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Tuntable not working with wood floors..Help

Moved into a new (old) house, with wood floors and it is giving me a huge headache. I have my AR Turntable sitting on top of my rack, and it is absolutely unplayable. You can not even tip toe through the room with out the needle bouncing out of control. I placed a bike tube and a piece of glass underneath it, and it helped, but its still not playable. Here's what I need to know. 1) Would a new table help? The AR is set up so the platter and the arm float on the same suspension (which appears to be very loose), would a TT with a different design help/solve my problem. 2) If not the table, what can I do to get this thing to work? I am in college so $ is very slim (I am talking Ramen and Keystone slim). I don't think my landlord would be happy about mounting it on the wall, but I may take that chance if it comes to it. All advise is much appreciated!
azavguys
restock
831 posts
 
Hanging from the ceiling is not only a cost effective solution to your problem, but also a superb isolating technique. The only vibrations that get feed back into the turntable are airborne, but they do not couple very well with self/turntable unit.

What if someone lives above you? The main problem is that you will get the floor vibrations from above. You can avoid walking around in your apartment when playing music, but you can't tell the above neighbor not to. Also, the higher the floor the worse probably the suspension of the floor.

If you have nobody living above your place then of course you can go ahead.

Also, another warning: If supporting the floor from underneath with jacks, do not tighten the jacks too much. Even a little pressure from below might result in tears in the house walls; so be careful.

Addding mass is always a possibilty: cinderblock from Homedepot are a very cheap solution. Add some sorbothane between layers of cinderblocks and concrete tiles and you should be ok.

Good luck!

Rene
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
Your problem is not caused by vertical travel. The problem has to do with horizontal travel resulting from your tables suspension responding to floor deflection. An unsuspended table will not be affected as greatly and can be buffered more easily because there is no suspension to exacerbate floor movement. You might very well find an old direct drive (the more massive the better) at a yard sale or a pawn shop. Another approach might be to advertise for a straight up trade of your turntable for a Technics 1200 or such. And the posters who suggested adding mass are right to make that suggestion. It will help even more with an unsuspended table.
rbirke
144 posts
 
Such complicated solutions!

Go to a place that sells marble and granite countertops, and get a slab that they cut out for a sink in a kitchen. Get a nice thick one -- 1.5 or 2 inches. If where you are is anywhere like here (Portland Oregon) you'll be able to get a nice piece for less than $20.

Plop that baby on a low sturdy table and put your tt on top of that. It's almost as good as a concrete floor.

Then, once you have the $, get a Mana support. They work wonders for Linn LP-12's and the AR is quite similar.
dgarretson
2,597 posts
 
I have old sprung floors in my house. I don't care how much you mass load the joists from the top (I have used up to 600lbs.), you cannot eliminate vibration passed from feet or from the main speakers into the TT. Corner placement can reduce vibration significantly. Any adverse effects from standing waves in the corner is minimal in comparison to the improvement gained from a solid footing. If you have access to the basement below, shore up the joists with 4x4s and jacks.
azavguys OP
1 posts
 
Thanks to everyone for all the ideas. After realizing that the room I am in was added on, and one of my walls is concrete, I decided to mount the table on the wall. Got some brackets, 2 pieces of 5/8" MDF and some foam to place between them from Home Depot for under $30. Had the shelf installed in under an hour, placed the turntable on top, started playing, and its absolutely fantastic!! You can jump rope in front of the table and the needle doesn't move an inch. I could not be happier with this set up, I know I lucked out. Thanks again for all the advise!
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