Turntable isolation question

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Pete74, May 29, 2017.

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  1. Pete74

    Pete74 Forum Resident Thread Starter

  2. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    It will work perfectly well. Isolation is isolation - thick wood dimensions, plenty of clean, dry sand, rubber feet and a rubber top is a perfectly valid combination of materials that will isolate extremely well. You can't go wrong unless you're hamfisted in the garage or workshop, use construction sand instead of clean sand, or substitute thinner or poor quality framing materials.

    The plans in the link appear to be for stage monitors, but resizing for a turntable platform is simple. For home use, I'd use hardwood outer framing that you can stain and finish. There are other mods too. For instance, if you have a router, consider checking-in/recessing the bottom and top plates to make their edges invisible and creating a cleaner overall finish. Increase the thickness of the outer frame according.

    If you want to get really fancy, purchase some adjustable isolation feet (e.g., the Isoacoustics Gaia set of four) to install in the bottom plate in order to be able to provide a dead-level platform for your turntable (which makes it much easier to level your turntable).
     
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  3. Pete74

    Pete74 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks.... do you think the top carpet is necessary? Especially with spike style feet on my turntable?
     
  4. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    The plans don't mention carpet on top, but rather carpet underlay - the spongy stuff. Anyway, no, I don't think it's at all necessary. The different materials - hardwood frame preferably, 3/4" ply top and bottom plates, and the clean sand fill - damp any and all resonance. Keep in mind that the plans are for stage monitors, and those guys cover everything in commercial carpet and sponge and foamboard for touring purposes.

    HRS platforms (that costs thousands of dollars) don't have carpet, carpet underlay or rubber tops. Most other so-called audiophile isolation platforms don't have carpet, carpet underlay or rubber tops either.
     
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  5. Pete74

    Pete74 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Thanks!
     
  6. Madness

    Madness "Hate is much too great a burden to bear."

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    I have a bamboo cutting board with soborthane feet under my TT. I also have those feet under my subwoofer.

    Sufficient, or should I be doing something else?
     
  7. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    Yes. Years ago I made one for my first British belt driven turntable, a Revolver Rebel. I made mine from pine, scraps basically. I stained it to match my record storage crates which I also made. I used it on cheaper furniture and rack but stopped when I got a really nice rack and then moved on to a Rega Planar 3 turntable. It works pretty well and you need to build it differently from the guy's link that you show there to make it most effective. What he did is to make a sealed box with carpet top that acts as a sink for vibration and doesn't allow sand to be spilled. For greatest effect however, for a turntable isolation platform, you don't want the top board to touch the frame of the box. basically, you build a box just larger or just about the size of your turntable, using a piece of plywood as the bae and 1x4 or 2x4 etc as the walls. Then you fill that with sand almost to the top, then you have a top plate which will be the turntable platform that has dimensions just smaller than the inside dimensions of the box, so that it floats on top of the sand without contacting the box at all. You then rest the feet of the turntable on that sand isolated board. here are photos of a really nice one made from maple

    People have made these from other materials also. You can use MDF and then paint it with heavy coats of whatever finish you like for instance. Some turntables, like my old Denon benefited and It helped the Revolver a bit when I placed it on a thin top stand, but once I got a really nice hi-fi rack it didn't make so much difference with the Revolver and actually made the Rega sound a bit muffled by comparison to just setting that turntable directly on my hi-fi rack.
    -Bill
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 25, 2018
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