IsoAcoustics Orea Isolation Feet and Aperta Stands Review

I was mid-project with 3 other articles but accepted the offer as I have read about all the awards they have received over the years, in both their professional music product line, and now on the consumer side, which only increased my interest. Based on this history, I was curious about what IsoAcoustics had to offer. I was very excited about the opportunity of an extended listen to their products in my system, so I jumped at the chance for an evaluation.

Since the Mod Squad Tip Toes hit the market somewhere around 1984, there have been many products used over the past 40 years attempting to manage vibration, feedback, and other forms of room and equipment motion.

The IsoAcoustics products have a novel approach to managing these issues with markets in both the professional and consumer areas. With a commitment to extensive science and mechanical engineering research and testing, they have several products that have seen continual growth and success in the marketplace, and a long list of awards and recognition. Products are made for floor-standing speakers, center-channel speakers, electronic components, bookshelf speakers, subwoofers, and more.

The IsoAcoustic Bronze is second from the bottom in the line of the Orea Series of isolation products. With 4 Orea feet giving me a supported capacity of 32 pounds, I placed them under my Pass XP20 preamp section weighing about 20 pounds, and my Luxman DAC, DA/06 weighing in at 24 pounds.

I have used Sorbothane and Wagner vibration pads, in both cork, and EVA (ethyl vinyl acetate, common in running shoes) versions, and silicone pads for electronic use. I found none to harm the music in any way, but I could not be certain if there was any improvement, and perhaps just different at the most.

I had a chance to hear the IsoAcoustics under a turntable at my friend Darrin’s house and with a brief listen, they seemed to be better, so I was intrigued. I was optimistic, but a bit guarded as I am not listening daily to his system, and I could be fooled by just the change and expectation of a change. Thus, I went into the review with this objective, having the ability to evaluate the IsoAcoustics products that were in my system, my room, and under my components, not a turntable that has a stylus trying to stay composed in a vinyl groove. I was very curious if I would hear any difference, better, worse, or the same. I know there are many positive reviews, but I just had not been aware I had any significant resonance issues to manage as I have used mass loading and pointed spikes under speakers and Sorbothane under equipment for years successfully in reducing feedback into a turntable, at times enough for bass induced needle hops. The real question for me was how many components needed to be treated before they were going to be audibly effective in improving sound, not just needle stability.

Due to the space limitations, I will provide you with the following link to more in-depth specifications, and some of the testing parameters used by IsoAcoustics to test and evaluate product performance. I am very impressed with their commitment to both the science element and the musical.

Orea Isolation Feet

Gaia

Aperta Stands

I started by using the Aperta Stands ($199.99 pair) under my Legacy Studio HD bi-wire monitor speakers on “Foundations” metal stands by Audiosphere which have four legs to each stand. The four legs are filled with lead shot and the small fill hole has been covered with sheet metal tape for air which will seal the shot safely for many years. The Aperta stands were placed on top of the Audiosphere stands which has a metal plate that is 8 inches square. The Apereta stands are 6 inches wide and 7.5 inches long, just fitting on the 8-inch square stand. They are adjustable and support up to 35 pounds. Care must be taken to place the speaker on the stand carefully, so the contact surfaces are not slippery. Once in contact with the speaker, there is an adherence that occurs. Once under the speaker, the overall speaker height is elevated by 3 inches.

In listening to the difference with the stands in place, many similar changes were present when I used the Gaia 1 under my Acoustic Zen speakers. The tweeters are both ribbons in my Acoustic Zen Crescendo MK II and the Legacy Studio HD, with the big difference being the horn structure of the Acoustic Zen tweeter. Despite the structural difference, the sonic improvements were very similar. The stage expanded considerably, the top-end notes were more focused and readily apparent with the Gipsy Kings tracks and from Sergio and Odair Assad. There was greater ease listening to the individual parts of both guitars with Sergio and Odair Assad, and with multiple guitar parts of the Gipsy Kings. Each guitarist had their part intact, and the contribution was easy to follow. There is also a lack of artifacts around the notes, consistent with the AZ Crescendo MK II improvements. With metallic strikes or when different guitars were used in the Notting Hillbillies, the notes remained focused. Often the notes from metallic strikes seem to have a “fuzz” around the note, an artifact which is noticeable when removed. There is enhanced black space around the note which is how some would describe this type of change. The Aperta stands provided this “black space” through the whole frequency range but was most apparent from the midrange upward. The Legacy Studio HD also has a wonderful midrange, and this was only enhanced with the Aperta stands. The CD “Songbird” by Eva Cassidy is a great recording for evaluating this part of her voice as her vocals are just to the edge of almost “bright” in tone and with some equipment that line is crossed. With the Aperta stands, the vocals were very organic, and smooth, with no hints of any “bright” sound or sibilance to her voice. Now, there was a much better tonal balance, and there was a more three-dimensional space where her voice was in the mix. In the past, her voice was more forward, as if I were at a concert seat in the first three rows. After adding the Aperta stands, her voice was giving a presentation as if one is in rows 6-8. There was now a more three-dimensional space adding to the already superb spatial qualities of this recording.

