How to Increase Turntable Height on High WAF Rack

Restock - Let me offer a belated thanks for the heads up about the Stereophile review. I have since heard the Ayre/DPS with Mr. Bauer's new tonearm specifically designed for his table. It is a unipivot design and a thing of beauty, both sonically and visually. After we get thru next month with Uncle Sam, I fully intend to get one! Man, I just love that turntable!!!

I am still laughing at some of the comments, particularly from Markphd and Johnbrown! All comments thus far are truly appreciated, and being made to laugh is always a good thing! Let me assure you all that I would rather kneel to use the turntable than do anything that would compromise its excellent sonics.

This system is in our LR, which has evolved into a combination stereo/living/music practice room. I only have space for the one rack, and my wife's objection to a higher rack is that the higher the rack, the less of a view is possible through the windows behind. (The window drapes are closed only when the stereo is in use.) No amount of shoes, jewelry, etc is going to get her to budge on this one.

Another solution I considered was to install the Ayre/DPS in my secondary system and install that system's TT (Basis Signature 2500/Vector IV/Lyra Titan 1) in the LR. That table with its calibrator base would largely resolve the height issue. But after A/B-ing the two tables, as good as the Basis is, I strongly prefer the Ayre/DPS, and the LR system is the better of my two systems.

Don Better of Don Better Audio will be installing the Ayre/DPS next Wednesday. We will know more about any negatives associated with its low profile once it's installed.

Please keep the ideas coming! Practical and humorous comments are equally welcome!

Peterayer:

Thank you for the suggestion. Unfortunately a wall shelf is not an option. There is no available wall space in this room for a turntable! Frankly, it is amazing to me that the room is sonically so good despite everything that is in the room in addition to the stereo system!

Srwooten:

Bottom shelf is not an option for me. Because of other gear, too tight L-C-R, and because I will need a Gingko Claravu acrylic cover, not enough vertical clearance to lift and remove the cover.

At this point I am leaning toward a wood-based elevation system, either from Box or Timbernation.

Does anyone have any recommendations for other companies besides Box and Timbernation for a wood elevation/isolation system?

Thanks again for all of the responses so far!

Thanks to all of you who offered guidance/suggestions. The humorous comments were also appreciated! I have been enjoying my new HRS M3 Isolation Base for the past two days. In my system it is proving to be a very useful addition. Overall I am hearing a lot more musical detail, which is now presented in an even more relaxed, natural (musical?) manner. The noise floor, which was previously negligible, is now inaudible to my ears. (Yes, I do still have normal hearing! ;-> ) Imaging is significantly improved in terms of both musical instrument focus and resolution. Aside from sonics, it is one heck of a nice looking base!

It will take some discipline on my part to resist the temptation to get another one of these for my new Nagra PSA!

Johnnyb53:

Thanks for your comment. And I agree. IMHO, I found the Ayre/DPS overall to be pretty even with the top of the line SME and the top of the line Spiral Groove.

The auditioning I did of the Ayre/DPS was with the standard tonearm that the Ayre/DPS comes with. You/others may already know this but if not . . .

. . . William Bauer of DPS takes a stock Rega 250 tonearm, guts it, HIGHLY modifies it, and that is the tonearm that comes with the table. So it was intriguing/startling to me that the Ayre/DPS with an obviously modest tonearm compared so favorably with the SME and SG, both of which were set up with far, far better tonearms (insofar as $ directly translates into better performance, which we all know is not always the case). I considered but decided against having the Ayre/DPS prepped for a better tonearm since it already sounds so great with the standard tonearm. I can always switch to another tonearm down the road. The one that is most interesting to me at this point is not yet commercially available. According to Don Better, Mr. Bauer is developing his own tonearm for the Ayre/DPS. When it becomes available, those who purchased the Ayre/DPS with the basic modified Rega 250 tonearm can get 100 percent of their money back for that tonearm against the purchase of Mr. Bauer's new tonearm. The cutout requirement for his new tonearm will be exactly the same as for the modified Rega 250, so it will essentially be plug and play. I definitely plan to audition his new tonearm when it comes out.

Of course, and now getting back to the original thread topic, I still don't know if I will be kneeling, bending, whatever in front of the Ayre/DPS when I use it! ;->

My wife has suggested genuflecting (sp?) and offering alms before each use.

Sigh . . .

Johnnyb53:

I have listened to the Ayre/DPS with the two top of the line Dynavector and EMT cartridges. I chose the 2nd best EMT cartridge pretty much for the same reason I went with the modified RB250 - more than good enough (incredible, actually) performance for the $. That pretty much sums up the way I feel about the Ayre/DPS as well!

Prior to selecting the Ayre/DPS/EMT combo, I was learning pretty heavily in favor of the much less expensive Well Tempered Amadeus. That is really a remarkable turntable and tremendous sonic value for the $. But in the end, the things you heard with the Ayre/DPS - natural, relaxed, involving, musical, hard to turn off - I found all of these to be quite a bit more evident with the Ayre/DPS than they were with the Amadeus.

However, there were two things I liked better about the Amadeus - the tonearm (a thing of beauty, visually and sonically) and the bass response (marginally better than that of the Ayre/DPS).

Ebm:

Thanks for letting me know about Symposium! Just started researching their web site. So far I like what I see and read! Do you have one or more of these shelves, or have you heard them on someone else's system? I am interested in them for both the TT and for an amp stand.

Thanks in advance for any more information you can share!

Kgallagh,

Thanks for the suggestion. Right now my two leading choices are HRS and Box.

But the jury is still out . . . .

Thanks to all that responded. I have decided to go with the HRS Isolation Base, which I should have in place by early next week. Even more than the height increase (3 inches), I am obviously looking forward to the sonic improvements!