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 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.1
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 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.
