Turntable and Rack vibration control


Hi,
I moved from a Nouvelle Platine Verdier to a Loricraft Garrard 301. The big change with this move was that the Verdier comes with a terrific implementation of pneumatic suspension feet which kept the TT almost floating and hence great isolation from vibration. The result was always a noise/grain free playback and super clean backgrounds. With the Garrard, the plinth is typical custom made stacked birch ply with standard steel cones as footers. When placed directly on the rack the background is noisy, the images muddle up and overall music is not well sorted.

I do not expect the Garrard to be as quiet as the Verdier but I know it should not be this noisy either. In fact the Verdier also sounded noisy when I placed it directly on cones bypassing the pneumatic suspension feet. 

I use a Hutter Racktime rack which is not like an overbuilt audiophile rack. It is more like an open frame rack with lightweight supports. It is a bit like a Rega TT, not very damped or controlled. The rack has pointy steel feet which rests on brass spike plates (mine is an wooden floor). I guess this implementation is not sophisticated enough to keep away vibrations and let the TT play quietly. 

I am looking at two levels of solutions:
1. Replace the existing steel feet and brass plate with a quality vibration control footer below the rack
2. Replace the stock steel cone below the TT plinth with a better footer/platform.

I have tried Sorbothane, Squash balls kind of tweaks, while they reduce noise they slow down the music too.
I have also tried Stillpoints and Finite Elemente footers under the rack. They make the sound thin and metallic IMO. Platforms like Minus-K are too expensive so I have not considered them yet.

I am looking suggestions here, probably footers and vibration control devices that are more musically oriented yet well engineered like Shun Mook, Harmonix, SSC or something like an HRS platform ?
pani
I agree with Glen. Granite and metal cones. Rigidity is where it's at with a Garrard. I too tried softer items on the platform and I could tell the difference between oak/cinder/brick/concrete/granite with granite being superior.

I wonder if the TT sits on a granite stone with a set of metal cones between them, wouldnt it cause the sound to harden up ? I mean, wouldnt the vibrations that reflects back from granite would also make things harder and harsher ?
Granite and cones is a little bit different story than a rigid rack. In the case of granite or say bluestone, it’s less expensive sibling, it’s really all about stiffness and harness, which are more desirable attributes than rigidity for isolation. You know, hardness for speed of dissipating energy from the system and the (stiff) granite slab to isolate against bending forces. There is also inertia benefit due to sheer mass of granite slab. Never take anything for granite. To improve upon the granite and cones place another slab of granite on top of springs on top of the first slab of granite, completing the Trifecta!

If you plan to use a slab of granite or hardwood, the problem you are up against is that the material does have a resonant signature even if 6 inches thick. This is why the platforms I have are composed of a sandwich that also employs a steel part. That makes the structure very stable (much harder to shatter) and the steel robs energy from the other materials as they do from it, creating an anti-resonant structure. Add to that the constrained damping layer (material available from EAR, a well-known damping materials supplier) and then you have a much more neutral damping mechanism.
Actually granite won’t resonate or ring if it’s thick enough under normal conditions unless struck with a hammer or wrench. So my advice is don’t strike it with a hammer or wrench while music is playing and you’ll be alright. And if the granite slab is up on springs so much the better since the granite will then be isolated 99.99% from anything from the floor that could possibly make it ring. Besides the resistance to bending forces outweigh any risk of ringing. That's why the big boys like Newport and TMC use granite slabs on their uber expensive isolation platforms.