Herzan/Table Stable "Active" Isolation table.

NorthStar said:

...The piles of dead people along the mountain's passages?

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PeterA said:

Most of us become very enthusiastic when we discover some great improvement to our systems and then would find it difficult to go back to the old sound. I think that with some successful upgrades, we learn more about sound, our systems, and our music collections. Hopefully this leads to more enjoyment. As the systems become better, these upgrades are often much more expensive and difficult to achieve. I agree that proper isolation is usually a cost effective and often shocking improvement relative to what else we can do to improve our systems. There seems no limit to this journey and that is what makes the hobby so fascinating to so many of us.

These forums and this particular thread are ideally places to share information, defend our experiences and learn from others.

>>> Speaking of the audiophile mountain: I read about and saw a photo of some guy recently jumped off near the top of Everest. He had oxygen and looked pretty brave. I hope he floated down to safety. {He did.} He and we seem to share the following: finding new limits, sharing the experience and learning from the process.

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cjfrbw said:

No, the kind you step in that you can't get off your shoes.

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Mike Lavigne said:

my Herzan TS-140 active isolation shelf arrived yesterday, and I installed it last evening.

I had been looking forward to this since 2005 when a reviewer from Positive Feedback brought over a Halcyonics for me to try. 3 years ago I switched from Grand Prix Audio Monaco decoupling shelves to the Adona 'grounded' racks to be able to optimize isolation devices such as the Herzan. when you combine isolation systems both systems are compromised. back in 2005 we had placed the Halcyonics on top of my GPA Monaco decoupling rack, yet it still sounded wonderful. how might it do when given the chance to work as designed?

no doubt I had big expectations. however; I also thought there was a chance that there might be take-aways that might compromise the benefits. with isolation devices my experience had been there are no absolutes. I did not know anyone who had tried one of these on a SOTA turntable. might it soften the sound?

it turns out it far exceeded my expectations. and I think besides the grounded, mass loaded Adona rack it sits on......and the 6" of concrete the Adona is spiked to, the NVS tt is an ideal match for the Herzan since it's designed to work with it's own isolation shelf. and Wave Kinetics started out as an isolation device builder.

i'll start out with the areas of my concerns, which I need not have had. the snap, impact, and weight of transients and bass is on a level I've never heard before. a huge improvement. and those things were already amazing. now they are 'real'. detail and focus is improved for everything, there is more density, texture, and harmonic sparkle......a vivid 'live-ness' that is hard to describe. the separation of every individual aspect of the presentation is another large improvement.

but really, the important thing is that music is more involving and compelling, there is a greater sense of the playing together, and the emotional content is much greater. I cannot stop listening.

I am astonished at what i'm hearing.

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Reid.Whitney said:

Hi Bob,

I will be happy to provide some information on our system to help provide a more clear understanding of the TS Series internals.

The TS Series includes piezoelectric sensors and actuators (force motors) to dynamically attenuate all six forms of vibrations (what we call six degrees of freedom). Outside of isolating all forms of vibrations (which passive systems do not do), the TS Systems attenuate vibrations over a more broad frequency spectrum, isolating vibrations in the lower frequency range (TS Series starts isolating vibrations at 0.7 Hz, whereas most passive systems begin isolating at 4-5 Hz). It is the low frequency isolation in which is most important for high resolution microscopes and highly sensitive precision equipment.

It can be said that AFMs have a similar sensitivity to vibrations as turntables, with the cantilever of an AFM experiencing the same sensitivities as a needle of a turntable. We have plenty of resources on our website that you may find useful, which can be found here (in case you are interested).


Similar Devices
There are smaller platform TS Series devices that cost less than the TS-140 as well as an alternative form factor of active vibration isolation platforms available. This different form factor is called the AVI Series, which has a different set of characteristics and features, but incorporates the same piezo technology as the TS Series. The AVI Series is less automated, higher profile and modular, enabling a more customizable solution to vibrations. The AVI Series is also less expensive than their TS Series counterparts.


Additionally, there are different technologies that incorporate air as the method of vibration isolation, which are very cost effective solutions. These are often used for optical microscopes that do not have an inherent sensitivity to low frequency vibrations. These type of tables typically range from 1.8k - 2.6k depending on the size and configuration.


My apologies for the information overload, but I hope this information is helpful. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or are interested in additional information.

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Reid.Whitney said:

Hi Northstar,

I have included an internal view of what the TS Series looks like. As you will see in the provided picture, the circuitry working in concert with the piezo sensors and actuators. In addition to the internal framework of the TS Series, there is a very precise and calibrated method in which the sensors, actuators and circuitry work together. I hope this is helpful in what information you are looking to receive.

View attachment 10207

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Reid.Whitney said:

I will add, this is only part of the table, (top plate is resting on the surface). Here is another view of the internals as well.

