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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
slaw's avatar
slaw
22,608 posts
 
@tablejockey 

Some of us actually like to experiment. In the larger sense...if it weren't for experimentation, this hobby would not be anywhere near what it is today.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
If you floor is on concrete and your equipment rack is sturdy just use the maple. Wood that thick is very dead and maple is very heavy, perfect.
If your floor is not on concrete a good suspended turntable would be preferable and nothing you can do is going to isolate the table from low frequency disturbances like footfalls. Seismic activity? Are you kidding me? We have an earthquake every 5 minutes? You might as well worry about your grandmother driving through your listening room in a drag line.   
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,097 posts
 

@dmk_calgary, this coming week I am taking a 4’ x 8’ x 3/4" sheet of 13-ply Baltic Birch plywood to a cabinet maker and having him rip it into various-sized pieces (22 x 16, 18 x 15, and 16 x 12). I will then make platforms, some comprised of 1/2" granite, a middle layer of ASC WallDamp, and the Baltic Birch ply. Stiffer and harder than maple (for less "flexing"), and hopefully pretty non-resonant. I’m obviously not into "tuning", which I consider the "wrong" path to take.

AVC (Audiophile Vibration Control) offers real nice shelves constructed of two layers of 13-ply Appleply ("pretty" Baltic Birch) with outer layers of cork, but one shelf is priced as much as the cost of a 4’ x 8’ sheet of Baltic Birch plywood and the charge to rip it into pieces, four 18" x 18" granite floor tiles (I have a neighbor with a "wet" saw who offered to cut them to size for me), and the required ASC WallDamp!

three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
@bdp24 

Thanks for sharing info on AVC.  Looking at their webpage and the Isolation Blocks could be helpful under my rack feet. Pricing is reasonable.  Have you used their products before?
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,097 posts
 

No t_e_p, I was led to AVC by an Audiogoner who showed their platforms in his Virtual System pics. I’m a fan of Baltic Birch, so what’s not to like? ;-) However, I have sent two emails to AVC, neither of which has elicited a response. Not a good sign.

This is just my opinion, but I think a Baltic Birch platform (or a sandwich of BB/granite/constrained-layer damping) with a set of Townshend Audio Seismic Pods (or Machina Dynamica Springs) underneath will outperform the Symposium Acoustics Segue ISO Platform, good as it is. The reason? The Segue ISO’s design is a shelf comprised of outer skins of a very thin sheet of stainless steel, with a layer of foam between them. On the bottom of the Platform are five springs, available in two weight versions. A pretty good design some may argue, but the thinness of the ss skins and the foam between them doers not align with my notion of what makes for a good turntable (or digital player) platform. As I said, just my opinion. The design of the springs looks good, but nowhere near as sophisticated as the Townshend Pods. Plus, the Pods are offered in far finer graduations of weight/mass capacity.

And of course none of the above is as good as a Minus-K or Herzan isolation platform. But then, they aren’t priced at over two grand!

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