFi system needed a big nudge to give it that sense of clarity – and I didn’t know. I didn’t know that was even necessary until I tested the AUVA feet.The largest and most dramatic improvement was moving from basic feet to the 70s. That was a shock. Sayingthat, the move from the 70s to the 100s was a move to ‘proper HiFi’. High-end HiFi. HiFi that nods towards the sound and says, “Just stop what you’re doing and..take…a…listen…to…thisss.”
I had the advantage of fitting Auva 50's first to the OTA Quad 57 OTA Rupert stands, the sound was so much better than before, it was quite an unexpected jump to the sound after fitting Auva 70's. As I have mooted do Quad 57's require more damping/absorption than some box speakers because of their insubstantial almost 2 dimensional frame as below. As for Auva 100's as yet a pipe dream.
Big John
pfm Member
My brother in law has just put a set of Auva EQ’s below his Garrard.
Yet to hear if they make a difference, though I would be surprised if they don’t they do with everything else.
Fergus what was the perceived difference puting Auva EQ's under the Garrard please.
Bodhi & Phyztech I have made efforts to come to terms with the almost disturbing elevation in the music quality heard after fitting the Auva 70's under the OTA Rupert stands that my OTA Quad 57's sit on.
My wife is out granny sitting our youngest granddaughter, unfortunately my wifes tinnitus precludes playing the system when she is home.
Whether Virgin box recordings like Cat's 1999 not the recent poor film, performances of Indian classical music including Tabla,Jori, Sitar,Rudra Veena,flute's etc, The Shadows farewell tour concert & highlights of orchestral recordings including The Messiah (Handel) with Iestyn Davies countertenor.
Those on on CD like Abbar el Hamada ait (Aziza Brahim), while(1<2) (deadmau5) Flag, Baby (Yellow),Disc 1 & 2 David Chesky Jazz samplers/Test CD's or when playing Vinyl LP's as in Dave Brubeck's Greatest Hits, Transformer (lou Reed) Snowflakes are Dancing (Tomita)LP Tapestry (Carole King), Wish you Were Here, Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall (floyd), The Singles (Carpenters) Richard Carpenter hated the idea of calling the LP the best of. Parsley Sage Rosemary & Thyme, Bridge Over Troubled Waters (Simon & Garfunkel.
I have played all of these & Many of my Classical recordings over the last few days. My take so far, is everything seems even slower than with the Auva 50's or is it just more relaxed, despite so much more detail, bass punch & being made more aware of the acoustic whether the studio engineers intend one, like Road To Hell (Chris Rea) I played both the LP & the CD then there is The double mono LP of The Threepenny Opera" sung in German.(Weill & Brecht) or a live stage recording Like Brian Wilson & Friends.
I cannot emphasise enough the transformation wrought by the Auva 70's, the inclusion of the Auva 50's was as big a change after 40 years using quality solid state & hybrid amplifiers, I bought my Rogue Atlas Magnum valve power amplifier that grabbed the OTA Quad 57's by the balls, fitting the Auva 70's was an even bigger upgrade than when Mark Manwaring-White replacing it's Capacitors with Audyn cap reference ones & 1% Mills resistors & my fitting different upgraded valves.
While I still have 8 x Auva 50's time to experiment with them...
Bodhi
Well-Known Member
Congrats on the positive gains to your system following the installation of the Stack Audio Auva 70's!
That correlates with the review I read which noted the biggest jump was between the 50's and 70's vs the 100's. That seems to be the sweet spot in their range of speaker footers. Let us know how the speakers sound after the feet settle in.It was pretty much more of the same with improvements in scale, clarity, image stability, noise reduction and dynamics. The Garrard was actually the last item he "Stack"ed, the first being the Auva 70's on the table followed by EQ's under his streamer, dac and then his TT and its power supply. Every step produced worthwhile gains. It will be something I get round to doing sometime probably starting with my amplifier. We have both inquired about the use of Auva's with our Boenicke W5SE's but we're not sure if they would benefit because of their low mass and spindly stands.