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Damping the analogue "setup"

Friends,
I am fighting this issue for the last 1 year or so with my TT setup. I am a beginner in analogue playback but I use some decent equipments to play music. My setup is:
Nouvelle Platine Verdier
Naim ARO Tonearm
Lyra Skala cartridge
RCM Sensor Prelude phonostage

All the equipments are placed on wooden rack (made of Ebony) with spikes. The problem is, the overall sound can vary vastly from lean-strident to round-warm very quickly based on what kind of spike base I use underneath the rack. A typical metal (aluminium, steel, brass) spike base makes the sound lean and fast to an extent where it really bites. Whereas using a softer metal (cast iron) or rubbery/woody substance below the rack makes for a slow and boring sound.

It is not just the turntable that reacts so severely but also the phonostage. Placing the phonostage on a softer or a more damped isolation footer immediately reduces the grit in the sound. I do not hear such drastic reactions from my preamp or power amp. My guess is, the complete analog front end needs some level of damping. How do you go about it ? How do you choose the platform that will support the turntable setup firmly so that the sound doesnt lose its energy but still damp it adequately ?

For the moment (thankfully) my ARO is an un-damped unipivot designed to work without any damping fluid.
pani
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
Yes, cork works very well. If u buy a roll of it (very inexpensive) you may need to double it into 2 layers.

If you want to try some excellent isolation feet, try Herbie's Big Tall Tenderfeet. I have them under all my components including TT.

http://herbiesaudiolab.net/compfeet.htm
pani OP
1,219 posts
 
The short sweet answer is.......get the turntable off the floor and onto a wall-mounted shelf.
The structure-borne feedback in the suspended floor will continue to haunt you if you dally with stands, spikes, feet etc.

My floor is not suspended. It is concrete floor with hard wood flooring.

Well, for one thing, ebony resonates like a bastard, so you are kind of fighting the rack, as it were.

Isnt it true that Ebony is one of the most preferred exotic wood for audio related accessories ? Many TT manufacturer (including my own) suggest building tonearm board using Ebony. It is also a preferred wood on many wood based tonearms like Reed and Schroder, isnt it ? I thought it should be a good one to be used as rack material too.

Try the rubber between your stand and the floor . Put a sheet of cork under your TT and phono stage . Go back to the original factory feet for your TT and try again . Then , try the different footers under the TT if needed . Easy and cheap to try , the cork sheets should only be a few bucks for a pkg.

I will definitely give that a try.

The question is, is adequate damping of turntable, cartridge and phonostage really that difficult to achieve ? How does one really go about it ?
manitunc
795 posts
 
If the purpose is to dampen unwanted resonances then it is not that hard to achieve adequate damping. However, it is possible to overdampen, which results in a dead sounding system. the notes are all there, but the sparkle is gone. think of walking in water as opposed to air. You are still walking, but everything is in slow motion. Over damping can have the same effect. Some materials have a greater damping effect at certain frequencies, so if you start to overload damping at those frequencies, you can create an imbalance.
Hopefully you are starting with a system that is not in dire need of damping, and you are just trying to tweek for maximum performance. Try playing a white noise test track into one of the recording programs and see if there are any peaks in the response at certain frequencies. That will give you an idea of what you might need to address. there are different solutions for different frequencies.
mikewerner
119 posts
 
Try putting some squash balls from your local sporting goods store under the turntable resting up against the plinth. The feet of the table still need to rest on the stand but the balls squished between the table and stand absorb and turn to heat a lot of vibrational energy.
halcro's avatar
halcro
2,664 posts
 
Is your concrete floor on the ground or is there a room under it?
If it's not on the ground.....it is suspended.
Having a timber floor on top of the concrete can introduce many of the problems of suspended floors as well.
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