anybody buying into magnetic levitation "eliminates the effects of any vibration" ?

Ketchup is a little slow out of the bottle today. We’ve already addressed his concerns. 

Then why are you quibbling? 😛

larryi Of course it doesn’t provide complete isolation, the question is whether it does a reasonably good job of isolating whatever is on top from vibration originating from whatever the platform is sitting on at its price point. It is not going to do the job that a platform built for an electron microscope sits on, and even that wouldn’t qualify as "perfect."

>>>>>Bad example. Electron microscope stands by and large by virtue of their rather mediocre resonant frequency are actually quite ineffective for frequencies up to around 20 Hz. By then the damage has already been done since most of the energy of very low frequency seismic vibration is below 5 Hz. And for frequencies below the electron microscope stand’s Fr the effectiveness is zero. Follow? The most heroic isolation system ever developed and built was the LIGO iso system. The Fr for the LIGO iso system is well below 1 Hz, most likely around 0.1 Hz IIRC. Vibraplane and Minus K are both examples of electron microscope stands that were converted to audiophile products.

jnorris2005
Much has been researched and implemented towards controlling resonances of the tonearm and cartridge, but, depending on it’s construction, the actual table itself will vibrate and resonant well into the audible range. Those resonances will transfer to the tonearm as well.

>>>>>There seems to be some confusion - the tonearm and cartridge resonance Fr is not in the audible range. It’s below the aublible range. What did I just say? Hint: the tonearm and cartridge resonant only at their Fr. That’s why it’s called resonant frequency.

gs5556774 posts03-21-2019 9:07pmI don't buy it at all. The people who have an economic interest in vibration isolation aren't playing around with magnets. They offer products that work:

https://www.newport.com/c/table-top-isolation-platforms

>>>>Newport Corp is the mother of all isolation. They were the seed for Vibraplane and Minus K audiophile iso stands. But they are not the only game in town for audiophiles. There are many ways to skin a cat. Mag lev, compression Springs, airsprings, squash balls, air bladders, inner tubes, bungee cords, spring or fishing line suspensions, forced air, negative stiffness (Minus K), leaf springs. 

jnorris200546 posts03-21-2019 11:36pmCommon sense dictates that levitating the turntable would increase its susceptibility to airborne vibrations. It may decouple the table from its mooring, but that isn't the only source of vibration.

>>>>I’m glad you brought that up. The reason airborne vibration is not very important for turntables is because the resonant frequencies of the tonearm and cartridge are very low, by design, circa 10 Hz, much lower than the lowest frequency generated by most speakers. That’s why it’s the very low frequency seismic vibration in the range 0-30 Hz that is the real issue, you know, since that range contains the Fr of the tonearm and cartridge. Of course, other components ARE susceptible to airborne vibrations. 

Hey, ketchup, we already know that no iso technique is perfect. Give the guy a break. There’s no harm in puffing. Most good audiophile iso devices are only about 50% or less effective for vibration below 10 Hz.

Also, be aware that if you’re really clever the “stops” on a mag lev device, like the ones on the Relaxa, that prevent the top plate sliding off onto the floor can be very slender steel threads, greatly minimizing contact between the lower half of the device and the top plate. After all, thread is an excellent isolator itself. That’s why I oft suggest suspending cables and cords from eye hooks in the ceiling using fishing line or thread. LIGO used to use or maybe still uses suspensions of sapphire thread as part of a comprehensive isolation program; the only noise produced by atomic motion in the suspension.

I suspect whether the Relaxa performance is equal to or better than equal priced devices would be rather difficult to prove. It would be an interesting undertaking to compare the top 10 iso stands. Good luck to whoever volunteers. As for magnets interfering with electronics, they could if they were in close proximity. But magnetic field strength falls off according to the inverse square law. That’s why when you hold two strong magnets at some relatively small distance from each other they no longer attract/repel. Plus magnetic fields are directional, obviously, thus one could actually place magnets near electronics if he knew what he was doing.

Actually, mr. smarty pants, you’re wrong. Mag lev is an effective isolation technique. That’s why Relaxa is still in business after all these years. Why do you think Verdier went to the trouble to use mag lev? For the isolation! Hel-loo! Same reason air bearings aren’t perfect. The strong air flow produces some vibration. That’s why I had 500 feet of air tubing and two air buffers when I had a Maplenoll air bearing turntable.

Magnetic levitation is used to isolate the heavy platter for the Verdier Turntable and for the turntable popular on YouTube last year. Air bearings have issues, too, but are a little easier to deal with than mag lev. Been there, done that. 😛

https://youtu.be/se0XO3780Pg

Whoa, Nellie Belle!! Speaking of air bags. 😀

At the risk of repeating myself I compared one of my products with the Relaxa stand 15 years ago. I agree it’s not a household name. Nevertheless.....

Of course it’s a real product. They’ve been around a long time. 

Who is they? People say lots of things. It’s called puffing. As I said, regarding isolation, nothing is perfect. But that is not the same as saying there’s no such thing as isolation. The issue with opposing magnets is the large sideways forces. I built a mag lev stand 25 years ago. I’ve also compared spring based iso stands to Relaxa stand, fifteen years ago. Springs are better.

Hey, nothing’s perfect. You could do a lot worse than magnetic levitation. You could do nothing.