Isolation stands: snakeoil?


I understand that turntables are uniquely effected by vibrations due thier sensitivity to that kind of energy. But here’s the thing: most turntables, especially decent ones, have vibration control measures built into them via footers and various construction techniques. So, the question is: are turntable stands / shelves with isolation features actually beneficial or are they just horrendously overpriced accessories for audiophiles?
madavid0

Showing 3 responses by madavid0

Okay here’s what’s going on. I have a MoFi StudioDeck which has sprung feet built in. The turntable is sitting on the top shelf of a Pangea Vulcan rack which was selected for being cheap as opposed to being especially well regarded for audio performance ($150 with extra shelf). I have not bothered to to perfectly level the rack’s feet so there is some play / wobble if disturbed. I have leveled the turntable obviously.

The rack and turntable are sitting outside of my listening room. A set of balanced interconnects run from the pre in the rack, under the room door, across the floor and into my amps which shot between my speakers.

Since the turntable is placed outside of the listening room, I expect it will only pick up highly attenuated sound from the speakers (sound passing through walls / cracks around door edges, etc). Obviously it can still be effected by floor-borne vibrations, street noise, air conditioner noise, etc and so on. Also, having my system outside of my listening room is annoying.
Even when the stand is leveled, there’s still some wobble due to the flexibility of the stand posts which are just screw-in legs and such. Is this solution just not viable for a proper turntable setup?

I put the turntable on top of a 27 lbs maple butcher block which is sitting on a trio of Symposium Rollerblocks — this seemed to significantly improve performance. The StudioDeck itself isn’t very heavy, only around 17-18 lbs.