In the sand box

DuPont Zircon M sand is the most dense ( Heaviest ). You guys think you’re so anal, you should spend some time around competitive Bench Rest shooters.  

Efficacy of a sandbox depends on the turntable design in my experience. With my Acoustic Signature Final Tool turntable a heavy sandbox made no discernible difference. However, replacing the factory "cone" feet with Stillpoints did make a difference. I also imagine what the sandbox sits on also is a factor.

My contragravity suspension systems work well, but it's a supple trick to place/replace the next LP without bumping inadvertently.....it took awhile to learn the trick without the TT skating away....literally.....

Yeah, yeah, yeah....the DOD and their ilk kept showing up, waving hands, later weapons....they Finally got tired of their various agents 'disappearing' with no trace or clue....

That and most have trouble dealing with a 3D world as it stands....

....even with something as simple as sound.....😏

@bhrapp +1

When constructing an structure for the Isolation for Audio Equipment, using Tiers of Materials will produce the most noticeable of the improvements to be discovered.     

I had a Bright Star sandbox.  It degraded the sound of my tube amp, and did not help the turntable,  

@waytoomuchstuff  +2 

Lmao

Here’s a post from 2004 by Barry, of Bright Star Audio.  He started tweaking in 1985.

Since my listening area is on a suspended floor, several of my components are on Bright Star sand boxes - along with aftermarket footers.

Sand in the bottom of my Vienna Acoustics Bachs made a difference. Tighter more solid bass. There’s a plug in the bottom and a chamber built for sand. The owner’s manual describes what to, how to load em up. Also loaded up bookshelf speaker stands with sand, works great. You can buy “sterile” beach sand on Amazon designed just for such purposes. 
 

Hey, if it sounds good/better, then it works! 

@waytoomuchstuff + 1 

Being a professional woodworker I have designed and built audio racks using custom  designed sand filled isolated shelves. Since silica sand is getting hard to find I like to use a quartz based media blasting sand very similar to the article listed by soma70.  Mineral based sand has all the same properties as silca sand, clean, dry, and uniform grit size.  If you want to eliminate as much vibration as possible its important to have several layers of dampening and let your sand filled isolation shelves float . As we know, when you isolate your components from vibration with a quality rack it helps squeeze the maximum performance from your system components.  One of the benefits of vibration isolation dampening is a very black almost spooky background.

Paul

Sure, why not.

I’ve put sand in speaker stands for the same reason, to dampen vibration.

I like placebo sand mixed with some psychoacoustic pebbles.   Then a pure white quartz crystal directly over the amp's transformer.

I also have a shaman come in and perform some cool looking stuff that aligns the polarity of the electrons.  

Grand sand animates the playing of the grand for less than a grand paid by an aging grand.

I'd avoid quicksand at any cost.  A few years ago my DAC was swallowed whole, never to be seen again.  Tragically, this incident occurred in clear view of my grandkids.  Counseling can get very expensive.

Years ago there was a product that was a sand box with a shelf fitted on top of the sand (I think that was made by Bright Star, as bdp 24 mentions).  I used a pair under my Jadis amplifiers, they were effective at isolating the amps from floor vibrations.  I used play sand.  Seems to me you could make one pretty easily and inexpensively too.  Bdp24's advice is sound, wish I had used silica sand, as the play sand did get a little damp. 

There is a thread started on 3-27-2020 by @soma70 entitled "Sandbox Design Advice". In it I recommended silica sand, a non-organic, man-made material used in sandblasting. Silica sand is superior to play sand for this application in that it doesn’t absorb moisture, and is therefore incapable of supporting the growth of bacteria.

Silica comes in different "grades", just like lead shot. When I was using the Bright Star Big Rock isolation boxes, I settled on No. 60 grade sand. It is the optimum size, anything smaller (the particle size, a larger number connoting a smaller size grain) being too powdery.

I found Silica at a construction supply yard, but I think even Home Depot sells it. It’s cheap, like under ten bucks for a fifty pound bag (this was twenty years ago).

Some use Organics such as Rice as the Particulate, others use Metal such as Lead Shot, other use Grain that is a Stone Particulate, in general all must be thoroughly dry before being put to use.

There is also Oil Compacted Sand worthwhile looking into as the Particulate.

"Just when I think people in this hobby couldn't get sillier.."

How naive grasshopper.

Just when I think people in this hobby couldn't get sillier...

You are correct, it was play sand they used, not beach sand. 

Sand works very well when used with a quality shelf.  You should use play sand.  It's very dry and has been filtered.  Sand will absorb moisture so overtime you will need to replace the sand.  That's not really a problem since it's dirt cheap, but it can get messy.

I am using soft sponge hockey pucks, and that has stopped all vibrations that I am able to record? 

Inner tubes, elastomer layers, pucks, springs, carbon fiber shelfs, sophisticated integrated isolation platforms (Silent Running Audio), metal cones, wood cones, granite slabs… but not sand, moss, alge, dirt or gravel.