Turntable - On the Wall or to the Floor?


I'm in the process of buying a new analog front end. It was recently recommended to me that I make every effort to put my turntable on a stand that's tied into my "real" wood suspended floor rather than put it on a wall.

I have a 1920 farm house and the floors are loose, wavy, and I can't find a level spot. I once tried my Billy Baggs stand with my old turntable setup and this was scary.

My walls are 2x6 and plaster. I was going to use a Target shelf that's secured to the studs. Doesn't this method also tie the TT to the floor since the studs and floor joists are tied? Any suggestions?
kennythekey

Showing 2 responses by frogman

Hi Kenny:

Your situation sounds remarkably like what I went through a couple of years ago. I live in a Victorian attached house (brownstone) built in 1899 with bouncy parquet floors, and very thick plaster walls over incredibly hard wood studs. for years I dealt with turntable skipping (VPI TNT). I tried a couple of different locations on the floor of my listening room with the same resulst: fine sound, with no sign of induced feedback, but I could not walk anywhere near the table while a record was playing. I decided to mount the table on the wall to cure the problem. There really was only one wall that would be appropriate. It was, unfortunately, a non-supporting wall with a built cabinet with shelves and a door with glass panels. I mounted a Target shelf (the older style version, with the extra support bars) into the studs. It was like trying to drill into concrete; the studs were so hard. I was not worried about the studs being able to support the weight, although I did have concerns about the Target shelf itself. The installation went fine, and after two years the Target has supported the 80+ lbs with no problems. Here's the rub: the skipping problem was completely cured, but now I have to be careful about induced feedback. It turns out that the shelfs, and door of the built in cabinet vibrate like mad, and some of these vibrations are transferred to the Target via the wall studs. I would say that in this case the cure was better than the disease, but not by much. Moral of the story: be careful, and don't assume that it will be a magic bullet.

Good luck.
I would not worry about a picture on the wall, but I would be careful with any built in cabibets or closets. I disagree about spikes/cones serving to decouple the turntable from the shelf. I can induce feedback with the table on spikes much sooner (lower volume), than when placed on a compliant material such as sorbothane pucks. You are correct, the wall becomes the stand. experimentation for best isolation is the key.

Good luck.