Wall mounted corner shelf for TT

Rev. Hayes

The weekend is here again and it's time to start another salvaged material project. I've been whining about my turntable isolation for some time. When you're spinning :cool:The Immortal Otis Reading:cool: sometimes you just gotta dance. after trying to shore up the floor joists and mass loading the WWII foot locker that I had the equipment stacked on I've decided to take a new route.

I am working with a maple counter top slab that I pulled during a kitchen remodel a few years back and was using as a top to my auto tool box (it has taken an obscene amount of sanding to get the oil stains out:p.)

Anyway I plan on using 1 1/4" ridged conduit pocketed into stiles mounted to the walls to support the slab. What I'm not sure about is what I should use as the points/posts which will be bolted/welded to the pipe to set the slab on.

Soooooooo, calling all isolation experts out there: any ideas? I should mention that key to this project is low cost and preferably recycled materials. Get creative, I had the wife throw away the Mapleshade catalog so I wouldn't be tempted.;)

quadzilla

I wouldn't mount a turntable in a corner. Seems like the low frequency SPL would be the problem.

Rev. Hayes

quadzilla wrote: »

I wouldn't mount a turntable in a corner. Seems like the low frequency SPL would be the problem.

Umm....

Are you saying that the TT being in a corner will create a vortex of air that will be picked up by my tonearm?

I mean, I get it if my idea seems a tad unusual but it is dictated by the environment I currently live in so if there is something about it that will seriously and adversely effect my sound then please explain further.

bikerboy

I think he is saying that bass loading in the corner may be a problem. Temporarily place the tt on a table ect in the corner and see if it has lots of sub sonic feedback before you go to all the trouble to make a shelf. It may be ok but it would suck if you found out after making the shelf that it wont work.

nooshinjohn

bikerboy wrote: »

I think he is saying that bass loading in the corner may be a problem. Temporarily place the tt on a table ect in the corner and see if it has lots of sub sonic feedback before you go to all the trouble to make a shelf. It may be ok but it would suck if you found out after making the shelf that it wont work.

+1 to this... Also the walls themselves will become a source of vibration, and will transmit vibrations to the mount and therefore, to the turntable. This is one approach I would not try, and yes, it will have a dramatically bad impact on sound quality.

Rev. Hayes

Ok. So I now understand what you telling me concerning the base loading in the corner. However I have had my table on a stand in the corner for some time and while at times (very, very loud times) I do have some sub sonic "rumble" that occurs it doesn't seem nearly as bad as the sound I get when someone walks heavily across the floor. Thus my desire to mount a shelf to the wall. I have read (and it makes sense to me) that this is an effective method for increasing isolation, at least from the floor.

The stand being in the corner is due to the fact that the space I have is very limited and difficult to arrange for Hi Fi listening and everyday life at the same time. I'm trying to create a compromise.

initially I started this thread to ask about isolation points, brass or otherwise, but now i'm second guessing the whole thing. This audiophile stuff can be really depressing at times. Like, i can't have good sound without buying a new house dedicated for the purpose and filling it with the best manufactured goods available. ho hum:(

Anyhow,

I did finish making the slab on sun. and thought I'd share some pictures.
I decided to add a bit o' pizazz and inlaid a strip of mahogany in the edges.
Here it sits on top of an older refurb project.

quadzilla

I'm not saying a wall shelf is a bad idea, I'm just saying putting in a corner is. Wall shelves for turntables are pretty common, but they typically mount in a null point and mount to the studs in the wall. And by null point, I mean a point where there is an absence of low frequency energy.

Rev. Hayes

quadzilla wrote: »

I'm not saying a wall shelf is a bad idea, I'm just saying putting in a corner is. Wall shelves for turntables are pretty common, but they typically mount in a null point and mount to the studs in the wall. And by null point, I mean a point where there is an absence of low frequency energy.

And that makes perfect sense. ^^^^:o

I've been staring at the space for days now trying to choose a better spot. Ah well, time to crank it up and wait for inspiration.


PS would a "bass trap" in that area be enough to correct the problem?

quadzilla

Not sure a bass trap will help. I've never even heard of anyone mounting a TT in a corner. Besides, while a bass trap will absorb low frequencies, it doesn't stop the loading of low frequencies in the corner, it just keeps them from being reflected back out into the room.