Analog Corner #303: Accessorize Your Ride

In place of my usual Wilson Alexxes, a pair of small (though very fine) two-way speakers has been in my system this past month: the Marten Oscar Duos I review elsewhere in this issue. Without my usual reference speakers in the system, I didn’t feel comfortable covering anything that affects sound quality for this column, so, with the exception of one item—the first—this column covers accessories that don’t require sonic evaluation.

Isoacoustics Gaia-Titan Cronos
I can write about the IsoAcoustics Gaia-Titan Cronos loudspeaker footers (footnote 1) because I did the evaluation before swapping out the big Wilsons for the Duos and then listened again once the Alexxes were back in the system, to reassure myself about what I’d heard.

At the Expert Imaging and Sound Association’s (EISA) 2019 convention in Antwerp, Belgium, IsoAcoustics put on a startling demonstration. Journalists from around the world attend the EISA event, where manufacturers demonstrate various products, from amplifiers to cameras. Later, votes are taken and awards are handed out. This year, there was no convention: Auditions and deliberations were carried out locally, with proper social distance. As I write this, Stereophile has just posted the 2020–2021 EISA Award winners on its website.

At the pre-COVID 2019 EISA convention, IsoAcoustics set up two pairs of modestly priced floorstanding speakers, side by side. One pair sat on the stock spikes, the other on a set of IsoAcoustics feet, the particular model of which I don’t recall. (IsoAcoustics makes different models for different loudspeaker weights.) A simple switch directed music to one set of speakers or the other, allowing a rapid A/B demonstration.

The differences I heard were remarkable. Everyone in the room heard it. Some didn’t believe what they were hearing. Some even assumed the fix was in. My incredulity led me to insist that presenter and company president Dave Morrison reverse the speaker pairs in case room acoustics were playing a part in what everyone heard. Morrison did as I asked. The big differences remained.

Impressed, I asked for some Gaias to try under my Wilson Alexxes. Soon, two sets of Gaia-Titan Cronoses arrived. Each set of four feet has a list price of $1599.99 and is capable of supporting 620lb. (The Cronos is the largest Gaia-Titan model, made for the heaviest speakers.) Later, when Morrison found out my speakers sit on carpet over concrete, he sent along sets of multispiked carpet discs.

Each set of four footers comes packed in a hinged, piano-black lacquer box containing the feet and three sets of screw-in threads in different sizes to fit a wide range of loudspeakers; other sizes are available upon request. A small wrench is included for screwing in the correct set for your speakers, which then lock in place with a knurled circular nut. A hex nut screwed on atop the knurled nut secures the footer to the speaker bottom by screwing it upward to tighten. All this adjustability is necessary because the feet are directional: For best isolation, you place them with the logo facing either forward or backward to align with the speaker’s “motive energy,” the directions in which the drivers move. Once the speakers are level, the logos are facing forward or back, you screw up the hex nuts to fully tighten the foot.

I’m not the first Stereophile reviewer to write about IsoAcoustics footers. Robert Deutsch got the early scoop in the September 2017 issue. Art Dudley then wrote about them, too, trying them under his Garrard 301 turntable. Jim Austin wrote about a demo he experienced—much like the EISA demo—at the 2019 Munich High End audio show, and then wrote about his experiences with the footers under the Revel Ultima Salon2 loudspeakers in the October 2020 issue of Stereophile. Gaia feet won a Stereophile 2019 “Product of the Year” award.

The usual skeptics posted under Jim’s account of his Munich experience; at least one poster suggested that the room placement differences might have accounted for what he heard. That was my thought, too, when I heard the EISA demo, so I insisted on the swap and then was convinced. What’s more, you’ll find a video on the IsoAcoustics website made by PS Audio’s Paul McGowan in which you can easily hear the differences in a similar demo recorded through a camera microphone at RMAF 2018! It is not a subtle difference. In fact, it’s so clear and obvious that skeptics are likely to assume fraud.

There’s also a link on that page to an explanation of how this patented product works and the measurements done at the National Research Council of Canada.

Everything I heard under lousy hotel room demo conditions was 10× more dramatic at home. It was not at all subtle. These feet remarkably reduced (I’d say “eliminated” but another product might come along and take this to yet another level) “smear” and “blur” that I was completely unaware was there. One of the problems with this job is that the descriptive words we use like “focus” and “detail” (you can list the rest) correspond to no direct mathematical or measurable quantity. I know my speakers in my room produce exceptional image focus, specificity, three-dimensionality, and so on because that’s the first thing visitors notice—including visitors with much experience with high-end sound. It’s like, “Boing”! Especially notable are the responses I see from people who typically are anti-Wilson but who have never heard Wilson speakers under proper conditions. (I’ve heard Alexxes sound positively awful at shows.) After a minute or two, they say “Oh! I get it now! Wow!” (Boing!)

After I put the speakers on Gaia Titan Cronos feet, the improvement in low-level detail, resolution, image focus, clarity, bass attack and decay, and transparency were—I’ll write it again—not at all subtle. They were huge! I swear that’s not hyperbole.

I’ve been playing the original “pink label” British pressing of Traffic’s second album (Traffic, UAS 6676, 1968) for 52 years. I never tire of listening to the mix of jazz, humor, and Dave Mason’s unerring melodic rock songs. I thought I’d reached the limits of what could be extracted from that record, but with the Gaia Titan Cronos installed I heard things on “Feelin’ Alright?” I’ve never before heard, especially background vocal asides and assorted percussive accents. The clarity of some cowbell hits startled, both timbrally (more metal) and spatially (right there), as did the overall ease of the presentation.

I played both Tidal and Qobuz 16/44.1 versions, too. While the Qobuz beat the Tidal, with a more supple quality overall, both sounded like cardboard compared to the old record—and that track is the last track on side one, where vinyl is supposed to have a huge disadvantage—never mind that the record must be worn out after 52 years of play (but isn’t). That’s the only example I’ll cite, but even (perhaps especially) mono records produced a locked-in center image that far surpassed what I thought was already a solid center picture.

As for timbral changes, the bottom end of my speakers noticeably tightened up and produced greater extension, which affected everything above. The bottom end of Thom Yorke’s bass-rich Anima (XL 987) was noticeably more compact, with more punch. That freed up the midrange and produced a more open and clearer presentation.

Footnote 1: IsoAcoustics. 39 Main St. North, Unit 5 Markham, ON, Canada L3P 1X3 Tel: (905) 294-4672. Web: IsoAcoustics.com.

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