Part 1 - MagLev TT Stand? Part 2 - Vibration Isolation Devices?

apc

Anyone recall the magnetic levitation turntable stand once offered by AV123 or perhaps Onix? My searches have not turned it up yet.

May not be the best alternative for dampening the vibrations against my TT; however, it sparked a memory and I wanted to include it in my research.

Solid wood, stone, rubber balls, sand box, etc. All have been tossed out as good TT vibration isolation devices. I'm needing something to dampen mine as we are now on a crawl space and any foot traffic in the listening room causes vibration.

Haven't noticed this topic around lately, anyone care to kick it around?

EndersShadow

apc wrote: »

Anyone recall the magnetic levitation turntable stand once offered by AV123 or perhaps Onix? My searches have not turned it up yet.

May not be the best alternative for dampening the vibrations against my TT; however, it sparked a memory and I wanted to include it in my research.

Solid wood, stone, rubber balls, sand box, etc. All have been tossed out as good TT vibration isolation devices. I'm needing something to dampen mine as we are now on a crawl space and any foot traffic in the listening room causes vibration.

Haven't noticed this topic around lately, anyone care to kick it around?

Best suggestion I have heard is this:

Build yourself a box out of solid wood. Fill this box with river sand to about halfway. Get a piece of granite/stone that is barely smaller than the inner diameter of the box and lay it in there so that its "floating" on the sand in the box. Put your TT on that box and then mount that box to your walls on studs using L brackets.

Here is a thread to see some pics of how the sandbox part works. Its what I plan to do with mine as a fun cheap project when I have time. The guy in the thread went a bit over the top, but the box part looks quite nice.

P.S. it was suggested to look into taking the cutouts for a kitchen sink as the piece of stone as you can probably aquire those for a pretty cheap price.

hochpt21

Actually, perfect timing for this thread.

I need something as well. I've heard that wall mounting is best, but not an option right now in our new living room. I was looking at sorbothane balls on ebay, and maybe will try those out.

Just need something to keep the needle from jumping when the kids are running around.

SCompRacer

apc wrote: »

Solid wood, stone, rubber balls, sand box, etc. All have been tossed out as good TT vibration isolation devices.

Just curious, who tossed out the rubber ball solution? I have a lead filled rack on a suspended hardwood floor; foot falls would disturb any turntable on the rack. I went with a Gingko Cloud, and it is one of the best isolation devices I have used. It is basically handballs between an acrylic base and platform. I've pounded my fist on the rack playing vinyl and no skips, no thumps. Jay (agfrost) was one of the last to see that. A friend lives near train tracks and a Gingko solved his problem of skipping when a train rolled by.

A wall mount is out for me due to changing the system around for different occasions. A sand box did not work for me either. The Gingko is pricey, but I bought mine used and beat lots of depreciation. Mine even included the cover. Someone handy could make one. There needs to be rounded divots in the base to hold the balls in place (allows for movement), and the Ginkgo platform has a lip that extends around and below the top of base so if you bump/lean on it it won't roll off. Each ball was good for 10 pounds so you add/remove as required for weight of the turntable.

Here is an older isolation thread here I was involved in.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?132032-Recommendations-for-Turntable-Isolation-Base&

SCompRacer

Forgot linkage. The Clouds are sold in various sizes. I have an 11.

http://www.gingkoaudio.com/products.html
http://www.gingkoaudio.com/cloud9.html

pitdogg2

Anybody ever tried "Sorbothane" I know they used to have sheets of it for turntables. I've used the older Audioquest big feet under my CD player like Scomp when my dog would run through the house it would skip. Now I could body slam a wrestler and no skip

hochpt21

That cloud system looks perfect, and I know you get what you pay for, but I am looking for a solution under $50 or so.

I saw that "Sorbothane" also and looks like you can get a set of four under $30. I would also be interested, pitdogg2, to see if anyone has used it.

hochpt21

Just ordered some "Sorbothane" balls. 50d is the density...said four feet would support up to 70 lbs. There were some smaller ones with softer density, but this one seemed like it would be best.

