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How to soundproof my turntable?

Jonathon Carr recently mentioned here the importance of isolating your tt from airborne vibration, a project that has been on my mind for some time.

My tt sits in a custom cabinet. The left and back sides are drywall, the right side 3/4" plywood, the top and bottom 2" plywood, and the front is open. The shelf the tt sits on has holes for the wires to pass through. Overall dimensions are about 2.5' high, 2.5' deep, and 4' wide.

Over the weekend my friend and I built a 3/4" plywood door to cover the opening. There was a clear improvement when the door was in place. Now I want to make a better and permanent door.

I called up this company to ask their advice.

>http://www.soundproofing.org/sales/prices.html


They suggested 3/8" acrylic door with their 1" soundproofing foam mat on one or both sides. They said for the acrylic 1/4" is too thin and there is minimal improvement with 1/2".

The also suggested lining the inside of the cabinet with the same stuff. They make a 1/8" tape that can be used as a weather seal for the door.

They said any cracks or openings like the holes for the cable are very bad. A 1" hole can reduce absorption by 50%. Plugging the holes and cracks with their tape or foam they said is effective.

Anybody have any other ideas or suggestions for soundproofing this space?

I am also thinking about making the turntable cabinet a Faraday cage, ie, lining the cabinet with thin copper mesh. Anyone have any experience if this is worth the trouble or not?

Thanks.
george_a

Showing 1 response by george_a

george_a OP
34 posts
 
My turntable sits on a vibration control system from Newport Corp designed for electron microscopes and the like.

Setting a turntable on a concrete pillar is of limited value. One needs to decouple from the earth, not attach to it.

This is a quote from Jonathan Carr which can be found on Audiogon,

"The sound of the turntable is too much affected by vibrations transmitted through the air and ground. For top performance the turntable should be in a separate room/closet isolated from the vibrations and air pressure from the loudspeakers."

Advanced setups that I know of have the turntable in a separate room, which is the ideal solution.

Otherwise, thanks for your help.
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