Isolation for turntable


I have been thinking alot lately about isolation componants for my TNT JR. Have looked at Bright Star big rock/ air mass and Symposium products. Just wandering what your guys would recomend and also other manufactures that might compare to these. Thanks David
cylinderking_1
I use a Signal Guard II isolation platter, which has spiked feet, and Aurios Pros under each spike. The isolation is almost total. Same for my SACD player/CD transport.
I would say that if you can do without any soft isolation products, you would be better off without them. I feel that they compromise bass and dynamics. If you are not getting any feedback or having problems associated with such vibrations, don't use any isolation. IMHO.
Highly recommend the symposium sheves and rollerblocks. if your tt is not suspended the best (letting th turntabe doing its thing) was a Target wall shelf and Ultra shelf and rollerblocks. the more symposium I get the happier I am with my system!
Twl I am not getting any feedback at all even in high listening levels, so if I read between the lines you feel this would add no value to the dynamics. The reason I am thinking about this is I have a salamander synergy 40 w/ 30 extention for amp pre amp and source equ. TNT sits on a salamander synergy tv-30 looks just like the other but has a huge top, I just thought a little more weight may help dampen it a little better Thanks for all imput on this issue. David
My TT is nowhere near in the league of yours, but my shelf is similar: a Synergy Twin 40, with the TT placed on the double-width top shelf. These racks don't really qualify as primo TT support, to say the least - of course they have their other virtues, relatively speaking, but although not horrible by any means (especially compared to Salamander's Archetype series), the adjustable frame is far from maximally rigid, and the MDF-core shelf is fairly resonant. In my system, I use a Symposium shelf placed underneath the Technics SL-1200 'table, supported by four FoculPods soft sorbothane footers sitting on the rack shelf. This has worked well for me, but my TT's built-in suspension presumably is not as effective as yours. With this arrangement, physical energy inputs to the rack's frame or the shelf are greatly attenuated when felt at the Symposium, but I have honestly never sonically compared this set-up to placing the TT directly on the rack shelf. Although I don't think you can really go wrong using some kind of non-resonant shelf, such as the Symposium or one of the others, you may also have to experiment placing it on hard footers like cones in order to avoid excessive motion resulting from multiple soft suspensions. But whether you'll get an audible improvement over your non-problematic current set-up, probably only trying something out for yourself will tell.
David, all of my experiences have shown that the less "soft" material under the TT, the better. Preferably none. Hard materials that control vibration would be preferable to soft in a TT application. I strictly steer away from rubber, springs, air bladders, sorbothane, and the like in my personal TT support. I have always found rigid stands with good solid direct coupling to the floor have always served me better, especially in terms of bass and dynamics. Different people have different needs and tastes, but that is what I have concluded. It was better on all my different kinds of TTs, in different houses and rooms. However I don't play at 117db, so that could make a difference. Up to 108db, I have found no ill effects from this type of setting.

As far as adding more weight to the stand, that would be individual to the turntable in question. It will certainly change the vibration characteristics of the stand, and it may be better or may be worse. My guess that with a TNT it might be a little better to have more weight, but I'm not certain about it.
I agree with Twl on this, even though I still use the custom table-base I designed for my TNT. It features 3" square metal tubing feet, filled with sand and stand on cones. They support a 2" high density board on top of which I placed 4 inner tubes from wheel barrel source. On top of the tubes there is another 2" board with black melamine. On top of which I have placed all my maple bases on my newly designed TT. (see, " VPI redisigning experiment").
My advisor, Pierre Sprey of Mapleshade, from whom I ordered the maple boards, feels that Sand, metal, air bladders etc, degrade the sound, he has found that components sound most natural when they stand on solid blocks of maple. The cones he uses are either solid brass feet or the ones made from layers of cork and ribbed rubber, ( pardon the expression!)
I tend to agree with him and Twl. I will take out that heavy air bladder table I have under my TT, as soon as I can. I will keep the heavy feet but I will place a butcher block from maple on them and then the solid maple bases of my new TT.
I second Twl & Tphalieros' advice for rigid base, no soft items under the TT.
One a/market shelf that can do the job (is rigid and efficient in vertical vibration control) is the Neuance, mentioned above. But again the principle is the same: rigid base, lightweight if it's standing on a hard floor...
Of course, those advocating the totally rigid approach to TT support are also presumably disinclined to prefer an integrally-suspended TT at all, including the TNT Jr.'s own self-damping compressed-elastomer based system - which is apparently correctly pre-tuned to do the job it seems to be working fine at in David's set-up. As I said above, I wouldn't necessarily recommend adding any additional compliant support to his TT, especially since he reports no feedback problems as is.
check out this earlier thread...
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1046040392&openusid&zzSlipknot1&4&5#Slipknot1