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My thoughts on TT isolation methods.

I have done extensive research on isolation platforms and with help from the Audiogon community plus many hours of listening. Its not scientific and I did not measure results but here it goes. I have tried MDF board, Granite with both and alone and cork and or neoprene rubber and truck bed material as sandwich material. Granite and marble are beautiful and mass loading. It would probably be OK for a suspension loaded TT but not as good a choice for a mass loaded TT like mine. I finally invested in a 4 inch maple slab and 4 cork rubber sandwich supports that is common in industrial machine dampening. Its better and doesn't give the sound as much detail. With detail. =harshness. Its the best I have found. With less edginess and no harshness but more neutral detail. You can use 2 MDF boards which come close. Ok, if you want the absolute best for an expensive TT get an electron microscope isolation device which costs in the thousands. You could get one for a much cheaper TT but at that point you should just invest more in a TT for more bang for the buck. I think thats what Michael Fremers 100k plus Caliburn TT comes with. Look at one of his videos. The other very low cost option is a sand box. I heard a TT in one before and it sounded great but that was a 30k Clearaudio TT. I almost went with that. I thought about suspending it from the ceiling but mine is 80 lbs. I hope this helps!
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mijostyn
8,175 posts
 
You can either buy a MinusK platform (what Michael Fremer uses) or if you are clever make a hanging shelf for your table by hanging a shelf from all four corners with springs chosen to produce a resonance frequency of less than 3 Hz fully loaded. Look at the SME 30/2 and the Sota Millennium. This is a much more stable solution than placing a shelf on springs. You can dampen the springs by stuffing them with foam. 
There is no other way to completely isolate a turntable. Mass and heavy shelves do not work. Environmental rumble and footfalls will make it right through. Sota owners are notorious for striking their turntables with hammers while playing without and sonic effect. This is where it all began. The only thing wrong with this video is the dismissal of anti skate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rgK0YMsJXM  This is a must see for anyone interested in turntables. 
jperry
2,430 posts
 
Another option is a Vibraplane, which is what I use. The Minus K is effective, but more difficult to level
mikelavigne
2,143 posts
 
i use an active system under one of my turntables (you can see pictures on my system page), the Taiko Tana system, which includes the Herzan TS-140. but it does require a turntable that has zero self noise to be effective. so it won’t work for many turntables.

https://taikoaudio.com/taiko-2020/tana-150-140-active-anti-vibration-platforms/

another great choice is the Stacore platform; which does not have the balancing issues of the Minus K. it takes the Vibraplane idea and puts it on Steroids.

https://stacore.pl/en/

i have 4 turntables; one of which is on the active system. i would choose the Stacore for the others if i could spend the money. here is a link to the North American importer.

http://aaudioimports.com/ShowProduct.asp?hProduct=331
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