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Are You Sorbothane Experienced?

I couldn't find any discussions on user experiences with sorbothane isolation feet, so decided to start one. I recently purchased a set of 4 40mm sorbothane feet for my Music Hall mmf-5 turntable. 
Setup was less than favourably a one-man affair, so it was a rather precarious endeavour.

One thing that adds to the difficulty of what I imagined would be an entirely straightforward installation, is the fact that the sorbothane feet easily distort under the slightest off-centre loading. That means you have to adjust them incessantly  at both top and bottom contact points until you miraculously have all 4 perfectly vertically loaded perpendicular to your turntable's factory feet as well as your shelf. In my case the shelf is by Salamander.

Once you've managed all this and justifiably rather pleased with yourself, guess what? Your turntable may or may not be level as it was prior to the installation. So, level the TT at the shelf rather than at the adjustable feet, as are standard on the MH, because adjusting the feet would upset those super squishy sorbothane isolation pucks. 

The listening verdict: I honestly can't say that I can hear any difference during before & after playback of Jimmy Cliff's Wonderful World, Beautiful People.

I'm curious to learn of your experiences, if any. Cheers!
avdesigns

Showing 6 responses by terry9

terry9
2,354 posts
 
Sorbothane is a material like any other, and it must be used in the right place in the right way. That means engineering calculations. The sorbothane website is a good place to start.

IMO, feet are not the right place. Spikes give much better performance in both the TT which form my testbeds - sound is more focussed and precise, while sorbothane feet sound mushy.

Where sorbothane shines is in motor isolation. But again, it's not often used correctly.  According to the website, you need inches of low durometer material to isolate the typical AC TT motor. That describes my DIY units - but not many others. Of course, there are other valid approaches, like SME.

The key here is how much noise is transmitted into the TT plinth from the floor. If you live in a railroad switch yard, you will need as much isolation as you can get. The SME solution is made for you. IMO. If you live on rock, miles from the nearest industry, highway or railway, you probably don't need any isolation at all. The latter is my situation, which is why spikes without any isolation device work for me.

As noted, YMMV.  


terry9
2,354 posts
 
Did you say '40-year-old home'?  I don't recall the exact dates, but it was around that time that aluminum wiring was used instead of copper. This was a terrible idea because aluminum is a little hard to terminate, and poor workmanship resulted in fires.

You might want to consider checking the wiring. Your best audio investment may be in improved wiring - copper or copper, one size heavier than code (code usually specifies 14 AWG for a circuit, so use 12 AWG for audio circuits, and industrial quality sockets). I use a subpanel on the other side of the house, fed by a fat 2 AWG cable, which powers isolation transformers for the audio.

terry9
2,354 posts
 
AV, you said you were frugal, so I mention that in some jurisdictions, it is perfectly legal for a homeowner to do his own wiring. Just make sure that you memorize the relevant sections of the applicable electric code, hire a good electrician to walk you through the first day, and make certain that every circuit is inspected before you energize.

Never work on a live circuit. Check with a multimeter, every time. Don't work alone.

Please follow the law exactly here - no shortcuts. It protects you and yours from a hundred horsepower hidden behind the walls. You will need rubber soled shoes, assorted screwdrivers, pliers, wire stripper, and a decent multimeter, like a less expensive Fluke.

Good luck!!

terry9
2,354 posts
 
AV, I'm glad to see that you're way ahead of me. Good for you!
terry9
2,354 posts
 
@dentdog 
Hello Dent. I used a sticky, jelly stuff known as 'MOONGEL Damper Pads'. It comes in thin strips about 1" x 1.5", and is mainly used to tune drum kits by changing the resonance patterns.

Pieces on the Tomahawk wand above the cartridge, and at several points along the wand, work wonders. A few pieces on the saddle also help. The sound becomes more focussed and precise, but at the expense of some sweetness. This can be corrected electronically by changing the dielectric on RIAA capacitors, especially if you are using teflon, or by a marginal increase in the RIAA values.

terry9
2,354 posts
 
Willie, I think that what you have may be genuine. I bought a bunch from Isolate-It, which seems to be what you are describing. Isolate-It is a legitimate Sorbothane distributor. 
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