I received the Orea Bronze, 8 total initially. There would be more, however. I would later receive more devices as the review evolved. There are four options with this style of device. The Graphite, Bronze, Indigo, and Bordeaux, each with a different color stripe and weight rating in the Orea Family.

All the products were well packaged, protected, and packaged individually. The surface of the Orea needs to be kept clean and dust-free so a thorough cleaning of the surface of your equipment is important. This allows the top surface, which is a softer material to form a suction adherence to the component.

The typical number recommended is 4 per component, but 3 can be used if the weight formula is followed. They are to be placed with the IsoAcoustics letters as you would read them facing forward. For maximum performance, the weight of the component should be matched, with the maximum weight being 25-30% higher than the component weight to avoid bottoming out the IsoAcoustics suspension. For example, the Bronze would be great for those components under 28 pounds but more than 15 pounds when using 4 of them. I found them easy to place and level. I placed them under my Pass XP20 preamp, sitting on the power supply, thus the Bronze was between the line stage and the power supply. The rack they were placed in was a Salamander with rubber feet. The floor is not concrete, so the wooden floor is subject to more motion than a typical concrete foundation.

My system remains the same with the Acoustic Zen Crescendo, MKII, factory spikes, leveled, and bi-wired Acoustic Zen Satori speaker Cable. Power cables rotated through were the excellent Clarus Audio Crimson MK II, High Current, and Source Power Cables. Speaker and interconnect cables included the Synergistic Research Foundation SX and a few other custom cables I built. The source is digital with the Luxman DA 06 and vinyl with my trusty VPI Classic, CJ EF1/HV1A, MC 26dB gain stage. The cartridge is the rebuilt Monster AG 1000. Generous use of Auralex panels on the wall behind the speakers, (30 panels of 2ft. X 2ft. with corner panels double stacked) with speakers 26 inches from the front wall, 23 inches from the side wall, slightly toed-in to the listening position. An equilateral triangle was achieved. Listening levels are in the 75-85dB range depending on source material.

With recording after recording, there was a consistent improvement in clarity, stage, presence, and refinement.

This recording from 1957, and 1958 reminds me of how timeless great jazz is, how well they knew how to make quality recordings then, and now hearing further into the performance is an absolute delight.

In addition, the superb Thomas Humphrey Millenium Classical guitars, designed and crafted by the late Thomas Humphrey only made this recording more special. They are very robust, dynamic-sounding classical guitars yet very delicate when needed. Classical guitars can have great diversity in sound with projection, and tonal balances. Material diversity of cedar tops, spruce tops, wood age, build style, Brazilian Rosewood, and strings are some of the variables affecting the sound.

In a past life, I helped a friend who imported classical guitars, and he would have me assist him in evaluating them. He would rent a church for a few hours a week and would play the guitar, and I would listen to the guitar in the front row, and again going back every 5 rows, and see how the guitar projected, and held the tone. Some guitars just collapsed mid-hall, as purists, try to go acoustic only. Sometimes a mic is needed if the hall is just too big, or the acoustics are dreadful.

But then the mic is heard, the mic electronics and the sound of the guitar is lost. I remember great fun hearing the differences between Spruce or Cedar tops, Brazilian Rosewood, and others.

The bottom line was Classical guitars do sound very different.

By now, I am questioning everything I thought was “settled” and a wave of “what if” audio thoughts are flooding my mind. I started the listening and evaluation with the IsoAcoustics devices under the preamp, with positive results, then added the DAC, which further improved the sound.

I know the preamp, and DAC have responded very well musically, and sounding better now than ever. Highly recommend to everyone to at least try them in these two places. Is that all I can obtain with resonance control? What if I get a set for my Acoustic Zen Crescendo MK II, (which I will be doing a review on in the future), and things get even better, or sideways, with no change, or go backward? I had to know what they would do as well. I contacted Jaclyn Inglis from IsoAcoustics, Chief of the PR and Communications Department, and asked her for sets of recommended isolation feet to fit my AZ speakers, amplifier, and turntable. She was very accommodating, and I had a set in a week.

I now could listen to the effect of the IsoAcoustics impact with the Source/DAC, pre-amplification, amplifier, and speakers treated. I was concerned about two things. First, will the treatments only be good with a few components, and then become too much of a good thing, like over-use of room treatments of absorbing material, or keep moving the music forward up the musical ladder? Well, in my case, the questions were answered very quickly.

