Turntable Platform - What do you place your TT on


I am in that stage of my analogue expedition where I find the weakest link in my vinyl chain is the platform on which my TT is placed. I currently use a simple coffee table like furniture to keep my TT on. My TT is a Nouvelle Platine Verdier and as I see it, it is quite sensitive to the platform it is placed on. I suppose most TTs are like that.

My TT was acquired only few months back and I do not have any rack space for it so I placed it on a wooden furniture near my system. The sound is slow and woolly :-(. I tried placing a TAOC sound creation board between the TT and the furniture, this improved the sound quite a bit but still the immediacy, springiness, transparency that this TT can do is not yet there. I then tried inserting a Finite Element ceraball and that really got things going. Great transparency, speed and immediacy albeit at the cost of lean, hard tones.

These small experiments leads me to believe that the platform for the turntable is extremely crucial to make it perform anywhere close to its potential. More crucial than cables and power conditioning IMO.

The questions that I am trying to answer is:
1. Is it a wrong approach to try variety of platforms on top of a coffee table ? Do I need to invest on a dedicated rack to sort this out ?

2. Can I solve this problem within a budget of $1k ?

The rest of my chain is:
1. RCM Sensor Prelude Phonostage
2. Naim CD5X + Flatcap2
3. Naim Nait 5i integrated
4. Tannoy Turnberry SE speakers

Thanks a lot for your advice.
pani

Showing 6 responses by pani

Wall mount is not an option for me because currently I am not in my native country and live in a rented place. I will be here for couple of years so I am looking for a rather effective solution.
I should have mentioned thus before, my floor is concrete, not wooden. So anyway I don't have footfall issues.
My TT is not a suspension less design, the whole TT rests on a pneumatic suspension.
Has anyone tried hard solid wood like Ebony platforms on top of a generic AV rack. I am trying to understand how important is the rack itself compared to the platform on which the TT rests.
Has anyone tried out this platform:
http://www.acoustic-revive.com/english/underboard/rhb-20.html

This is quite affordable, comes from a reputed "tweaker" company and seems functional. Anyone aware of this product ?