Technics Turntable Upgrades Thread

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Dr. Metal MD, Jun 4, 2020.

  1. Davey

    Davey NP: Rosali ~ Bite Down (2024)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
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  2. FalseMetal666

    FalseMetal666 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Seattle, WA
  3. Andy Saunders

    Andy Saunders Always a pleasure never a chore

    Location:
    England
    They look stunning do they not.:drool:
     
  4. nolazep

    nolazep Burrito Enthusiast

    Oh wow I'd love to do that to my Mk3. The black top is beat up from being well-used in clubs.
     
  5. j93

    j93 Member

    Location:
    USA
    did you get around to trying the IsoAcoustics Gaia III feet ? I was thinking about this exact same thing.
     
  6. Dr. J.

    Dr. J. Music is in my soul

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    I just installed the Isonoe feet and am not impressed. I read stuff like,"An elephant could dance in front of my table, and it won't skip." Well, if my 70 lb son can still make it skip when he runs by, that's when I know I got suckered. The woofer pumping also has not diminished at all. This is what $175 gets you? I've adjusted it in every possible way, and no luck.
     
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  7. Andy Saunders

    Andy Saunders Always a pleasure never a chore

    Location:
    England
    That is not right there- The Isonoes give superb isolation.
     
  8. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    What is your flooring situation? Old wood floors? If so, a wall shelf is the answer.
     
  9. Dr. J.

    Dr. J. Music is in my soul

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    Yes, wood floors on conventional foundation. I can't do a wall mount and don't have space in my cabinet for additional isolation platforms since having the stereo in the room I want it in is already a compromise with the boss. The Isonoe feet were supposed to be the solution after reading all the high praise about them for years. I will continue to play around with them but I am not holding my breath.
     
  10. aorecords

    aorecords Forum Resident

    I tried the Gaia IIIs as well. I don't have issues with a bouncy floor I was just curious what improvements they would make. Although they did slightly improve image stability, bass extension and add a little more punchiness, the improvements were slight and I didn't feel they merited the cost.

    I think at this point my biggest improvement will come from upgrading my 2m Blue cartridge, followed by adding the linear charging power supply for my Phonomena II+.
     
  11. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I would start a new thread with wood floors in the topic line. I suspect this is going to be a difficult one to solve. I wouldn't expect a quick fix from one off-the-shelf product. You will likely need to come up with a DIY solution. Most people are going to tell you the wall shelf is the best answer. Wood floors and turntables don't mix well.
     
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  12. C10

    C10 eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die

    Location:
    Sonoma County, CA
    What conventional foundation? Wood on concrete slab, or on joists suspended over crawlspace, or...? Wood on slab (if done right) is typically very rigid and if not, easier to fix. If you have joist you likely would need to reinforce them (double joists) to create more rigidity. If you have reasonable crawl space that might not be too difficult either. You might even be able to just reinforce just the greater turntable area. Another option might be to bolt the cabinet to the wall.
     
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  13. Dr. J.

    Dr. J. Music is in my soul

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    In this part of the country conventional foundation refers to joists suspended over crawlspace. I have considered reinforcement, but it's tight down there and it wouldn't be easy to do this work myself, so I would need to pay someone to do it, which would be a hard sell. The cabinet is tall (4.5 feet) so it shakes when I walk by, which is the main problem, because it causes the woofer pumping problem and pitch distortions. My dinky Rega Planar 3 is in another system in a lighter cabinet but it's only 15 inches off the ground and it is so much better isolated from footfalls and never skips. But I could try to bolt it to the wall, but how?
     
  14. aorecords

    aorecords Forum Resident

    With a wrench?:D
     
  15. C10

    C10 eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die

    Location:
    Sonoma County, CA
    Depends on the cabinet. If the back panel is sturdy enough I would drill through the back where the studs are and use fairly sturdy lag bolts and washers. If you have brick or cinderblock walls use appropriate anchors. If you have no back panel or a flimsy one I would use angle brackets screwed into the cabinet top or sides (depending on stud) and fasten them to the wall (depending on location you may need to fasten them to wall first and then to cabinet). A basic hardware store will have all you need. Key will be the make the connection to the wall as rigid as you can, so no wires, earthquake straps, etc.
     
