Nude Turntable Project

halcro,

"The fact is, the air-borne energy is not of a sufficiently low frequency (and amplitude) to be a direct consequence."

My experience was different.  My tt is placed on a shelf within an alcove along one wall and built into the walls.  The alcove is 60" wide.  Originally I had the tt at the far right end of the shelf which placed the arm/cartridge very close to a corner.  One day I happened to lean over the tt while music was playing at a moderately loud level, I was amazed by the amount of low frequency build-up I heard in that corner.

So after thinking about this I moved the tt closer to the left end of the shelf where the arm/cartridge would be near the mid-point of the length of the shelf.  That was one of those "you notice the distortion once you remove it" experiences.  The sonics were definitely cleaned up, at least noticeably in the bass range.  And so I would always avoid placing a tt in a corner, just to minimize air-borne energy.

Mechanical transmission is another story.

Interesting experience pryso......
I wonder if you've tried experimenting with placing the stylus in a stationary groove whilst slowly increasing the volume?
Does any feedback develop and if so....is it different with the turntable on the left of the alcove to when it was positioned at the far right?

Halcro,

Thanks for your very informative post. I had a similar experience with a Vibraplane, which I still use.

I have heard the Herzan is effective far beyond the Vibraplane and Minus K. Did you happen to try either of those and if so could you compare to the Herzan?

I have followed this thread and am very happy to see this great conclusion.

Best Regards,

Jim Perry

halcro,

No, I didn't try a stationary grove test.  After moving the table away from the corner the increased clarity when playing moderately loud music (I probably never exceed 90 dB, unlike some) was proof enough I didn't feel the need to test any further.  Noticeable feedback (howling) was never a problem although I assume the problem was low level feedback from the pickup being in a high pressure zone area.

Thanks for the kind words Jim,
Some think that the Herzan is an 'overkill' for our application......and at the prices for their 'active' bases, it is an option few would contemplate.
I haven't tried any other bases although I wanted to try the Minus K many years ago.
It simply wasn't suited to my isolated turntable/armpods arrangement and I concentrated on making my cantilevered supporting shelf more rigid in the meantime.
I'm sure your Vibraplane gives you most of the same improvements I've described.....
It's hard to describe all the subtle effects one can hear once ALL spurious vibrations are removed.....
Most of the records I own where the high-frequencies at times became strident and even sometimes unbearable.....are now listenable. It doesn't mean one is not aware of 'hot' recording or mastering techniques.....it just clarifies exactly what is occurring.

Glad you enjoyed the Thread Jim and thanks once again.

Regards
Henry