Advice for mounting a TT shelf on a wall

My wall shelf shares a wall with some french doors leading to my garden. In hindsight this was far from an ideal location. It is/was where I wanted the turntable in the room though and is infrequently an issue, thankfully, depending on the guest and their tendency to slam doors.

The main consideration is to put it on a load bearing wall. After that any good platform.

Mount it away from the corners of the room.

The main consideration is to put it on a load bearing wall. 

Absolutely agree. Load bearing walls either have footings to ground directly underneath or concrete pad at ground level underneath.

Loading bearing walls do not move with the floor. Non load bearing wall move with the floor.

Location wise avoid corners and alcoves where you can get bass reinforcement.

Mount it at a correct HEIGHT so your back dosent go out or your on tip toes. Mount on a short door less wall if possible.

Matt

Thanks for the posts guys, it points me in the right direction. Fortunately, I will be mounting it on a load bearing wall. Am I correct in assuming that half way up the wall may be another room node? I know to keep away from corners and other electronics. Want to get it as right as I can the first time.

 Matt, I misread your post and had to laugh. I read, mount it on a short door.  To each their own. Fortunately no one recommended a ceiling mount.

A load bearing 'outer wall'.

Preferably with no doors opening

and shutting into a door frame or

stairs attached to that wall.

Hit both studs dead center and

If your handy enough open a horizontal

slot between both studs and brace the

two studs together then use that

as a third spot to attach shelf. The

shelf itself will hide most of your drywall

repairs in any event. No corners as your 

aware.

@4krowme 

Am I correct in assuming that half way up the wall may be another room node?

As I've got older I find the optimum height is high enough so you don't have to bend over when placing records on the platter, and also such that you can look at and clean the stylus comfortably - for me that's about hip level. Forget about room node for height  - bit OTT in my view.

Mount it away from the corners of the room.

This is a must to consider because of low frequency feedback. A corner can be a bass trap. This happened with my wall shelf and it was a pain to get rid of.

Mount it where it’s comfortable to use or you will stop using it. I agree with not putting it in a corner, but other than that, I don’t think it’s that critical unless you have a very large system played at loud volumes. 

Before mounting play some heavy bass songs and place your hands on the wall where you think you might mount the TT and just feel the wall vibrate. Move your hand around and mount where the wall doesn't vibrate as much

IMHE the advice given here is solid. I have wall mounted my turntable for the past two decades after trying various other isolation systems that failed to prevent foot falls and other environmental effects. Hard to see in my system pictures but I'm using an oversized Target PS-1 wall mount shelf which I have modified as follows:

• Weather stripping along the wall facing surface to provide further isolation from the wallboard;
• Heavy duty stainless steel screws with washers inserted between the screwhead and the inner frame to provide the strongest possible bite into the studs;
• Herbies Giant Gliders facing upwards to support the shelf instead of metal points/spikes that are standard;
• Symposium Svelte Shelf (19" X 21") replaces the particle board shelf under the turntable. 

This has worked extremely well for me and is highly recommended for those who can find a Target PS-1 on the used market. My shelf is mounted so that the stylus is at eye level when I am standing. This takes it out of the way of prying hands and also allows me to adjust and setup the table with ease. 

I couldn't be more appreciative of the comments/suggestions. The mounting bracket came in today and is as professionally made as I have ever seen. The finish is perfect, but most of all, the bracket is even better/stronger than it needs to be. So now, I will go out in the shop and choose among the wood slabs for something that will work well with this bracket. I like the idea about Herbies giant gliders. Saw them somewhere recently for sale.

 Attaching this bracket will have to be spot on as well. I want to get as close to the center of each stud as possible. And I am with the thinking that the mounting must make continuous as possible contact with the wall. I am still considering the height though. I still have time. 

You are correct about hitting the studs dead center. Use a stud finder to locate and mark the edges of the studs. Then hold the bracket to the wall with a level across the top surface and move the holes to the exact middle between your marks and adjust to dead level. Now use a pencil to trace the screw holes. Next use a small drill to create pilot holes in the center of the tracings. Drill slowly, moving the bit in and out and note whether you feel resistance and see wood pulp emerge from the hole as the bit is pulled away from the wall. This will confirm whether you are in the stud—no resistance, no pulp, no stud. If all holes are good do a final check by placing the bracket back on the wall over the screw holes. Are the pilot holes in the middle of each bracket hole? Is the shelf level side to side (also check front to back though this will probably be level and if not will require adjustment of you bracket platform unless you choose to shim the bracket which is not a good idea). If all good then select a drill slightly smaller in diameter than the mounting screws you will be using (not including the threads) and mount away. Use the largest screws that will fit through the bracket holes and see if you can place a washer between the frame and where the screw enters the hole—I had to sand off some diameter for the washer to fit in the hole. Start the screws by hand and them drive them home with an electric drill—not cordless you will need torque. You will need another set of hand at various points. We have moved 4 times in the past 20 years so my wife is now an expert assistant! Good luck!

Placing a turntable on a load bearing wall shelf will help deal with foot fall issues and some other low frequency events but it will not isolate the turntable and might possibly make things worse depending on the design of the turntable. A wall is one big sound board. If you place the edge of a stethoscope bell against the wall you will hear everything else that is going on in the house, the dishwasher, your kid's TV up stairs and even the truck rumbling down the street. Turntables that are suspension isolated will do fine. Examples are the LP 12, SME, Basis, Avid, Thorens and Sota models. All others need to be on an isolation platform. The best is the MinusK. 

Well, the shelf bracket is mounted, and I posted a photo of the temporary shelf for now. Man, this thing is heavy duty. Got it good and level too. I really do appreciate all the advice and reminders that were given. Will post another photo in my system page when done.