I received the Gaia 1 well-packaged, with three options for thread patterns to match a speaker configuration, and I installed them. The fit and finish are first-rate, and they are extremely well- made. With a tall heavy speaker, it is best to have help as the threads are long, and the height may slightly elevate your speaker higher than before depending on what they were mounted on.

I did not have to listen, ponder the music, and sleep on it. With my amp even cold, it was an improvement, with the improvement growing as the amp warmed up. Once warmed up, the speakers just took a big stride forward in resolution. Starting at the top, the treble was now even more pristine, with more air, the vocals were more focused, and the separation of guitars in the Gipsy Kings piece “Michael” earlier was much easier to follow all the guitar parts and bass parts some of which seemed to get ever slightly difficult to follow earlier. Percussion notes were so clean, clear, and suspended in space. Now, not only was the bass better, but I could hear the string bends better on the lead guitar, and the nuance on the bass guitar could now be heard and string bends and slides clearly heard, weight and pitch changes, now easy to follow. The speaker IsoAcoustics Gaia 1 have been the most dramatic sound improvement thus far. I would rate the improvement with the first two components as significant, and just no way to go back. However, the Gaia 1 on the AZ Crescendo MK II seemed like a significant component upgrade and one that if I upgraded a component and had to pay a few thousand dollars, and had this kind of improvement, I would have felt the money well spent. Now I hope they do not raise the price of these IsoAcoustics components before you have a chance to buy some. If you do care about getting the best musicality from your components, these are must-hear items.

I had asked Jaclyn to send a set for my turntable and amplifier.

Adding the Cabernet under the amplifier also cleaned up the pitch on the amplifier. Notes were more decisive, a better leading edge, more pitch diversity with drummers and bass guitar notes more distinct, and more dynamics, especially noticed with the bass guitar in “Michael” and songs from “The Notting Hillbillies” and with all of them in place, the music is just more informative.

With my turntable, the bass cleaned up with more precision, dynamics, and the stage expanded deeper and laterally, and walking up to my turntable did not cause the needle to jump.

In my Home Theatre system, I used the Aperta speaker stands with my Legacy monitors, Studio HD, and they also tightened up the bass, were more articulate, the top end extended up more, and the stage expanded. I did this with the OPPO DVD 93 player. The room they are in is small and they can get a mid-bass bump, but that problem was fixed with the stands. A great success overall in sound. There are adjustments to the stands to dial them into your room as well.

I think IsoAcoustics deserves immense praise for doing all the hard work and research to deliver a product assortment that is so effective, and progressive improvement available with each addition.

My experience with the IsoAcoustics Orea, Bordeaux, Gaia 1, and the Aperta has left me with the impression that they are indeed very high ROI products. I recommend these to listeners on the verge of selling gear that is not quite “making the cut,” and to all audiophiles interested in taking things to the next level. I have found the IsoAcoustics products consistently allow components to perform at their musical best.

When I reach the part of writing a conclusion, there is some hesitation at times. If I write what I think, and have heard, and the product really was special, some readers have a tough time with reviews that say too many good things and then dismiss what is written. Despite these hesitations, I strongly encourage those wanting their audio system to “be all it can be” musically, to audition the IsoAcoustics devices for their components. And not just one set of 4 IsoAcoustics devices. Treat the entire system, and adjust to the sound, then start removing them from one component every few days. Listen to what your ears tell you. My guess is that most will do as I did. They all went back in. I just missed all the micro detail, more diverse instrumental pitch variation, detail, air, space, and those things that make music come alive.

Many dealers are offering demos, with a generous return policy. Do not just take my word for their benefit, listen to them, audition them and you may find that a significant upgrade is not the replacement of a set of speakers, amplifiers, preamplifiers, or any other component but cleaning up the vibration contamination in your room.

I am getting to the part about how I feel about them if that was not clear with my previous observations. I think these are so good, that I do not think I will be able to review equipment objectively unless I have these devices under ALL my components. I fear my room, and system may introduce too many artifacts, and I could give a less accurate impression when my resonance issues are not in order, and they are being heard, not just the component under review.

They are that significant, and effective. I do hope more manufacturers voice products with the IsoAcoustics vibration control magic in use. They have been effective in my system for certain.

I would give them 5 of 5 stars. I will be investing in them. Will listeners with concrete floors (mine are not) have a different opinion? Very likely, thus my encouragement for an audition. Every system and every room is different, and this is just a snapshot of my system, and response.

You may just fall in love again with the gear you were about to part with and find this upgrade saved you a lot of money. You may prefer the “color of vibration” in a component and want to keep it as is. In the end, your ears, your room, and your music need to appeal to your sense of what music should be. You are the “Chef” of your musical kitchen so follow your ears. But before declaring your system fully realized, these are very worthy components of a review.