Seismic Podium
Seismic Podium
Townshend Seismic Podium isolates from 3Hz up on all planes
"The Seismic Podiums become so fundamental to the listening experience that calling them mere accessories fails to give them enough credit. Real stunners" -Accessory of the year 2020
Testimonials
What Our Customers Have to Say.
Break the accoustic connection between the floor and the speaker
Designed as a range to accommodate any size and weight of speaker – standmount plus stand, floorstander or subwoofer – the Seismic Podium breaks the acoustic connection between the floor and the speaker, preventing the passage of deleterious vibrations both to and from the speaker cabinets. For a detailed explanation of why this is an absolute necessity before any speaker can perform to its true potential, read ‘Earthquakes on hi-fi’.
Floated on Seismic Isolation Podiums, speakers are freed from the ever-present seismic activity and room/floor interactions that seriously degrade sound quality. The result is simply magical, allowing listeners to hear into their favourite music in a way they were never able to previously. When under your speakers, they will give you immediate improvements in overall sound by preventing speaker generated vibration from entering the floor and sound from entering your speakers. By eliminating the resonance between the speaker-cabinet mass and the floor, the sound will be noticeably clearer, much more tuneful, controlled and natural. Bass boom is significantly reduced and there will be a far larger, much deeper and wider sound stage. The sound becomes natural and more enjoyable.
As many have already witnessed, the improvements are a revelation and a true pleasure – not least because severing the acoustic link between the speaker and the floor allows playback at more realistic volume levels without annoying the neighbours!
Available in five standard sizes (or to special order to accommodate true behemoths), each Podium platform utilizes Townshend’s innovative ‘Captive’ Load Cell technology to provide a stable four-square footprint that extends well beyond the perimeter of the speaker cabinet. This also allows easy fine levelling adjustment of each Load Cell via a rotatable top cap while, on the bottom, is an adjustable foot to compensate for out-of true floors. The tough black steel platform has a large area treadplate that accommodates any shape of medium to large speaker or sub-woofer, with or without spikes. The Seismic Podiums are suitable for wood, tile or carpeted floors. Total speaker height is increased by only 20mm (3/4”).
Available in 5 standard sizes
Available in five standard sizes (or to special order to accommodate true behemoths), each Podium platform utilizes Townshend’s innovative ‘Captive’ Load Cell technology to provide a stable four-square footprint that extends well beyond the perimeter of the speaker cabinet. This also allows easy fine levelling adjustment of each Load Cell via a rotatable top cap while, on the bottom, is an adjustable foot to compensate for out-of true floors. The tough black steel platform accommodates any shape of medium to large speaker or sub-woofer, with or without spikes. The Seismic Podiums are suitable for wood, tile or carpeted floors. Total speaker height is increased by only 20mm (3/4”). We suggest removing spikes so as to keep the height of the speaker at the height of its original design.
The Seismic Podiums add a mere 2cm to the height of a loudspeaker. This is important not just for obvious centre-of-gravity reasons, but because boundary proximity affects low frequency performance, so raising a speaker up too far will make for a leaner bass than originally intended.
Custom made Podium for larger and complex designs
When the standard sizes are not suitable the Townshend design team will build a Podium to suite your speakers. When isolating extremely heavy or large speakers it may be necessary to add extra Loadcells within the design incorporating up to 6 or sometimes 8 Loadcells.
This is easily demonstrated when isolating a speaker with opposing woofers where all is balanced.
The improvement in sound reproduction is no different from that when conventional forward-facing woofer speakers are adequately isolated.
It is not only speakers that benefit from Seismic Isolation; everything in the replay chain gains.
There is no speaker too large or heavy we can’t isolate.
Our engineers will devise a custom Podium and will send in durable wooden crates insuring they arrive intact and ready to isolate.
Contact us for a free quote.
N.B
There is an inevitable reduction in bass noise when the additional distorted bass is removed, which should not be confused with a drop in accurate bass.
It may be necessary to re-position the speakers closer to the corners of the room to re-balance the sound, but the results are worth the effort.
Rigid coupling is supposed to hold the speaker still to compensate for the cone movement reaction. However, with a very light cone reacting with a heavy cabinet, this movement is minimal and linear according to Newton’s laws of motion. Therefore, the reduction in bass heard when a speaker is isolated is due to the lack of floor “sounding-board” radiation, not the lack of bass output from the speaker.
Townshend Seismic Isolation range
Corners & Bars
Isolate smaller speakers and hifi racs
Pods & platforms
Isolate record players and DACS
Custom & Standard Podium
All floor-standing speakers to megaliths
Polymer vs Mass spring
Hearing deeper minute details
Comparing Townshend Seismic Isolation with Stillpoint and Gaia
The secret is in the science
“Our research over 40 years has lead us down many dead end paths. Along the way we have experimented with the isolation used by our competitors but it never delivered what can be achieved with the mass spring loaded approach”
HookE's law simple Harmonic Motion
The spring is a marvel of human engineering and creativity restoring a system to equilibrium when the mass is optimised for the spring delivering outstanding sonic results by attenuating vibration down to 3Hz, on all planes
Why we don't use spikes
It may look directional but a spike is a fantastic way to ensure the mechanical vibration entering your equipment is attenuated to specific frequencies. See: Jack's Theory of More Stuff
Polymers and 'more stuff' offer limited isolation
polymers begin to attenuate vibrations at around 12Hz and stone may dampen some frequencies but fail to ensure complete mechanical vibration.
Townshend audio
For over 40 years Max Townshend has been searching for solutions.
Allegri Preamplifier
Maximum Supertweeters
Fractal Interconnect
READY TO TRY?
All standard Townshend products can be trialed for one month risk free
What our critics say :
READY TO TRY?
Our support team will work with you to ensure that your equipment is optimised with the correct Loadcell for maximum isolation and musical enjoyment.