I'll let everyone know how it works.

pitdogg2

cool i have looked at those also. keep me posted

apc

Me too. I've also been interested in the Vibrapod Isolation Feet and Cones. Look forward to your feedback.

apc

Bad phone pic of my Pro-Ject sitting on the available shelf. Which one of the following materials do you think will isolate the vibration best between the pointed TT feet and the glass? Vibrapods or Sorbothane half-balls?

SCompRacer

Tough call on what might be better due to varying results from folks that tried one or the other.

I used a partially filled inner tube with a plywood platform once. It worked good, but was difficult to keep the table level due to the balance of the turntable, that is parts of it being heavier due to motor placement.

[Deleted User]

The first person I remember recommending the inner tube/plywood isolation platform was Richard Vandersteen many years ago. I've always wanted to try a microscope isolation platform such as:
http://www.vector-sg.com/contents.php?title=Anti-Vibration+%26+Vibration+Isolation

hochpt21

hochpt21 wrote: »

Just ordered some "Sorbothane" balls. 50d is the density...said four feet would support up to 70 lbs. There were some smaller ones with softer density, but this one seemed like it would be best.

I'll let everyone know how it works.

Got the sorbothane half-balls mentioned in the quote. I set them up without peeling the sticky part that would apply to the bottom of the TT feet as I wanted to figure out if they would actually work before sacrificing the TT feet. *Note* that was not a good idea, as I found out that the feet on my pro-ject are flexible and almost flexed right off the balls!

Anyway, before the whole almost-breaking-my-turntable-thing, I was able to test the sorbothane.

Before applying the balls, I spun a record and walked 'heavily' back and forth in front of the component stand a few times. About every second pass the needle would jump. I then 'lightly' stomped my foot and could get the needle to jump each time.

I then put the sorbothane balls under the tt feet. When I walked 'heavily' back and forth...the needle wouldn't jump. When I 'lightly' stomped...the needle would jump sometimes.

My brief conclusions are that the balls help...but only slightly. I have removed them and am still debating whether I want to peel the sticky and use them permanently, or research something else.

They will essentially solve the problem of skipping everytime someone walks by, but still skip if my kids are running (or dancing) around.

hochpt21

I also wonder if a softer density would work better as the 50d stuff was pretty firm for the weight of the tt.

hochpt21

I may end up spending more than I wanted but whatever. I just ordered a set of four Vibrapods model 2 from AA.

Plan is to stick the sorbothane balls to the tt feet and then set them in the vibrapods. I'm gonna stick the sorbothane on tonight to at least get a little help until the pods get here.

hochpt21

Sorry to dominate this thread, but hopefully it helps someone else.

Last night I peeled and stuck the sorbothane balls to the feet just to get some isolation while waiting for the vibrapods. They worked a fair amount better than they did the other night. My thought is that I tried them out immediately the other night after bringing them in from the mailbox that was about 30 degrees. They were softer last night once they were at room temp.

My 2yo trip/tackled a foot rest and went tumbling right in front of the rack and it didn't skip. I was able to make it skip without too much difficulty with the old 'stomp' trick, however.

Hopefully, with the improved performance of the sorbothane at room temp and the vibrapod 'bases' that will be all I need for my setup.

hochpt21

Here are a couple pics with the sorbothane balls and vibrapod feet.

This will pretty much take care of it for me.

Without any isolation, the needle would jump when I walked by sometimes. Now I can jog by it and it is fine. I can still get the needle to jump, but I have to stomp pretty good. Now, the kids can dance/wrestle/whatever. It's a big weight off my chest, and I finally feel comfortable again spinning while the family is home. I actually stopped for awhile because I would just get stressed out when the needle was jumping every couple minutes while the kids were in the living room. About $50 invested.

Msabot1

Hey there! Any chance of having your equipment,TT and reproduction gear in an adjacent room while keeping speaks in listening area? Just a thought,worked out fine for me. No probs whatsoever with vibration or floor disturbance from foot travel.