ISOAcoustics Aperta Sub Isolator

If you’ve ever heard a sub rattle on the floor, then you know just how annoying it can be. IsoAcoustics hopes to solve this issue with their Aperta sub isolation platform. With a unique design that prevents the physical transfer of energy, it’s made to prevent room rattle and not upset neighbors while improving low-frequency sound for tighter bass response. A solid design meets solid engineering. Let’s see how it performs in the real world.

It’s built like a spaceship from the future! I feel like the 80-pound weight limit is an understatement with how solid it looks and feels. It’s well built and solid as a rock. Just picking it out of the box, you know it was made to last. I first thought that the strange design would make it hard to get it stable under a subwoofer, but it worked fine on every sub I tested it with, just need to play with the orientation a bit and it will work. There’s no need to worry about any scuffs on the bottom of your sub or your floor, the top rubber pads are very forgiving. The carpet spikes unfortunately were just plastic, I really would have liked to see these made of metal considering the price point. And now it’s time to set it up under some subs and see how well it works.

I tested this in a few different setups, the first notable one was in my home with my Sonos sub on a wood floor. I didn’t want to get scientific with this review, I just wanted to hear if it worked or not. If you’ve ever used a Sonos sub before, they have small lips of rubber-like material on the bottom. The effect the Aperta had was night and day, all rattle was gone, and bass became tight and focused. It sounded like an entirely new subwoofer and for $150 for a single Aperta, this was quite the upgrade to the Sonos Sub in my opinion. My only complaint with this was it looked kind of odd sitting on top of the Aperta, almost like it would fall off at any time.

The second system was at a client’s home with dual Episode 8″ subs on a raised wood floor. The effect in this system was not as pronounced as my Sonos system. I would say it offered about a 25% improvement in bass response and decreased rattle. The Episodes have chunky rubber feet, and they do a decent job at isolating the sub. Because this system had dual subs, upgrading to two Apertas would cost $300; not worth it in my opinion, as these subs cost nearly that much by themselves. My client noticed the slight difference in sound but wasn’t blown away. I feel the price point is what is holding it back here.

So, from two entirely different setups, what do we learn about the Aperta sub isolator? If you have a $500+ sub with poor isolation already, this will be well worth the upgrade. If you have cheaper subs with decent feet, this is unlikely to make you feel the price was worth it. If this could come in at a better price point, I can see this being an easy sell for nearly anyone. But as you get into high-end subwoofers, the stock feet become better and better and 80 pounds would be considered a starting point. This is a great niche upgrade for $500-1500 subs in my opinion that lack good isolation. I love how my Sonos sub sounds with the Aperta, but I can’t see it being an easy sell at its current price point for most listeners of low-mid range systems.