I’m not talking about earthquakes. I’m talking about the low level everyday motion of the Earth crust, traffic, subways, etc. It’s enough to excite the tonearm and cartridge which carry very low level signals and have natural frequencies Fr in range of 8-12 Hz. So it doesn’t take much. Seismic type vibration is in the range 0-30 Hz and even higher. So, there you go!
Audio Furniture has its own sound!
I've been using a stand that I made about 12 years ago. It's a flexi-type, with large rods, and I cut chrome curtain rods to cover the threaded rods. For shelves, I glued two pieces of MDF together, routed the edges, and painted with stone paint. Looks great, and it's really heavy and sturdy. But, I got a little tired of the look. I do think there is sound to furniture if it vibrates, but solid is solid, right?
So, I found a used Salamander Chameleon Sonoma 326. It matches the other furniture perfectly, looks great in the room, and has a perfect amount of storage. And, room on top for the turntable, as well as the Primaluna HP. Makes it look like simple and elegant system. The Salamander is very heavy, and made from solid wood.
But, when I hooked it up, that damn Salamander rings like a bell, and that energy totally transfers to the tonearm. I could not believe how horrible the system now sounded! Clearly the furniture was the problem. It was immediate, and completely ruined the sound. I think part of the issue is that it has a metal frame beneath the wood, and the sides seem to cause the metal frame to vibrate and ring.
Now, I'm on an adventure to see if I can fix it. My plan is 2 inch thick maple platform with vibrapods under the platform. A platform for the amp, a separate one for the TT, and vibrapods under the phono preamp. I have used an old tabletop from Ikea (it's honeycomb inside, and good dampener) with rubber feet, and it's helped a lot. But, I can still tell this vibrates slightly. I don't think it transfers much to the tonearm, but I'm still getting the maple platform.
I'm posting this because I've done some research oil Salamander as a TT stand, but didn't find much. So, now you know... buyer beware!
So, I found a used Salamander Chameleon Sonoma 326. It matches the other furniture perfectly, looks great in the room, and has a perfect amount of storage. And, room on top for the turntable, as well as the Primaluna HP. Makes it look like simple and elegant system. The Salamander is very heavy, and made from solid wood.
But, when I hooked it up, that damn Salamander rings like a bell, and that energy totally transfers to the tonearm. I could not believe how horrible the system now sounded! Clearly the furniture was the problem. It was immediate, and completely ruined the sound. I think part of the issue is that it has a metal frame beneath the wood, and the sides seem to cause the metal frame to vibrate and ring.
Now, I'm on an adventure to see if I can fix it. My plan is 2 inch thick maple platform with vibrapods under the platform. A platform for the amp, a separate one for the TT, and vibrapods under the phono preamp. I have used an old tabletop from Ikea (it's honeycomb inside, and good dampener) with rubber feet, and it's helped a lot. But, I can still tell this vibrates slightly. I don't think it transfers much to the tonearm, but I'm still getting the maple platform.
I'm posting this because I've done some research oil Salamander as a TT stand, but didn't find much. So, now you know... buyer beware!
Showing 10 responses by geoffkait
tomstruck the cheapest fix would be some dynamat xtreme placed on the bottom of the shelf will dampen it from ringing and you won’t see it Dynamat is used in car to do just that >>>>I suspect cars have more of a shock and vibration problem than home audio shelves. If the shelf rings, which it probably won’t, when you strike it with a hammer don’t strike it with a hammer while music’s playing. |
br3098 Reflective surfaces can bounce low frequency energy to the TT and tonearm. >>>By the grace of god there isn’t any energy flying around that is low enough in frequency to affect the turntable and tonearm, which are designed to have resonant frequencies Fr much lower ⬇️ than any frequency speakers produce. |
rixthetrick I then used springs, coil springs, just like the ones an AGon seller was offering on this site. Mine were purchased when I was living overseas and are rated at 4Hz with a mass that loads them at about 50% of original height. Metal springs are still one of the best vibration isolators, and also one of the most cost effective. >>>>Hire this man! |
The resonant frequencies Fr of the platter, tonearm and cartridge are all circa 8-12 Hz, so they get excited by, you guessed it! - very low frequency seismic type vibration coming up from the floor that interfere with the audio signal. So, you need something under the table - an iso system - with a very low resonant frequency, say around 2 Hz, to be able to significantly attenuate the frequencies 8-12 Hz since the iso device acts as a 6 dB/octave filter. Hel-loo! |