STACK AUDIO AUVA 70 SPEAKER ISOLATORS

I’m old enough to remember when putting spikes under audio equipment became a thing. One day there were no spikes then suddenly it seemed like all the reviewers in all the HiFi magazines were putting spikes under everything that moved and then raving about the improvements in sound quality.

Without getting into detail, the argument ran that putting spikes under speaker stands (or in the case of floorstanders, the speakers themselves) made the speakers more stable which produced a clearer sound image. Secondly, coupling the speakers to the floor via the spikes dispersed excess energy from the speaker cabinets and/or stands, reducing distortion which could colour the sound. Thirdly, the spikes helped to isolate the speakers from other vibrations in the room, again resulting in improved sound quality.

And so spikes became an accepted part and parcel of the HiFi world; it’s hard now to imagine life without them. That wasn’t the end of things though, spikes were just the (often very sharp) tip of the iceberg. Coupling was all well and good, but many people argued that isolation was where the real gains were to be had, and before long it seemed as if no HIFi journey was complete until every component in your system sat upon a chopping board purchased from a Scandinavian home furnishing superstore (he means IKEA- Ed) and half a dozen sawn-in-half squash balls. And for some reason, people think HiFi enthusiasts are a bit odd. While small-scale wars have continued to wage between couplers and isolationists, that may be about to change as Stack Audio has incorporated both approaches into their AUVA Isolators.

Stack Audio manufacture two AUVA (AUdio Vibration Absorber) products, the AUVA 70 and the AUVA 100. Both products will support speakers up to 275kg. M6, M8 and M10 threadings are supported. If you are unsure what thread your existing spikes are, Stack Audio will be happy to advise. The AUVA are normally supplied as a set of eight (four per speaker) but can also be purchased as a set of six if appropriate to your speakers. The AUVA 100 is a larger version of the 70 with twice the surface area and a five-cell internal structure rather than the 70’s three cells (see below) for improved performance. I was supplied with a set of the AUVA 70s for this review.

Reviewed by John Scott