While the rack should provide isolation, you might want to check the tubes in your phono preamp and see if you can identify and replace the one(s) that are so microphonic.
Artesania rack
Hi,
I use artesania krion platform on top of two shelves exoteryc rack. When tapping on the krion (with turntable removed) there is a metallic ringing sound that is heard from speakers. It comes from my tube phono preamp which stands on the lower position of the rack. Same exactly sound is produced when tapping directly on the phono preamp. But this should not happen. Krion turntable platform is considered to be isolated from the inner structure of artesania exoteric rack.
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- 6 posts total
Tubes are microphonic. Depending on tube type and gain you may or may not ameliorate the problem by changing tubes until you find some less microphonic samples. Take a pencil with an eraser at one end, and gently tap each tube in your phono stage with the eraser end. That will tell you which ones of those tubes are responsible for the noise. You can then concentrate on finding quieter versions of that tube. Tube dampers are certainly in order and might be very effective to eliminate this problem. I don’t know what tube damper work best among the very many available on the market. |
It is on the bottom but there is more than enough space above. |
Isolation from a rack (or platform, or feet) is never 100% effective. There are always tradeoffs with what kinds of energy it’s designed to handle, where the energy is allowed to come from, and how the rack handles it (i.e. route it elsewhere or try to dissipate). Tapping the rack is generally NOT a good simulation of the kinds of energy your rack encounters during playback. What you describe, as @lewm pointed out, sounds like a classic microphonic tube. It can be very tricky to select quiet tubes in a phono stage - besides microphonics they may have too much hisssss (noise floor) or make intermittent whistling sounds, rustling leaves, pings, pops, etc. Tapping around is good for finding out microphonic tubes, at least. When you have a microphonic tube, I have found that NO amount of fancy platforms or tube dampers will help enough. You should look for a quieter tube (or a quieter component!). You also have to get used to the fact that all tubes are microphonic by nature, and learn what is an acceptable amount in your phono and preamp slots. I once had a preamp with so many 6H30 with so much net gain (and downstream high sensitivity too), that when playing loud I could hear the trademark 6H30 "tinnnnng" ringing from the tubes between notes or at the start of pauses. Even with very carefully selected tubes. THAT was not an acceptable level of microphony! |
- 6 posts total