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Review: IsoAcoustics Stage 1
Acoustic isolation products are commonplace in the pro-audio and hi-fi worlds, but most guitarists still rest their amplifiers on chairs and beer crates. Is there a better looking and sounding solution?
Review Overview
Our rating
9
Our verdict
Based near Toronto in Markham, Canada, IsoAcoustics draws on years of experience of designing and constructing radio and television studios and has been manufacturing isolation products in the audio industry since 2012.
Our Stage 1 review package arrives with four chunky isolator feet that can be screwed to the bottom of a cabinet, or onto a board for use with multiple amplifiers. Wood screws and full instructions are provided, but if you don’t want to make your own board, then watch this space – the Stage 1 Board is coming soon, complete with a carrying handle cut-out.
In use
When evaluating products such as this, the differences are often very subtle indeed, but in this instance, the sonic benefits are clear and obvious. The promotional material stresses improvements in bass punch, but we hear differences across the entire frequency range.
Our test amp is a Brownface Fender Deluxe loaded with a Celestion Ruby and lifting it onto a plywood platform fitted with Stage 1 isolators produces an immediate increase in clarity and detail. There’s less boom in the bass, but most startling is the way the upper harmonics appear to be set free to bloom and shift.
We even sense we’re getting a touch more sustain and the effect is much the same on concrete floors and carpet. No doubt the effect would be even more noticeable on bouncy stages.
Using this product isn’t as dramatic as upgrading a speaker – a better analogy might be swapping factory pickups for a boutique set. Just as fine pickups will make a guitar an improved version of itself, the Stage 1 isolators will help an amp sound the best it can. And even if you think your amp sounds awesome already, you could be in for a pleasant surprise.
Key Features
- PRICE £129
- DESCRIPTION 4x acoustic isolation feet for speaker cabinets (up to 90kg). Made in China
- DIMENSIONS 40 x 90mm
- WEIGHT 2kg/4.4lb
- CONTACT scvdistribution.co.uk, isoacoustics.com
Like this? Try these
- AcouFoam Speaker Cabinet Isolation Pad £29.99
- Auralex Gramma v2 £84
- Harley Benton Amp Iso 1 £25.74