Damping Rega Table

It'a an un-suspended table, so the vibrations created when tapping on the base will be directly transmitted to the arm and platter. If that's your only issue, you're home free! Just stop tapping on the plinth....

However, if you have other resonance issues, try putting the table away from the speakers. If it comes down to it, trying your bitumen sheets might help, but there are a variety of sound absorbers (Sorbathane, etc) on the market that would likely do a better job. But, hey, experiment a little!

Regards
Jim

"If that's your only issue, stop tapping on the plinth..."

:)

My Teres does the same thing if I use it for a percussion instrument. Jimbo3's right, don't worry about it.

Non-suspended TT's play transients and dynamics better than (most) suspended TT's. Their inherent stability holds the tonearm and cartridge directly above the groove without waffling around. Keep the spongy damping materials away. They'll muddy the bass, dull attacks, shorten decays and generally turn your music into muzak.

If you're having a real problem, like airborne vibrations from the speakers, better spikes beneath the TT and a more massive, stable stand would be your best approach.

Thanks the responses.What kind of spikes would you recommend? I believe that Rega doesn't advise swapping out of the rubber feet.stefanl

Hi Stefanl
I had the same problem with my TT. I would walk in the room and watch the little anti-skate weight swing back and forth ever so slightly on my Music Hall mmf7.
I purchased a Target wall mounted TT shelf and the problem was solved. I can jump in the room without the TT showing any signs of movement.
I purchased mine used on Audiogon for $80.00.
Hope this helps, Rick.

"I believe that Rega doesn't advise swapping out of the rubber feet."

- Rega also advises against adjusting VTA
- they advise not to upgrade their plastic tonearm stubs
- they advise not to upgrade their poor tonearm wire
- they even advise *not* to clean your records
Call me skeptical but their advice seems a bit weird sometimes.

You haven't said what kind of problem you're trying to address. What is the source of the resonances you're trying to deal with?

If it's footfalls like Ramond had, a wall shelf and/or high mass stand is the answer. If its airborne sonics I'd check with Twl regarding spikes. He just started with Star Sound and they make a variety of highly regarded ones.

The wall mount suggestion is a great one, especially if your room is not on a slab. Try three spikes that are squat and look like cones, they can really 'drain' resonance from the plinth. You can also make a sandbox type base for it to sit on top of if you really want to get involved. Just placing a couple little baggies filled with sand on the plinth might tell you something about the effect of damping on your tt. You may enjoy all this fiddling, dont worry, its a common symptom. Have fun.

Herbie's isolation feet beneath the solid undersurface might help your problem. For more money, Aurios MIB footers under the solid undersurface, away from the built-in factory feet made magic for my turntable, but it is weird when a turntable has "floating on air" feeling while putting on a record, or manually placing the cartridge onto the record surface. Also, the use of the "Non-felt mat" helped give a clarity and solidity to my records compared to the factory record mat. Lastly, with Rega RB-300 arm, using the Titanium Heavyweight counterweight unexpectedly made the single greatest improvement in the sound of my records.

Dougdeacon, Rega also had a leaflet that said : "Listen to this."

I had a call the other day from Rega superstar,Roy,
who knows which way is up."Hello" said Roy,
who is nobody's fool.
After chewing the fat for several minutes Roy,
who doesn't beat around the bush said
"I'll come straight to the point".And he did.

To cut a long story short the upshot of it all was that Roy,
who never taught his grandmother to suck eggs,
asked me,
who knows nothing from nothing
to produce a leaflet that would be of absolutely no use
to anybody, and this is it.

Apparently punters are forever phoning him
asking for leaflets that would be of absolutely no use to anybody.
And you,dear reader,
appear to be one of them.Which just goes to show.

You see, my mate,Roy,
on whom there are no flies, has a very interesting point.
He says that it's his job to make the product as well as is humanly possible,
and the dealers job to sell it
and to look after his valued customers.
There's no answer to that,is there?

The fact is that if you pop down to your local Rega dealer,
who it must be said may well be a hundred miles away,
you can actually listen to the the thing in comfort
with any available system(even your own if you wish).
You can then judge for yourself
and you might even get a coffee.

If you can't hear why you should buy a Rega
don't buy it.

And you can't listen to a leaflet anyway.

- Rega promotional brochure from the early-80's -

Ken Lyons, you da man!!!!!!!!!

Having considered my immediate options I put together a slap-up job of a 2inch concrete slab on pointy rubber feet as an isolation platform.Should I later try sorbothane feet on this? It is quite heavy and might be too much weight.stefanl

An alternative to sorbothane feet are the ribbed rubber cork centered footers sold by Rcreations on Audiogon at a bargain $10 per set of four. Using three footers avoids wobble of the platform being supported, and you can check with this vendor if your concrete slab weight is within the capabilities of these footers.