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  16. James Lovell

    James Lovell Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas
    I had a friend with the same problem and he did a cable/wire suspension from the celling to a square of marble he got from the countertop yard drilled on each corner. All for less than 200.00 I believe and it worked and looked real good.
     
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  17. aorecords

    aorecords Forum Resident

    Any pics? That sounds kind of cool.
     
  18. schwaggy

    schwaggy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pacific Northwest
    They did nothing for me and my situation either. Did you use the boots with glass inserts? I never tried them but pretty sure the outcome would have been the same.
    It's too bad you can't use a wall mount - that's the only tweak that solved it for me.
     
  19. aphexacid

    aphexacid It’s not Hip Hop, it’s Electro.

    Location:
    Illinois
    Same boat here man. It’s the floors. I’ve thrown all kinds of solutions into the mix. The only things that helped were isonoe feet and the sorbothane with glass inserts. I also have a KAB damper, don’t know if that helps with vibration or not. But I’ve got it now to the point where it doesn’t skip when you walk by, even heavy steps.
     
  20. Ilovefooty

    Ilovefooty Forum Resident

    Yeah i did. I like the sound better with the Gaia's.
     
  21. Dr. J.

    Dr. J. Music is in my soul

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    A quick update on my bouncy floors and how the Isonoe feet have failed up to today to give me some relief from footfalls. First, I used a tire jack to move the cabinet 2 inches closer to the wall (the thing is heavy!); I found better, thicker shelving pegs on top of which I put a little piece of sorbothane; sorbothane between the shelf itself and the cabinet, so the shelf can't move at all in the cabinet; and most importantly, because the shelf was not quite level, I leveled it perfectly, and then made the Isonoe feet more springy, which is how they should be (by using the feet to level the table, some of them were tightened too much, thus rendering them ineffective according to the manual). I found some improvement but thought I could do better. So here here is the key tip I picked up from an archived thread on another forum: I used plumbers (teflon) tape to wrap the thread screw a few times. I could tell without the tape, the foot was loose in the thread pocket, that is, it rattled a little when I moved the foot back and forth. Anyway, now the thing is really secure, and I can report that skipping has stopped completely! The woofer pumping only happens at high volumes when I walk by with a heavy step but it's much better than it was before. So I retract my previous post dissing them. They're not miracle workers by themselves, but if you install the thread screw 6-9mm per the instructions and use some plumbers tape on the thread, they do isolate well and help with footfalls.
     
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  22. luckybaer

    luckybaer Thinks The Devil actually beat Johnny

    Location:
    Missouri
    My list of upgrades:

    1. KAB Damper [definitely helps on records that used to skip and on slightly warped discs]
    2. IsoAcoustics OREA feet thingies [Just wanted something to rest the maple block of wood upon]
    3. KAB Poly-Metal Mat [Helps with VTA]
    4. Cardas Iridium phono cable [Much more detail and air than BJC cable or original]

    Oh, and a better amp and speakers did wonders, too.
     
    Last edited: Jan 21, 2021
    connahjay, gmcjj and Dignan2000 like this.
  23. j93

    j93 Member

    Location:
    USA
    was it worth it? my mk5 is completely stock I was looking to make the first step with the KAB fluid damper or the feet, you reckon the gaia´s were a noticeable upgrade?
     
  24. aphexacid

    aphexacid It’s not Hip Hop, it’s Electro.

    Location:
    Illinois
    Definitely doing this. Thanks for the tip!
     
  25. mackat

    mackat Turntable hoar-...um, collector

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    I just ordered a set of 25 kg Isonoe feet for my recent end-game turntable acquisition, a fully restored NOS Technics SP-10MK2A in an SH-10B3 plinth. I don't have any problems with footfalls, but I read that the stock feet aren't that great. It will be interesting to see how I like the new ones.
     
    chipcalzada likes this.

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