View attachment 10208

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Reid.Whitney said:

Hi Mep,

These systems incorporate numerous low frequency sensors, actuators and circuitry components that are individually made and assembled to achieve the highest level of precision possible. These tables are unable to be mass produced due to their highly technical nature, requiring careful assembly and precision during their build. Each table is also thoroughly tested and evaluated to ensure they meet a specific standard of performance and reliability.

Also, the original intention for these systems were geared towards high resolution microscopes (i.e. AFMs, SPMs, etc.), which required a high level of consistency, reliability, and performance.

We are confident in their ability to address the needs of our customers and demonstrate value to them once utilized with their application.

Thank you for your feedback and posted question.

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Reid.Whitney said:

Hi Peter,

Thank you for sharing your elegant set up and informing me of the current concerns you have for your turntable. I will do my best to address your question framing my answer around my experience with vibration isolation technology.


Majority of vibration isolation systems are incapable of addressing vibrations imparted by the supported application. The TS Series we offer has an opportunity to address vibrations induced by the turntable itself, but the level of isolation is not as significant as the vibrations being isolated from the environment. The TS Series is capable of achieving this form of vibration isolation as the sensory point of the table is focused on the top plate instead of the floor, whereby neutralizing the top plate vibrations rather than the floor vibrations. Another feature that some active vibration isolation tables incorporate is a dynamic feedback loop, which effectively provides a continuous input/output isolation mechanism addressing all vibrations in the environment. There is a lot of additional technical information that I could share, but I don't mean to bore you.


Other methods of improving vibrations from affecting an application can be where you place the set up, cable management, what floor the setup is placed on and many more. If you want to learn more about these methods, our Tutorials page has an overview of some of these recommended practices (found here).

I hope this information is helpful with your set up.

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spiritofmusic said:

Christian, I'm struggling to see how any device can actively neutralise airborne vibrations reaching a tt from the speakers. Surely some at the very least won't get propogated thru the structure of the deck to even reach the shelf, but will affect the peripheral structures only. I mean, my tt uses an air bearing arm, on a sled, with an airhose and trailing direct-to-phono silver cartridge wiring. I just can't see how even the majority of this is going to be dealt with by a Herzan/Accurion. If this was really possible, tapping the tt chassis/arm really forcefully (not that I'm recommending you bash your arm carelessly , but you know what I mean!) would not transmit to the stylus. Please try it, and tell me if it's reproduced at all. Similarly, the tt/platter/motor/cart all produce ongoing noise/vibration. Again not all of this will propogate to the shelf. If I'm wrong, and isolation is 99.999%, I will be duly impressed beyond belief.
I'm not doubting this is a fine solution to these issues, and you and Mike really have registered massive improvements, but it may be overselling it's capabilities to say it totally isolates the tt from everything.
I'll liase with the guys at TableStable and Accurion to see if they can clear this up.

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spiritofmusic said:

Christian, I'm struggling to see how any device can actively neutralise airborne vibrations reaching a tt from the speakers. Surely some at the very least won't get propogated thru the structure of the deck to even reach the shelf, but will affect the peripheral structures only. I mean, my tt uses an air bearing arm, on a sled, with an airhose and trailing direct-to-phono silver cartridge wiring. I just can't see how even the majority of this is going to be dealt with by a Herzan/Accurion. If this was really possible, tapping the tt chassis/arm really forcefully (not that I'm recommending you bash your arm carelessly , but you know what I mean!) would not transmit to the stylus. Please try it, and tell me if it's reproduced at all. Similarly, the tt/platter/motor/cart all produce ongoing noise/vibration. Again not all of this will propogate to the shelf. If I'm wrong, and isolation is 99.999%, I will be duly impressed beyond belief.
I'm not doubting this is a fine solution to these issues, and you and Mike really have registered massive improvements, but it may be overselling it's capabilities to say it totally isolates the tt from everything.
I'll liase with the guys at TableStable and Accurion to see if they can clear this up.

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spiritofmusic said:

I don't doubt it's reacting to those handclaps. It's undoubtedly providing isolation to a level greater than passive devices. My issue is that a tt is constantly creating vibrations, it's a by product of it's raison d'etre. I just remain skeptical that these can all be dealt with since they're impinging from within and without, and on an instant to instant level.
What scientific devices that these platforms are traditionally used for, produce so much potential mayhem on a continual basis?
Look, I don't want to pour cold water on this discussion. I know many here on this and other forums have spent mega$'s on anti-vibration measures such as super heavy/dense spkrs eg Wilson, Evolution Acoustics etc, have extremely massy overengineered tts eg SME, Wave Kinetics, Clearaudio, and have created acoustically perfect and uniform listening environments. And as such this is a logical way to go. I live in a very live room, but luckily reasonably impervious to footfall, neighbours and traffic, so am getting away with it by and large. My mind is open to being amazed, and so a home trial is the only way, so we'll see. But my instinct is that it's a nigh on impossible task to eliminate vibrations from so many different sources, all the time.
Just for your amusement, my previous hifi dealer was convinced the ultimate upgrade was...removing the listener from the listening space !!! Since he/she was a source of vibrational and psychological anomalies. Imagine if that really were true...

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