[doggie]

You won't regret the purchase.  I love having my X3s on the GAIA IIs.  They look gorgeous.  The engineering seems solid to me but I'm no engineer.  Equally important (LOL), psychologically it is satisfying to sit back while listening and see them doing their magic on my speakers. 

Marcus

My Gaia II's arrived today and I installed them. To be honest I was a bit skeptical that they would be an improvement over the included spikes. The logic of spikes made sense to me by coupling to the floor to create an immovable and solid base.

I was wrong. These made a really great improvement. Focus and soundstage was improved and bass is tighter. I made these observations after replaying the last music that I had been playing yesterday, an old 60's Living Stereo recording of Copland's Rodeo.

They are not cheap but well worth it for a good system...and with the X5's.

[TomS]

My Gaia II's arrived today and I installed them. To be honest I was a bit skeptical that they would be an improvement over the included spikes. The logic of spikes made sense to me by coupling to the floor to create an immovable and solid base.

I was wrong. These made a really great improvement. Focus and soundstage was improved and bass is tighter. I made these observations after replaying the last music that I had been playing yesterday, an old 60's Living Stereo recording of Copland's Rodeo.

They are not cheap but well worth it for a good system...and with the X5's.

Yep, very consistent with my experience on 2 very different sets of speakers, they just work. There will always be skeptics of course, as in everything audio. Glad they worked out for you.

[doggie]

No I meant.. how does he like them? Are they doing well for him? Pros? Cons?

Gotcha. I have used those for years under my electronics until I recently bought some Gaia footers. To be honest I am not sure that I could ever hear a difference with the cork and rubber ones. Perhaps they are more effective under speakers. It would certainly be very inexpensive to try.

I will warn you of one thing. Some sources sell isolation pads that smell really bad. I am pretty sure that they are made in China where the rubber that they use has a very pungent and oily smell. I bought a batch of a dozen a couple of years ago and I could not even bring them into the house for over a year, even after washing them and leaving them in the sun for months.

[Tangram]

Yep, very consistent with my experience on 2 very different sets of speakers, they just work. There will always be skeptics of course, as in everything audio. Glad they worked out for you.

It looks like your speakers sit on hardwood on the main floor of your house. I have heard to effect of the Gaias at an audio show and it was profound. Wondering though if I would hear much difference in my basement listening room, with it’s concrete floor. Currently I have my M3 Sapphires sitting on an area rug, using the standard spiked feet. They don’t penetrate through to the floor but the design of the speakers is inherently stable. Any movement in the baffle is most likely a function of woofer movement that wouldn’t change if I had them on Gaias on the floor (vinyl over concrete). But my understanding is that the footers are specifically designed to counteract the inherent but small front to back motion caused by the pistonic motion of the woofers (which on the Sapphires are gigantic). Any thoughts on this?

[Desertpilot]

My X3s are on a carpet, over vinyl floor, over a concrete slab.  I bought the GAIA IIs to "decouple" the speakers from the floor.  What made me interested in doing this is a video Ron at NRD put out January, 2020.  He had a guest, Norman Varney from AV Room Service, demonstrate the need for decoupling.  Even concrete will magnify frequencies.  It is a long video but very informative with an eye opening demonstration.  Worth watching.  Yes, he sells isolation devices but I went with the GAIAs instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G4HF6wJG38

[doggie]

My X3's are in our basement which has an "engineered" wood floor over concrete. No rug where the speakers sit.

I had the same concern about the movement/play of the speakers. In fact, once the Gaia's were in place I could place my hand on the speakers and they would move very slightly. That worried me...

Once I started playing music all of my theories went out the window as all aspects of the sound improved including a tightening of bass. Whatever is theoretically lost by the possible/potential small movement of the speaker is definitely more than compensated for by some other quality or ability of these footers.

YMMV

[hmen]

I went with the ISO Acoustics GAIA IIs.  Pricey, but I figure spending this much on speakers, why not?  Clayton will send you the bolts that fit the X3 and GAIA IIs.

Marcus

My GAIA IIs arrived yesterday. None of the included bolts fit correctly. The middle size were closest but were too thin for the threads to catch. I have one of the first X3s that were shipped (I think Clayton said they were the third pair) so maybe the later units had a different size.  I sent a note to Clayton but I was wondering if anybody knew offhand what size mine might be.

Howard

[doggie]

My GAIA IIs arrived yesterday. None of the included bolts fit correctly. The middle size were closest but were too thin for the threads to catch. I have one of the first X3s that were shipped (I think Clayton said they were the third pair) so maybe the later units had a different size.  I sent a note to Clayton but I was wondering if anybody knew offhand what size mine might be.

Howard

Just as a data point my new X5's use the 1/4" bolts.

