1. Home
  2. misc-audio
  3. 197901-4633

Dealing with Vibration on 2d Floor of Home

Happy almost-Spring, A'goners!  I haven't visited in a couple years, but I'm back to ask for your help. 

By necessity, my audio room is on the second floor of my home.  I struggle mightily with vibration from my own footfalls those of others on the second floor while my turntable is playing.  Even my careful footsteps away from the turntable to my listening chair cause the turntable arm to jump.  Likewise, "normal" footsteps of other family members in the hallway or adjoining rooms cause the arm to move.  

I'm currently using a "flexyrack" with heavy 2" thick solid maple shelves. 

A couple years ago I purcahsed a Symposium platform to place under the turntable, but that only mitigated the issue caused by faint, distant footfalls.  It is ineffective against closer or heavier footfalls.  

Shy of spending $$$$ on a state-of-the-art isolation rack, is there a solution for isolating the turntable without altering the sound?  

aggielaw
bimmerlover's avatar
bimmerlover
151 posts
 

I have the same issue, tried an IsoAcoustic platform and it didn’t do much.

I then switched to a Townshend Audio Seismic platform and like @bdp24 I can highly recommend it. Their platforms are optimized based on mass, so you tell them how much your tt weighs and they tune the platform’s isolation to your particular tt.

A wall mounted platform is another potential solution, as others have mentioned but 1) it may not work for your setup in terms of reaching the turntable conveniently if mounted on a wall, 2) not everyone likes to have a turntable attached to the wall from a visual perspective rather than on a console or rack, and 3) how effective a wall mount is actually depends on your wall.

Just like floors, all walls are not born the same. 

bassbuyer's avatar
bassbuyer
880 posts
 

I dealt with a similar issue years ago.  Mounting the turntable on a shelf on the wall solved the issue.  Best of luck.  

ghdprentice's avatar
ghdprentice
9,403 posts
 

This is exactly why wall shelves were invented for turntables... fifty or more years ago. 

yyzsantabarbara
5,550 posts
 
Check out the Townshend Audio Seismic line of products. I use the Podiums for my speakers, and it is an incredible product. The podiums are vibrating like crazy, and my speakers are perfectly still. Chances are they have something for a turntable.
simonb
36 posts
 

@chayro I had my LP12 mounted on the wall under the stairs back in the day. Even with concrete floor and breeze block walls. Feedback from the bass. As you say the only way for the is wall mounting. 

More to discover