Turntable and Rack vibration control


Hi,
I moved from a Nouvelle Platine Verdier to a Loricraft Garrard 301. The big change with this move was that the Verdier comes with a terrific implementation of pneumatic suspension feet which kept the TT almost floating and hence great isolation from vibration. The result was always a noise/grain free playback and super clean backgrounds. With the Garrard, the plinth is typical custom made stacked birch ply with standard steel cones as footers. When placed directly on the rack the background is noisy, the images muddle up and overall music is not well sorted.

I do not expect the Garrard to be as quiet as the Verdier but I know it should not be this noisy either. In fact the Verdier also sounded noisy when I placed it directly on cones bypassing the pneumatic suspension feet. 

I use a Hutter Racktime rack which is not like an overbuilt audiophile rack. It is more like an open frame rack with lightweight supports. It is a bit like a Rega TT, not very damped or controlled. The rack has pointy steel feet which rests on brass spike plates (mine is an wooden floor). I guess this implementation is not sophisticated enough to keep away vibrations and let the TT play quietly. 

I am looking at two levels of solutions:
1. Replace the existing steel feet and brass plate with a quality vibration control footer below the rack
2. Replace the stock steel cone below the TT plinth with a better footer/platform.

I have tried Sorbothane, Squash balls kind of tweaks, while they reduce noise they slow down the music too.
I have also tried Stillpoints and Finite Elemente footers under the rack. They make the sound thin and metallic IMO. Platforms like Minus-K are too expensive so I have not considered them yet.

I am looking suggestions here, probably footers and vibration control devices that are more musically oriented yet well engineered like Shun Mook, Harmonix, SSC or something like an HRS platform ?
pani

haroon
Proof is in the Pudding!

Download free App, "iSeismometer" (three axis sensitivity), put your smartphone on turntable platter and check out different turntables, racks and isolation schemes. Play loud music, use subwoofer, bang around with your foot to simulate footfalls; see the results for yourself. You’ll be surprised to find out what really works and what is just a myth.

One problem I can think of for most if not all "seismometer" apps downloadable to mobile devices is that they rely on the accelerometer inherent in mobile devices to determine accelerations, thus determine "seismic energy" as presented on the Richter Scale which as fate would have it is energy based but not frequency based. Therefore results using sesimometer apps can be misleading, or not helpful, especially in light of the fact that almost all isolation devices have resonant frequencies of around 2.5 or 3 Hz - if they’re lucky. So, actual isolation doesn’t kick in at all until frequency gets up around say 5 or 6 Hz and doesn’t become significant until around 20 Hz, obeying a low pass filter characteristic. Which is the usual range of "seismic vibrations."  0 Hz to 20 Hz - I.e., microseismic vibration. So, in fact, you might not be able to determine the effectiveness of a given isolation device - even though it is audibly effective.

Thus, the proof may or may not be in the pudding.
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I have a SOTA Cosmos turntable which was very sensitive to footfalls in my room - carpeted with a wooden floor underlayment.  I too tried spikes and squash balls with no real improvement in sound or isolation.  I went with the Symposium Segue ISO platform and Rollerblock Jr footers.  I can now walk around the room without skipping the record, and the sound is more controlled.  You can try the platform without the footers to see the effect of each separately.  Also, this is not a crazy expensive option like HRS.  Good luck!
My footers are excellent isolators and will restore your image stability and black backgrounds. The "Record Enhancer" will further quiet things and aid dynamic contrast. 
https://www.anvilturntables.com/
Although this may not work for you - it's worth researching -  

I recently added 4 tall soft tenderfoot isolation blocks from herbies audio lab under the 4 corners of the plinth  -  as well as adding some NBneutralizer gliders under my mapleshade 5 shelf rack - for a heavily modified Linn LP12 - and I'm very happy with the results - I replaced 4 stillpoint mini's and have started using many of their other products throughout my system for vibration control 

I beleive there's a good forum dor their product on audio circle with many questions answered that somerimes don't result in pushing their own product and I've been very happy with every and any isolation product I've bought from them -  very reasonably priced - knowledgeable staff and great service -  90 day return policy on all items - so apart from shipping costs - you've got nothing to loose