Unless you have an ancient or dirt-cheap turntable and unless your turntable sites on a wobbly floor
or next to a shakey old furnace, you don't need to do anything radical. ALL decent-grade modern
turntables are built with many rumble-killing features. Before you go to any extremes, try a record
clamp and a heavy rubber mat (definitely instead of a cheapo felt "slip-mat") on your platter. That
should solve the problem. If there really are vibarations coming up through your table or stand,
then move it to a less wobbly floor or away from the walls by just a few inches. Failing that, a
rubber isolation mat under your table should help. Having some mass to your shelf or table is a good
thing, but it's as simple as putting a few cinder blocks on the bottom shelf, no need to spend a lot
of money. But, as I said, good quality modern turntables are designed with vibration-killing
features like floating arm-attachment plates, isolated motors, isolation feet of various varieties
and you can buy excellent and effective heavy rubber platter mats and clamps that are as simple and
cheap or as exotic and expensive as you wish.
Jerry provided a good source in McMaster -- sensibly-priced, science-based industrial solutions. It
keeps you free of the hype and hooey that surrounds many "audiophile accessories," one of the more
cynical and wallet-draining parts of the audiophillic world.
I do agree with Carl Pultz about glass shelves, glass can resonate with speakers and get other
strange and unexpected vibrations, just like windows. However, if the glass is strong enough, a
granite base like someone else linked should solve that problem, even moreso if a sheet of rubber
were put between the glass and granite.
A friend of mine got into the "vinyl revival" and put his mid-priced turntable into the same
built-in unit where his stereo and TV reside. He was getting rumble coming up from the floor,
transmitted through the cabinet. We solved this using a thrown-away old multi-layer rubber and foam
typewriter mat that I had saved from the dumpster at work. It makes sense -- anything that keeps an
IBM Selectric from resonating down a desk into a floor will sop up resonances from a floor up into a
shelf, especially when combined with turntable feet and floating top plate.
-- Tom Fine
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jerry Hartke" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 6:32 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Turntable Stand recommendations
> McMaster Carr sells a wide variety of vibration isolators.
>
> http://www.mcmaster.com/#vibration-isolators/=hxyojf
>
> Prices and service are good.
>
> Jerry Haratke
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Don Cox
>> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 5:15 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Turntable Stand recommendations
>>
>> On 11/06/2012, Shai Drori wrote:
>>
>> > Hi Dan
>> > Before I bought the EMT 950 I made a stand out of concrete. Made damn
>> > good isolation, was a bitch to move (never did). Cost in US$ about 60.
>> > Could make it look nice as well if you add color or wood panels. Shai
>> >
>> Concrete alone will not absorb vibrations. Concrete plus rubber will.
>>
>> I have used a paving stone on top of an inner tube, but being so heavy
>> it was inclined to tilt.
>>
>> However, there are various commercial mountings for heavy machinery that
>> could be used.
>>
>> The aim is to have a setup whose natural frequency is lower than 0.5 Hz.
>>
>> Regards
>> --
>> Don Cox
>> [log in to unmask]
>
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