[JemHadar]

...and now the conclusion

Got an early start at 6 o’clock and drove to the dealer to pick up the Townshend Seismic Isolation Podiums. “Early bird gets the worm”.

Bummer, the dimensions were right but the load capacity of these particular podiums was significantly less than what was needed; however the dealer was confident the benefits would be demonstrated sufficiently.

The Townshend’s operate in the exact same way as a shock absorber of a car. Having a different loading spec would mean that the resonant frequency of the damped spring assembly a.k.a. “Load Cell” would not be at 3 Hz but closer to audio range frequencies.

The build quality is robust. The “Load Cells”, extending well beyond the perimeter of the speaker cabinet, look cool but seriously constrained the available manoeuvring space in my listening room. Not many options left for dialling in the D100 towers.

Mounting the speakers on the platforms required some creative use of towels as the top plate grips the speaker plinth like there is no tomorrow.

As it was the first day of what would have been the 25th anniversary edition of the Graspop Metal Meeting festival (cancelled because of the pandemic) it only seemed appropriate to play some live concerts of some of my favourite metal bands. Mind you, as I could only play late at night at moderate volume levels, I poured myself a shot of 50% Nardini Grappa, lined up the bands in the queue and kicked of my own private festival not expecting much of anything.

“Damn, these things rock” was literally the first thing that came to mind. The sound was controlled but lively. Back was the mid range body that I kind of missed with the Stillpoints. Stereo image improved but to a lesser extent than with the stainless steel feet. Soon I was just enjoying the music, getting enthralled by Opeth’s excellent “Garden Of Titans: Live At The Red Rocks Amphitheatre” concert. Full disclosure, I’m sure the Grappa fuelled the fun too, probably to a greater extent than I'm willing to admit. [emoji854]

Next day; Tool’s Chocolate Chip Trip at full blast amply demonstrated the virtues of the Townshend’s. Kick in the bass, body in the toms, shimmering splash in the cymbals...what is there not to like. Bass more bloated and less controlled though. Maybe, some gremlins lurking around the corners?

I got this sinking feeling; what now. I know...it is a first world problem of the nth degree. How to choose? I was thrown a curve ball; that was for sure. What if the right loading spec brought the Townshend’s closer to the Stillpoints? The rules imply that all players bring whatever they want to the game; decisions will be made on what is experienced not on speculation. What is not up to spec simply will have to do as is.

It was unavoidable; I had to redo my private little late night metal festival, now with the Stillpoints supporting the Proac’s. With the Nardini close at hand, I had to be thorough, I eagerly replayed my roster of the previous night.

It was different. But to summarise my experience in a few words: “There was just so much more to hear”. Small details on voice reverb, stacked guitar effects now revealed themselves. When I got to Opeth’s incredible concert I silently uttered one word “Spectacular”.

The next day I wanted to play some more tracks to confirm my finding and to satisfy my audio OCD.

All albums by A Winged Victory For The Sullen, 22 a million by Bon Iver, Big Red Machine, Radiohead, Thom Yorke...played loud, played quietly helped me reach my final verdict.

It is the curse of revealing audio systems that bad or poorly (re)mastered recordings become almost unlistenable. On the other hand, not all of my gremlins turned out to be evil. I know now for sure that some of the artefacts of the speaker-room coupling actually were rather seductive and enjoyable. However, as the Townshend’s allowed some select gremlins to come back and rejoin the fun, I definitely couldn’t play as loud as with the Stillpoints without the whole thing collapsing.

The Stillpoints Proac combo emphasized the treble in a more accurate and resolving stereo image; words like “more sterile”, “neutral”, “transparent“, “more open”, “leaner” and “analytical” flirted with but did not quite catch what I was hearing. IMHO, the word that describes the Stillpoints best is “control”. It reminded me of experiments with DSP trying to flatten my room response. My dabblings with DSP all failed, it just sucked the soul and all life out of the music. The Stillpoints don’t, but they give no quarter when it comes to poor source material. “Be careful what you wish for” certainly applies.

Before ending this story, some minor things that Stillpoints could do better. There comes no basic instruction in the box; do you hand tighten them or not, I still don’t know. The adapter, in my case M6, does not inspire confidence. Just resting the speakers on the Ultra 5’s was not an option as the tiles of the floor are very uneven and the speakers are tall, narrow and heavy. I had to adjust two Ultra 5’s to level the towers and achieve a stable stance; I have no idea if it is the part of the adapter in the Stillpoints or the part in the plinth insert that has been extended. As that first part is only 5 mm in length this could give rise to dangerous situations.

As far as the Townshend’s are concerned; for around a third of the price of admission they bring you more than halfway there. If I wouldn’t have experienced the Stillpoints first hand I would have bought these podiums without hesitation. The spec I got to demo did not bring the levels of control the Stillpoints did, but maybe that is just fine for those who want to party with some of their audio gremlins in attendance, keep some of that room induced liveliness.

I sincerely want to inform anyone who has the intention of auditioning the Stillpoints in their own system: Make sure you are willing to commit budget wise...if not, you run a real risk of being stuck with some permanent version of audiophile FOMO.

The very fact of hearing deeper into a recording, for better or worse, to hear more intricate details previously hidden, frankly, is addictive. The ability to play louder and still keep that level of control is addictive.

It was one of the most difficult and agonising choices I had to make as far as this hobby is concerned.

At the end of the day I chose “control”. I chose the Stillpoints.