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TT on Symposium Super Segue - slate or maple underneath?

I've gotten a Super Segue for my VPI Avenger. I have various things on hand I can place under the Symposium. I wasn't sure if a 3" thick maple block would work better than a 1/2" thick piece of slate. The whole thing will be sitting on top of my wooden equipment rack. I know ideally I should try both to see what sounds better, but hauling a 70+ pound TT on and off shelves for listening tests (not to mention moving a 3" thick maple block around) can be a bit of a pain. I'm hoping someone here has had some experience with what they've felt works best under a Segue, so I could try that first.
tonyptony
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
The seismic energy is not totally eliminated by devices since they are mechanical filters. So, cones are desired to prevent energy from being stored in the system, whatever that system is. Does the Symposium deal with seismic vibration? Maybe it does, but they don’t seem to address seismic vibration, so who knows? It should, since seismic vibrations are worse for the sound than induced energy.  Seismic vibration in the range 8-12 Hz excite the Fn of the tonearm, cartridge and platter.  In any case, what is required for best results is a comprehensive program of mass-on-spring vibration isolation AND energy dissipation/damping.
tonyptony OP
626 posts
 
Is thermal dissipation the same as storage?
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
It’s the opposite. 
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,087 posts
 

Geoff, the Symposium system is a trio of their Rollerblocks under the turntable (which provides isolation in all planes but the vertical), sitting on top of their Segue shelf (which is an outer skin of stainless steel with a center layer of foam. My concern with the Segue is that I'm not sure the stainless steel is thick/stiff enough), the Segue having five springs on it's underside (there's your vertical isolation).

I'm going into Crosscut Hardwoods in Portland today, to look at their birch and maple plywood. They have it in 1/4, 3/6, 1/2, 3/4, and 1" sheets, in both 4' x 8' and 5' x 5', with plies numbering from 3 to 18 (depending on thickness). Cut into shelves, with two of them having constrained-layer damping between them, should make (with roller bearings) for a killer isolation platform. Stiffer, a higher resonant frequency, and more non-resonant than a simple maple block.

fsonicsmith's avatar
fsonicsmith
978 posts
 
@bdp24 the Symposium Foundation, unlike the Symposium Osiris does not incorporate rollerblocks. I should know as I have an Osiris Ultimate for my main component rack (ARC Ref 6 preamp and Manley Steelhead) and two Foundations on either side for my two vintage tables, a modded/hotrodded TD124 and modded Garrard 301. The advice I received from some of the best minds in vintage tables is that direct vertical energy dissipation via the Foundation is superior to multiplanar energy dissipation. 
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