[markmuse]

@RonP and @franSSS

I have a full basement and this is a thickly carpeted suspended (I guess that is what you call it) floor. I didn't realize how much sonic mud was coming from having the spikes through the carpet into the subfloor. Until I did this. Everything tightened up a bit, and especially the bass which became more tuneful and less muddy. And I am tall, so the increased height has been beneficial too.

The little pads are industrial vibration absorbing pads. But given that they are on thick carpet, I doubt the absorption properties are a factor. But the ribbed surfaces, while not sticky rubber (they are actually very hard rubber), do indeed provide a no-slip contact above and below, which I think is important. I have not tried a commercial product under the X5's, so I can't say how they compare. But for what it costs, you'll lose little in trying.

I agree that is looks a bit funky. I could get a couple of pieces of good hardwood, oil them, and replace these pieces of pine. And actually, maple would probably tighten things up a tad more.

[franSSS]

@markmuse,

Thank you.

[hmen]

The 1/4 20 bolt was loose but 5/16 bolt was too big so I used wing nuts to fasten in the 1/4 bolts and it worked perfectly but looked crappy so I bought these thumb wheels on Amazon. 



The effect the GAIA IIs had on the sound was not subtle. I expected a noticeable improvement but it far exceeded my expectations. I should have done this a long time ago.

[Desertpilot]

The effect the GAIA IIs had on the sound was not subtle. I expected a noticeable improvement but it far exceeded my expectations. I should have done this a long time ago.

Very creative solution!  Nice job.

Marcus

[doggie]

The 1/4 20 bolt was loose but 5/16 bolt was too big so I used wing nuts to fasten in the 1/4 bolts and it worked perfectly but looked crappy so I bought these thumb wheels on Amazon.

Excellent. I ordered some also. They look much better than the stock Gaia bolt and nut!

[forky]

A few weeks ago I watched this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmeNWr7JqOE and googled J&J Audio Solutions about the GAIAs and the other isolation support thingy shown. He said the Townsand speaker podiums a great solution for "problematic rooms with bass issues" but cost $2,500. I passed on those but I did order 6 GAIA IIs from him. He contacted Clayton directly for the correct hardware and will be shipping soon if he hasn't already. No affiliation just posting where I got mine and that it should be turn-key when it arrives.

[Don_S]

Some of you are making this harder than it needs to be. What is the thread size on the X-series speaker feet? GAIA footers have other thread sizes available beyond the three included in each set. You just have to ask your dealer to request the correct size from the distributor. I know it works. I ordered a different thread size for my speakers (not Spatial). I am surprised Spatial did not use a more common size.

From the IsoAcoustic website (select FAQs):

https://isoacoustics.com/home-audio-isolation-products/gaia-series/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwg7KJBhDyARIsAHrAXaFv_t9QVOlBc3-r4shbTZuKlqckfa46Pfq_MdhCzZxfWUBP3iqIeboaAs0iEALw_wcB

"The GAIA isolators come with the 3 most common thread sizes. If you require a different size, they can be ordered through the dealer that is selling the GAIA’s, or through our distributor. Click Here for the contact information for our distributor for your country."

[JTF]

He said the Townsand speaker podiums a great solution for "problematic rooms with bass issues" but cost $2,500.

  I think it'd be more effective to spend $2500 on bass traps and room treatment.

[Tyson]

I think it'd be more effective to spend $2500 on bass traps and room treatment.

I've run several OB speakers and I can confirm that OB speakers interact less with the room than box speakers, which is one of the main reasons to get an OB speaker.  However, a quiet and well treated room is always better than a non-treated room.  My dad and I built a ton of (very nice looking) room treatments for my 2 systems.  They fit the walls and decor perfectly and best of all gave us something to do together now that he's retired & has a ton of free time.  And both rooms sound way better now, of course.  Here's the link to the build thread.  I did the basement in Black because that's where my HT is.  But I also did another set for my living room that were muslim white with walnut trim stain. 

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=175422.msg1849593#msg1849593

Also, can't wait to get my X3's for the upstairs (living room) system.  Only a few more weeks, really jonesing now!! 

[dlynch34]

Thanks Tom!

Are these adjusted to their lowest position or do you have them set to raise slightly?

Much appreciated.

how did you bolt them in yours? i went with these as well

[dlynch34]

How did you attach them ?  I got the same feet wondering if I did them correctly?

[sockpit]

I think it'd be more effective to spend $2500 on bass traps and room treatment.

+1 on this advice.  I'm skeptical about what feet can do, but not about what treating the room does.  By far more beneficial than even fussing with linear power supplies and usb scrubbers.

Were I to do it all over again, I'd first treat my little room and then go on the hunt for the best components and speakers. A lot of dough is lost on cables and other voodoo that should go into simply getting he room under control, IMHO.