2. analog
  3. 131641-2199

Support table or shelf for turntable

I was hoping to replace my oak table with either a wall mounted shelf of a heavy steel table.
The reason is that I am finding that the oak is picking up and transmitting vibrations to the turntable, a Garrard 401 in a birch ply plinth. I am hoping to move to a slate plinth and wanted to maximize the support strength and reduce feedback.
Here is a link to the shelf and here is a link to the table. Both examples of what I'm looking at.
Shelf would be mounted to concrete wall. Table would stand on concrete floor.
Thanks.
128x128noromance

Showing 12 responses by noromance

noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,554 posts
 
@slaw , @toddverrone,  you can see my table in systems. ( no one seems to loom there)
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/1593

noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,554 posts
 
@islandmandan Thanks Dan. I’ll look into your suggestion. Although, with the new slate, when it arrives in a few weeks, I was hoping for something less massive and "constructed"... trying to keep it simple. Taut and rigid. The good news is that I have procured an Audio Grail 401 for the slate plinth.

noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,554 posts
 
Thanks everyone for the valued suggestions. I’ll study up in more detail all the notes kindly supplied. Thanks.
A few points to clarify:
  1. Remember the new rig will (hopefully) be a rebuilt 401 in a slate plinth.
  2. The issue I’m facing is that when I knock on the oak table legs or lower cross-member, I hear it through the speakers. I reckon if I can hear it, so to can the 401.
  3. I want to get rid of the oak table anyway and take the LP12 out of the equation. It was a temp solution years ago and now i want to deal with it.
  4. The granite blocks: I originally had the TT on the concrete floor on felt pads. It sounded great. I moved it to the oak table and it lost a lot - woolly and smeared. I added the 3 x granite blocks and it made the world of difference - 90% of the floor set up. I then added the steel cones pointing up and touching the underside of the plinth, and this made it sound better than the floor. This is the way it has been for a few years. Because of this experience, I feel the 401 works best when everything is as rigid as possible.
  5. Before going the (complex) springs route, I’d really like to try something like a wall mounted table. See these brackets. Wall mounted with upward pointing spikes into say a 2" maple top plate. I’m uncertain what type of feet to add between the slate plinth and the maple. Rollerblocks?


noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,554 posts
 
@islandmandan Yes, I know that the slate will not isolate the table. I want to try the slate plinth as I believe that the birch-ply, while excellent at damping TT generated noise, is also responsible for a little smearing and subsequent loss of some detail. The relatively difficult, and frankly, cumbersome efforts to isolate the table can be ameliorated by wall mounting to concrete and keeping the structural hardware to a minimum.
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,554 posts
 
I have to admit all this springs stuff has come as a bit of a surprise. Mr. Kait and Mr. Green appear to have some interesting online correspondence. And more interestingly, an interest in Peter Belt who I remember from the 80s. Indeed, I sat in on a few black foil triangle demos. 
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,554 posts
 
Todd, looks good. Does the table not roll away?! Might be more of a challenge with my 60 pound turntable!

noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,554 posts
 
@stringreen  Agreed. The table is actually butting hard against the wall with no free movement for that very reason. I have no footfall issues. I just feel that the oak table is picking up acoustic energy and transferring it back to the plinth. That is why I want to remove it.
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,554 posts
 
On another related note, I know it's not the best to have the turntable between the speakers. If I moved it to the listening chair, wouldn't it still pick up sound? Or is it to help imaging by having nothing in between the speakers?
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,554 posts
 
Thanks Todd. I guess a smaller wall shelf as I mentioned will be an improvement over the huge table.
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,554 posts
 
When I receive the slate plinth for the AudioGrail 401 in the coming month, I’ll try it on a wall (reinforced concrete basement pour), on the concrete floor (4"), on the oak table, and on a light metal Linn style stand. My intention is to spike and tight everything possibly on granite slab. East Coast-not many tremors!
I’ll also try maple, springs and sorbothane for the hell of it. I’ll report back. [Edit: Maybe also the sandbox as suggested by @islandmandan for whom I have respect.] Thanks all.

noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,554 posts
 
I was telling my wife about the conversation and she said if we are this concerned about subsonic tremors, then we are certifiable!

noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,554 posts
 
Fun to reread this old thread from 2017. After all that, I ended up with the slate-plinthed 401 on springs. The whole lot on 3" thick maple across concrete blocks.
More to discover