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Audio Furniture has its own sound!

I've been using a stand that I made about 12 years ago.  It's a flexi-type, with large rods, and I cut chrome curtain rods to cover the threaded rods.  For shelves, I glued two pieces of MDF together, routed the edges, and painted with stone paint.  Looks great, and it's really heavy and sturdy.  But, I got a little tired of the look.  I do think there is sound to furniture if it vibrates, but solid is solid, right?

So, I found a used Salamander Chameleon Sonoma 326.  It matches the other furniture perfectly, looks great in the room, and has a perfect amount of storage.  And, room on top for the turntable, as well as the Primaluna HP.  Makes it look like simple and elegant system.  The Salamander is very heavy, and made from solid wood. 

But, when I hooked it up, that damn Salamander rings like a bell, and that energy totally transfers to the tonearm.  I could not believe how horrible the system now sounded!  Clearly the furniture was the problem.  It was immediate, and completely ruined the sound.   I think part of the issue is that it has a metal frame beneath the wood, and the sides seem to cause the metal frame to vibrate and ring.

Now, I'm on an adventure to see if I can fix it.  My plan is 2 inch thick maple platform with vibrapods under the platform.  A platform for the amp, a separate one for the TT, and vibrapods under the phono preamp.  I have used an old tabletop from Ikea (it's honeycomb inside, and good dampener) with rubber feet, and it's helped a lot.  But, I can still tell this vibrates slightly.  I don't think it transfers much to the tonearm, but I'm still getting the maple platform.

I'm posting this because I've done some research oil Salamander as a TT stand, but didn't find much.  So, now you know... buyer beware!


128x128soundermn
soundermn's avatar
soundermn OP
344 posts
 
I posted my experience so that others who wonder about this topic would have something to consider.  If I listen to you crazies, this is what I should do:
- $650 for aluminum balls under a platform
- $400 for a 4 inch maple platform
- Or $750 for the Gingko Cloud (looks interesting, actually)
- another $650 for aluminum balls under the stand
- $1500+ for a SOTA turntable
- engineer my own stand that is heavy and works well.  Oh, wait, already did that!  

LOL.  I'm going to try the maple platform and vibrapod setup.  If that doesn't work, I will go back to my own rack and call it a day.  I can sell the Salamander for the $400 I paid.  I bought it because I like how it looks... but if it kills the sound, it's gotta go.  I can't invest $1000 to fix a $400 stand.

You guys are just trying to make me spend my money!  :-)
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
The resonant frequencies Fr of the platter, tonearm and cartridge are all circa 8-12 Hz, so they get excited by, you guessed it! - very low frequency seismic type vibration coming up from the floor that interfere with the audio signal. So, you need something under the table - an iso system - with a very low resonant frequency, say around 2 Hz, to be able to significantly attenuate the frequencies 8-12 Hz since the iso device acts as a 6 dB/octave filter. Hel-loo!
photon46
1,082 posts
 
Geoffkait makes an important point. One of the last instructions for the sandbox construction is to make sure that supporting feet have a very low resonant frequency so that the whole affair oscillates at 1-3 cycles per second. Rather than using racquetballs as the author of the "how-to" suggests, I experimented with various durometers of silicone to get  squishy feet I could cast with the same characteristics. 
tooblue
1,927 posts
 
So you post a problem,  people respond with their answers and you label them as the ones that are crazy. Just sayin
soundermn's avatar
soundermn OP
344 posts
 
@tooblue Actually, I didn't post a "problem" and I wasn't asking for solutions.  I was sharing an experience, and my plan to deal with it.  People chimed in with hundreds/thousands of dollars in "fixing it".  Fact is, we are all crazy in this hobby.  But, my intended solution is $60 in vibrapods and cones, and a nice $60 2 inch maple platform sourced locally.

@geoffkait While I understand that the Salamander will still resonate, my floor is carpet over concrete.  The floor doesn't resonate.  But, I have ordered an isolation platform for the TT, as well as the other gear.  I'm just not spending $750 on each of those platforms.

@photon46 I think you, me and @hdm were all typing at the same time. I hear you, and it makes sense.  But, I think that if I have to go to that much effort to fix a resonance in the stand, then I'm using the wrong stand. Especially considering I have one (less aesthetically pleasing) that works without so much effort.
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