Advice on turntable isolation needed...

I am having problems with footfalls being audible thru my system, I'd appreciate advice on minimizing the problem but I have some specific criteria that must be met that eliminates some of the most obvious solutions. My turntable is a stock Technics 1210 that sits atop a vintage wooden cabinet, on a slightly springy hardwood floor. I cannot wall mount the table because the only nearby wall is hollow (it has a space for a pocket door so no studs), and the wife will not abide a slab of cement or whatever atop her vintage Heywood Wakefield cabinet. I'd also like to keep this under $100 if possible which eliminates things like the Isonoe replacement feet. Looking forward to hearing your ideas, thanks people...

 

You might try a Ginko isolation platform.

 

I give to you the Michigan Maple platform, $105 shipped for the 15 x 18 x 3 size. I have two of these in various sizes, and neither large clumsy dogs nor the crappiest, springiest wood floors in the Western hemisphere disturb my TT. (It's also a high-mass, solid-plinth table on a rigid Sanus rack, so that's part of the equation as well.)

 

Sorry, that's 'Ginkgo' if you do a search.

 

There's nothing I hate worse than footfall vibrations messing up my vegetable chopping.

 

G'day all, carpet underlay is very effective against footfalls. It was almost a miracle when used in one of my systems, placed under the turntable mount. Regards, Felix.

 

Search here for Barry Diament's bicycle tube trick. With a bit of imagination and wood working you would never see the tube. Less than $50 worth of stuff needed.

 

For my Technics I like the Isonoe Footers - not only do they look cool - but they actually work - My Technics does a slightly better job at isolation than my Classic - I have to be more careful walking around the Classic vs walking around stomping around the Technics.

Here is a simple iPhone app test that I did with the Isonoes - that I think shows that they do make a difference (which I now know they do.)

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=508637





Good Luck

PS - sorry - I didn't read the last part about the 100.00 limit. In that case - the innertube setup mentioned above would be the way to go.

 

I have springy hardwood floors. If records skip when you walk because of springiness (a shifting of the entire table), the only way I was able to fix mine was buy putting it on Superballs that let the turntable roll like a ship with the springy floors. Strangely enough, this system works. Isolation alone never did it, I needed a solution with lots of give.

 

"Search here for Barry Diament's bicycle tube trick. With a bit of imagination and wood working you would never see the tube. Less than $50 worth of stuff needed."

haha, thx I will look for that

I have bouncy wooden floors as well

Barry did a great job on those old Led Zeppelin CD's too!

 

Wall mount shelf for the turntable. Use the innertube trick or some of Coffman Labs' footers to deal with the rest.

The Technics decks are pretty light, so some of the more intensive vibration control tricks (like Gingko) aren't necessarily going to be all that helpful for you.

 

25 pounds is pretty weighty.

 

25 pounds isn't really all that much. It's certainly not enough for most Gingko platforms, which have a minimum weight of 30 pounds. You'd need to use their pre-weighted model.

Other methods of vibration control that depend on a compressive suspension will also have preferred load. It's probably best to check that sort of thing.

 

Seems like it would actually be a reasonable price for a maple cutting board of that size and thickness (I saw a 20x15x2.25 for $99 on amazon) . Does it provide good isolation? Possibly. People should be aware though that even well made boards such as this can occasionally warp. probably happens more when they are used for cutting though as they will have more chances to get wet. But they will usually straighten back out if left on a flat surface with some pressure applied if necessary.

 

I do not understand the wood block thing - seems like placing a wood block on a shaky surface will in turn shake the block. Now cutting fruit and veggies - that I understand.

 

Very true. Adding weight to a cabinet that rests on a wood floor is only going to make the footfall problem worse.

 

Not really. It will lower the resonant frequency of the table/floor a little bit and it will give the table just a little more mass to move with the foot falls. I doubt it will fix it but it shouldn't make it worse. A suspension of some sort or a wall mount are pretty much the only solutions.

 

I also had the OP's problem with my floor standing audio rack (Target 5 shelf stand with TT on the top). I bought a Mana wall mount shelf and this took care of the problem. Unfortunately, wall mount TT shelves will cost more than $100.

Scott

 

after reading many different ideas i decided to try the block of granite idea (mainly b/c i have a granite guy and i could get it done for free). Works pretty well actually! and looks super clean too!

 

OP here, I'm still trying to figure this out. I tried the Isonoe feet but I actually found that they exacerbated the problem, it was like they amplified the bounciness of my floor. Had to return them. I'm trying to avoid wall-mounting but it's looking more and more inevitable...

 

Try placing the turntable on a separate lightweight support, something like an IKEA Lack table.

 

What is the cartridge and tracking force on this turntable?

Maybe a FREEFLOAT turntable cushion?

 

I second the bicycle inner tube idea. I have no experience of it with a turntable but under an amp or CD player it has a good effect.

All you need is a piece of board that can accommodate your turntable, one inner tube with a diameter that fully sits under the board but is not bigger then that board, a straw and a bicycle pump.

Slightly inflate the tube - it only needs enough air to open the tube out, the absolute minimum. Place the tube on your existing shelf, then put the straw underneath the tube so it sticks out both in and out the circle, making it look like the letter 'Q'. The reason for the straw is to prevent the sealing of the inner circle air between the two shelves. Place the board on top of the tube and the turntable on that.

Whilst it wobbles a little bit as you handle the turntable that shouldn't be a problem.

Try it. What have you got to lose!

 

We have a Heywood Wakefield dining room set. I would imagine the maple wood would blend beautifully with the tabletop and perhaps give the isolation you need. Cut flush with the feet of the turntable so it isn't sticking out and it should provide good results. But trust me, whatever you do DO NOT use anything that will mar the beautiful finish of that furniture. We had our complete set restored by expert cabinetmaker who said this furniture is truly one of the better made in the 1950s