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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
 
@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.
tooblue
1,898 posts
 
So your cabinet wasn't ringing and you weren't seeking a fix, boy did I read that one wrong. Enjoy the music
ohlala
1,234 posts
 
Congratulations on your experiments. I had a Flexy with single-layer MDF and did not realize how bad it sounded until I changed to an Ikea Lack table as suggested a long time ago by a gentlemen who home-made for sale his own shelves. My take is the decreased weight and increased rigidity of the lack shifted the frequency modulation higher, eliminating the muddy bass. My Finite Elemente rack is similar in theory and in sound as the Lack. During that experience both home made shelf units the sense of sturdiness and weight of the racks in various iterations really had nothing to do with how good they sounded. 

I went down the vibration management rabbit hole a few years ago, doing my own casual study through physics and industrial online stuff. The marketing of of audio retail vibration management products has been generally uneducational. With some exceptions, companies fail to explain how the products work, especially over the entire frequency spectrum.  
rixthetrick's avatar
rixthetrick
1,060 posts
 
Recently I managed to get a solid piece of white marble, about an inch thick from a place that makes kitchen benches etc. They told me they often have offcuts and cutouts from the materials they use. It was very inexpensive to have them cut it to size and polish the edge for me.

I then used springs, coil springs, just like the ones an AGon seller was offering on this site. Mine were purchased when I was living overseas and are rated at 4Hz with a mass that loads them at about 50% of original height.

Metal springs are still one of the best vibration isolators, and also one of the most cost effective.
br3098
974 posts
 
All good answers above, but I think that the core problem has not been properly diagnosed. If your rack is resonating then you need to reduce the amount of energy the rack (and your turntable) are exposed to.  I'm guessing is that your rack is in between your speakers? Try moving the rack forward (away from the wall) and/or relocate the rack to one side of one speaker by at least 2'-3'. And you may try putting something absorbent on top of the shelf where the turntable sits, under the feet. Reflective surfaces can bounce low frequency energy to the TT and tonearm.

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