Nude Turntable Project

Henry, thanks for continuing to update us with your trials. Material choice can be tricky and I believe there are some misconceptions about benefits.

Years ago I read advice to try a marble cutting board for placement under a turntable. I'm not sure how marble measures up against granite but when I checked out the recommended marble I found a knuckle rap produced an audible reaction, almost a ringing.

I've read that Corian includes chips of aluminum and it too can ring, pitch being dependent on how much aluminum.

Brass of course is also utilized to produce church and tower bells so I think shape and thickness must be critical there too.

I've also read that slate, being a sedimentary material, is actually layered so good at dissipating energy, whereas stones such as granite and marble, being more solid, do not reduce energy as well but simply transfer it.

They may not be as dense but I go back to thinking of certain hardwoods which have been traditionally selected in instrument making. At least their energy transfer (vibrations) are sympathetic with musical tones.

@Mr P- There are, "metallic" Corian colors available, that(in order to be, "metallics) contain aluminum flakes. No other Corian contains aluminum(or any other metal). I've been using Corian for a couple decades and there is no resonance or ringing, at all. Regardless of how it's suspended/mounted, however one attempts to get it to ring or resonate, it will not. It's dead within the audio spectrum. If struck; One thud will be all you'll get. Free samples are readily available from distributors, that the OP can experiment with.

Henry, At the risk of beating a dead horse and mixing metaphors (because the horse has left the barn), have you ever seen the finish on the Saskia and other turntables made and sold by Mosin (Win Tinnon)? He (and OMA, as well) obtain a beautiful smooth black finish on slate by means of treating the material with certain finishes. Also, they start with Pennsylvania slate, which has a unique near-black color to begin with. I borrowed Mosin's ideas in finishing off my own slate plinths (made for Lenco, Denon DP80, and SP10 Mk3).

Corian might be ideal. What about the material used by Kenwood which people call faux marble. It's ARCB - Anti-Resonance Compression Base. It makes up the plinth of the KD500, 600, and is used in the L-07D.
Contrary to popular belief, it's a mixture of ground limestone and polyester resin. I imagine you could add liquid acrylic pigment for the color of choice.

I think this could be sculpted like clay or put in a mold. You might find the best solution is a combination of materials - resonances tend to cancel.

Thanks for all the feedback guys....😃
Corian unfortunately is a lightweight in the density scales (1.7g/cm vs 3.0g/cm for granite/slate).
It seems many of you think the material of this 'cradle' will have an effect on the sound?
I hope you're wrong...🙏🏽
If I were to physically 'bond' the turntable to the granite, I'd be inclined to agree with this thought but I intend to simply 'rest' the table on three rubber pads just like those on the steel cradle.
I have experimented greatly with differing methods and materials in the support of this turntable.
I have also recently bought for my son, a Victor TT-71 factory mounted in a heavy wood plinth and compared the sound in detail to my 'nude' mounting.
Whilst the superb drive and timing of the Victor decks is untouched by the coupling to the heavy wood, there is a very slight (but inoffensive) colouration to the overall palette which is absent from the 'nude' mounting.
There is little doubt that there is truth to the theories of resonances in materials and the effects of combining dissimilar materials to mitigate these resonances.
I have my theories regarding the pervasive evil of structure-borne feedback in the turntable loop of analogue audio and the methods for handling it.......and I'm putting my theories to the test...👅

I'm not a believer Pryso, in the relationship between the 'ringing' of a material when struck and its performance in resonance dissipation and absorption. Polystyrene beats most materials in the 'ringing' test but is not ideal as a plinth material. And yes....I've tried it 😎

This exercise is not about developing a plinth for my 'nude' DD Victors.
The sound of the 'nude' Victors is unsurpassed in my listening experiences.
This is about adding mass to my turntable support to prevent it sliding on its supporting shelf.
If there are any detrimental sonic changes....including colourations....the 'cradle' will be back...💥