At Townshend Audio, our mission is to eliminate barriers between listeners and the music they love, ensuring every note is delivered with uncompromised clarity. We are deeply honored to announce that the Townshend Seismic Isolation Podium has been awarded the Hi-Fi+ Innovation Award 2021, a prestigious recognition that celebrates groundbreaking advancements in high-fidelity audio. This accolade reaffirms our decades-long commitment to engineering solutions that redefine audio performance.

Pioneering Vibration Isolation

The Seismic Isolation Podium is a testament to Townshend Audio’s relentless pursuit of sonic perfection. Unlike conventional rigid couplers—such as spikes or cones, which fail to isolate low-frequency vibrations below 10-15Hz and can even amplify resonances—the Podium takes a radically different approach. Using our proprietary ‘Captive’ Load Cell technology within a damped mass spring system, it achieves isolation starting at an ultra-low 3Hz, well below the audible range. This ensures comprehensive protection from both microvibrations (from sound waves or electronics) and gross vibrations (from footfalls, traffic, or structural activity) across the entire audio bandwidth.

By floating the speaker on a stable platform, the Podium severs the acoustic connection to the floor, preventing deleterious vibrations from muddying bass, obscuring detail, or compressing dynamics. The result is a transformative listening experience: tighter, more articulate bass, crystalline mids, and a soundstage that feels vast and three-dimensional. This innovation addresses a fundamental flaw in traditional speaker setups, allowing any loudspeaker—standmount, floorstander, or subwoofer—to perform at its true potential.

Hi-Fi+ Innovation Award: Celebrating Visionary Design

The Hi-Fi+ Innovation Award 2021 is a hallmark of excellence, recognizing products and brands that push the boundaries of audio technology. Awarded by Hi-Fi+, a leading authority in high-performance audio, this honor highlights the Seismic Podium’s role in redefining speaker isolation. The magazine’s editorial team praised Townshend Audio for our holistic approach to vibration control, noting that the Podium’s impact extends far beyond incremental improvements.

In their coverage, Hi-Fi+ emphasized the Podium’s ability to deliver measurable and audible benefits, with reviewer Jason Kennedy having previously described its effect as revelatory in his 2020 Editor’s Choice review. The Innovation Award builds on this, recognizing the Podium’s unique engineering and its universal applicability across diverse audio systems. The award citation highlighted:

“Townshend’s Seismic Isolation Podium is a game-changer, breaking the link between speakers and ground-borne vibrations with a precision that elevates any loudspeaker’s performance to new heights.”

This recognition underscores the Podium’s status as a cornerstone of high-fidelity audio, offering benefits that conventional coupling methods—limited by their failure to address low frequencies—simply cannot match.

Why the Podium Redefines Performance

The Seismic Podium is designed for versatility and ease of use, making it an essential upgrade for any audiophile. Its key features include:

• Universal Compatibility: Available in six standard sizes and customizable for any speaker, supporting weights from 5kg to over 200kg, it suits standmounts, floorstanders, and subwoofers alike.
• Seismic Load Cells: Four adjustable cells provide fine leveling and stability on any surface—wood, tile, or carpet—adding just 20mm to speaker height for minimal aesthetic impact.
• Comprehensive Isolation: Starting at 3Hz, it hoops it isolates both to and from the speaker, ensuring clarity across the full audio spectrum.
• Enhanced Performance: Delivers tighter bass, enhanced detail, and a wider soundstage, revealing nuances previously masked by vibrations.
• Neighbor-Friendly Design: Reduces floor-borne vibrations, allowing higher playback volumes without disturbing others.

Even on concrete floors, where vibrations are often underestimated, our measurements confirm significant transfer that the Podium eliminates, countering conventional assumptions and ensuring optimal performance in any environment.

A Legacy of Breakthroughs

The Hi-Fi+ Innovation Award 2021 joins a distinguished list of honors for Townshend Audio, including The Absolute Sound’s Accessory of the Year 2020, Hi-Fi Plus’s Editor’s Choice Award 2020, and Stereo Times’ recognition for the Seismic Podium, as well as awards for our Allegri+ Preamplifier and Fractal Interconnect. Each accolade reflects the vision of our founder, Max Townshend, whose pioneering work—from the Seismic Sink to the Rock 7 turntable—has challenged industry norms and set new benchmarks for audio excellence.

The Seismic Podium embodies Max’s philosophy of addressing root causes rather than masking symptoms. By tackling vibrations at their source, it offers a solution that is both scientifically rigorous and musically profound, earning its place as an innovation worthy of Hi-Fi+’s esteem.

An Invitation to Experience True Sound

We are profoundly grateful to Hi-Fi+ for recognizing the Seismic Isolation Podium as a 2021 Innovation Award recipient. This honor is not just a milestone—it’s an affirmation of our belief that great audio is about removing obstacles to reveal the music’s soul. With the Podium, listeners can rediscover their systems, hearing details, dynamics, and emotions that were always there, waiting to be unleashed.

We invite you to experience the Seismic Isolation Podium for yourself. Visit our website to explore its features or contact an authorized dealer to arrange a demonstration. Discover why Hi-Fi+ celebrated this innovation—and why it’s an essential step toward audio perfection.

Thank you for trusting Townshend Audio to bring you closer to the music you cherish.

Townshend Audio Team