Can a turntable ever have enough isolation?


I have a Pioneer PLX-1000 turntable mounted with minnesota pc tech feet sitting on top of an ISO acoustics ZaZen II platform. My phono preamp and all tube preamp are on 3" maple butcher block acoustics block on spikes. The amp is on 1 3/4" Maple butcher block on spikes as well.

Thinking of trying something different under the amplifier like iso pucks or something. But anyhow on to the point I would then have a nice beefy large 1 3/4" maple butcher block I could experiment with adding to the turntable isolation. Directly under the turntable on perhaps the rubber feet on top of the ISO acoustics platform or the entire setup on top of the butcher block itself.

Appreciate any thoughts on this. Thanks.

-Chris

128x128blue_collar_audio_guy

Lewm nailed it. Anything you can do to rigidify the floor under your turntable will be a good thing - like concrete blocks wedged between crawl space floor and floor joists.

@blue_collar_audio_guy 

'And have tons of options to go through if I want to take it further according to the folks here.'

Your description of owned Sub Plinth supports for the Amps, also allows for your to try out a few alternative Sub Plinth configurations at your leisure, not needing to spend any funds.

I am familiar with the Cork - Fluted Rubber Lamination Footers and the same with Foam in place of Cork.

These when used in my environment and used on a the Sub Plinth Structure for the TT, had subdued the sound stage, an airiness and spacing was lost, the foam version was slightly more attractive over the Cork. Suspension footers correct this in my environment to a manner that I find more attractive. 

The above has proved the same when using the same materials as Speaker Footers, sat upon a Spike Supported 50mm thick Granite slab. The Pads and suspension footers have been used as footers for Floor Standing Cabinet Speakers.

The above does not rule Cork or Foam out, I use Cork in a 5mm thickness and like the impression made with some devices seated on it, It has been the most cost effective, when I use it as an isolator between a 30mm Thick Granite Shelve and a SUT.

I also use foam in different densities, a Pre-Amp' set up on its own dedicated Rack/ Plinth, excels in presentation when seated on a Sub Plinth Base, being made up of the highly compressed foam, with a Soft Porous, easy to compress foam tier that is in contact with the Pre Amp', even though it does come to rest unlevel on the rack.   

I have discovered some quite interesting outcomes about the use of different thickness materials being better in use in certain environments, I have learnt when it comes to TT's the environment is a very important consideration, there is in my experiences, not seeming to be one ubiquitous solution available when using affordable ancillaries to aid with supporting a TT. Especially ones that leaves the perception an improvement has occurred due to the mounting method in use.

The is usually a need to swap out materials and configurations of an assembly to show a change to a presentation that is seen to be an improved set up.

The recent adoption and use of Densified Wood, is looking to be getting closer to a 'suits all' material, from evaluating it use recently for Mounting other TT's in other environments.    

 

Hi OP you can never have enough Isolation 

The theory of more stuff.

Vibration isolation in audio is a subject surrounded in mystery half truths and any number of wild theories. As an engineering exercise, the explanation is quite straight foreword and may be explained by the “Theory of more stuff”.
 

Take a surface, be it the floor or a table, on which your hi fi component is placed and it is desired to reduce the vibration from the support to the equipment. The way this is done is to put “some stuff” between the equipment and the supporting surface. There are three possible outcomes.
 

1 The vibration in the equipment is more than the vibration in the support.
This is not possible as if it were; the energy crisis would be solved! More
out than what is put in. Free power forever! Unfortunately, this scenario
contradicts the first and second laws of thermodynamics, so is not
possible.
 

2 The vibration in the supported equipment will be the same as in the case of no stuff. The chances of this are one in a million because something has been changed… it may be the same, but that is extremely unlikely, therefore, the only possibility is,
 

3 The vibration will be attenuated, to a greater or lesser degree, and this is the case.
 

There are many products out there that do in fact attenuate vibration. Be it spikes on glass, wood and slate, aluminium spikes in cups, ball bearings in cups, solid plates separated by compliant sheets, lead, Bluetack, sand, marble, concrete, the list is endless. It is also known that multiple combinations of the above produce better results because there is more stuff. E.g. multiple platforms stacked really high.
 

The engineering approach is to get the best result in the simplest manner by optimizing the “stuff” and way back about two centuries ago the Victorian engineers came up with the solution…. the spring! The spring may be anything “springy”, from elastic, rubber, coiled steel, straight steel, air-bladders to flexible wooden strips. As long as it has sufficient spring or compliance, when optimised with an appropriate mass, a mechanical low pass filter is realised.

 

The ideal is to have the resonant frequency as low as is possible, ideally around 2Hz in both the horizontal and vertical planes and with a damping ratio of about 0.16. This will give an attenuation of about 25dB at 10 Hz increasing at 20dB per decade above. This will ensure excellent isolation for the deleterious audio system vibrations which are from 5Hz to 500Hz.