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Are You Sorbothane Experienced?

I couldn't find any discussions on user experiences with sorbothane isolation feet, so decided to start one. I recently purchased a set of 4 40mm sorbothane feet for my Music Hall mmf-5 turntable. 
Setup was less than favourably a one-man affair, so it was a rather precarious endeavour.

One thing that adds to the difficulty of what I imagined would be an entirely straightforward installation, is the fact that the sorbothane feet easily distort under the slightest off-centre loading. That means you have to adjust them incessantly  at both top and bottom contact points until you miraculously have all 4 perfectly vertically loaded perpendicular to your turntable's factory feet as well as your shelf. In my case the shelf is by Salamander.

Once you've managed all this and justifiably rather pleased with yourself, guess what? Your turntable may or may not be level as it was prior to the installation. So, level the TT at the shelf rather than at the adjustable feet, as are standard on the MH, because adjusting the feet would upset those super squishy sorbothane isolation pucks. 

The listening verdict: I honestly can't say that I can hear any difference during before & after playback of Jimmy Cliff's Wonderful World, Beautiful People.

I'm curious to learn of your experiences, if any. Cheers!
avdesigns
team212
250 posts
 
Audio quest made some squishy S' feet ages ago

--thank heaven they disappeared--meh!

The really only decent use/misuse of the dreaded Sorbothane was the

Mission Isoplat---if you can find them--they are worth trying

D
mains
170 posts
 
if you want to completely isolate your TT from its surroundings down to at least 4hz i would check out a Townshend audio seismic isolation platform they, come in various sizes and can be built for the exact weight of the equipment it would be supporting and can be leveled once the TT has been successfully placed on top of it. if the platform is out of your budget take a look at the Townshend audio seismic pods you can use 3 or 4 and they are also adjustable so leveling your TT is very easy , theres been some great reviews in the uk regarding the seismic isolation products , the seismic podiums are platforms designed for you speakers to be placed on the results are absolutely incredible .  
mains
170 posts
 
sorry my experiences with Sorbothane have always been negative , even when i tried the clearlight audio RDC 4 cones with the sorbothane layer i found it kills the dynamics of the music , but if you wish to try it look out for a set of clearlight audio RDC 4 cones I prefer the RDC 1.2 cones with bases around 50gbp for a set of 4 no sorbothane in them or theres a German company called BFLY they build platforms using different layers of various materials and sorbothane is one of them , the do a 3 platform range i think which can all be leveled and they also sell isolation feet using the multi layer various material idea , i have tried the probase two around 500gbp i found the results a mixed bag so i didnt buy but your situation may be different good luck
wolf_garcia
6,722 posts
 
My relatively ancient Linn Basik table has huge hollow rubber "feet" that really do the job as far as keeping unwanted vibes out of the thing. There's a sub near it and it has no idea. You can't adjust them for height but miraculously the table it's on is level.
old_scribe
5 posts
 
I did hundreds of tests a few years ago that included sorbothane. I was inspired to try Sorbothane by Chris Orchard's positive experiences designing the excellent, but long gone, Rivelin Eclipse turntable (loved by malcolm Steward). Here are some of the results:
http://www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/vibra_iso_pt1_e.html
http://www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/vibra_iso_pt2_e.html
http://www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/vibra_iso_pt3_e.html
http://www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/vibra_iso_pt4_e.html
http://www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/vibra_iso_pt6_e.html
I don't test sorbo specifically in these tests as my sorbo sheets were not an audio product. The unnamed devices in the test were RDC cones and Deflex blobs, which they did not want reviewing; RDC were comprehensively beaten by PolyChrystal and Deflex blobs were slightly behind Isonodes. My findings were mixed for sorbothane, useful as a big sheet (reduced horizontal compliance, but excellent damping) and as a sheet under a brick on top of a component (but not as good as Isonodes in same place). See picture at top of this article to see how far you can go
http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/aaaa5_e.html
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