Turntable Isolation

[JackD201]

Yup and still do. Poor guy got relegated to its box. The XV-1t does everything the 1s did well but with more body. Extension up top favors the t very slightly and I mean very in refinement. Much more bottom end extension though. The cart in my collection that gives it a run for its money is the M.Y. Sonic Labs Ultra Eminent BC. It has almost as expansive a stage but better scale in terms of performer sizes. Soloists aren't enlarged as much. It competes favorably dynamically but is drier sounding and has less emotion. The 1t gets more playing time though. I find I favor the BC only on Ballets. I have an A90 still in its box. Serial Number 0046. Got it months ago even before MF published his review. Lots of hype but I'm enjoying the 1t so much I don't want to unmount it. I'm just waiting for another wand from my dealer so I can press the A90 into service without disrupting my bliss.

You're right though. Dynavector DRTs on Grahams really do track like mutha f*****s. My torture test is the Philips pressing of Stanislav Richter playing Liszt's Piano Concerto No.1. There's some serious synergy going on there. The Koetsu with its low compliance seems to like the Triplanar better. It's a bit loose and mushy on the Phantom by comparison.

[jadis]

My friend Bruce does that with his Denon TT (and CD player), and he's not even Japanese.

I have seen, and heard, only one such system here in Manila and that was because the owner's TT had no isolation system and the table was picking up all sorts of vibrations from the room and into the arm and the cart. But boy, looking at him running in and out from one room to another made me tired.

[kach22i]

But boy, looking at him running in and out from one room to another made me tired.

When Bruce asks; what do you want to hear next? The look on my face must say, leaving the room again?

[es347]

I didn't realize that Mutha....f... 's were known for their tracking ability.

[mep]

I have a VPI TNT mounted on the VPI TNT stand with the legs filled with lead shot. My listening room has a concrete floor under the super thick pad and carpet. I could probably have some elephants fornicating in my room and still not have foot-fall problems. I don't feel any need to have any additional isolation from what I have already achieved. My setup is VERY stable over time and does not come out of level. And with an ET-2 tonearm, you would know in a heartbeat if your system became out of level. I just smile and play music (or play music and smile).

Mark

[jadis]

I have a VPI TNT mounted on the VPI TNT stand with the legs filled with lead shot. My listening room has a concrete floor under the super thick pad and carpet. I could probably have some elephants fornicating in my room and still not have foot-fall problems. I don't feel any need to have any additional isolation from what I have already achieved. My setup is VERY stable over time and does not come out of level. And with an ET-2 tonearm, you would know in a heartbeat if your system became out of level. I just smile and play music (or play music and smile).

Mark

Hey, a fellow ET2 tonearm user. Cool! You're right, the arm is the level, as Bruce Thigpen said. My present TT is a VPI HW19 MKII which I got brand new in the late 80s. I like its design, with isolated plinth and a tall dustcover. I once substituted threaded 'tiptoes' for the stock rubber feet of VPI but while the sound greatly improved in terms of focus and rock tight bass, the midrange (voice specially) became lean and cold. So back to the original rubber feet I went. The TT is resting on a granite slab, which in turn rests on inverted tiptoes of 4 sand filled pipes whose feet are also 'tiptoed' to my carpeted concrete floor.

[kach22i]

For anyone with hard floors these isolators from the hardware store doubled up (locked together) work pretty good for about $2.50 each. For $15 I isolated my dedicated turntable stand. I think it's better to isolate the stand and it's mass than to try and float the turntable by it's self. At least with a lighter weight TT like mine.




I got the idea from reading and looking at the Mapleshade mailing booklet.

http://www.mapleshaderecords.com/aud.../isoblocks.php

"I just tried your Isoblocks under a maple platform holding my Rega P25 and all I can say is what an amazing improvement. I was originally using Vibrapods for isolation and they worked OK, but these Isoblock are really something special...Everything seems in better focus with a greater sense of ease and transparency. Thanks Mapleshade for making a great product so affordable!" - Sebastian R.

[nsgarch]

Turntables are why wall shelves were invented.

[hifitommy]

go to toysRus and 2 paks of water toys that contain 2 arm floaties each. inflate and place a mdf board (cut to size) under the tt and on top of the floaties. adjust the air in each for levelness. a bullet level used in the two planes-fore and aft, left and right.

if you just can't stand the beautiful looks of the floaties, construct an inverted box that wont touch the cabinet to place over the floaties instead of the board alone. put veneer on it and its done.

the table no longer hears the cabinet! its cheap and it works.

...regards...tr

[Wardsweb]

The first thing to do is determine what is your problem. That will determine if you really want isolation or dampening. There a different schools of thought on how to achieve these from truely isolating to direct coupling. How your table is engineered will also determine what will help it. It isn't as simple as buying a slab of stone or a wall shelf. There are reasons some work better than others and knowing your system and the systemic problem(s) will help you achieve better results. With better information come better decisions. Now you know why you needed to pay attention in physics and fluid dynamics class.

When I had a bad rumble problem with an old Rega Planar 3 after adding a high output cartridge I decided to dampen the table. Take the motor induced vibration and disipate it in sand. Turn the mechanical energy into electrical energy in the form of heat.

I built this sand box. By itself glass sucks as a material, but what makes it bad by itself works great for transfering the table energy into the sand or in my case, glass beads finer than sand. No more rumble.