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Springs under turntable

I picked up a set of springs for $35 on Amazon. I intended to use them under a preamp but one thing led to another and I tried them under the turntable. Now, this is no mean feat. It’s a Garrard 401 in a 60pound 50mm slate plinth. The spring device is interesting. It’s sold under the Nobsound brand and is made up of two 45mm wide solid billets of aluminum endcaps with recesses to fit up to seven small springs. It’s very well made. You can add or remove springs depending on the weight distribution. I had to do this with a level and it only took a few minutes. They look good. I did not fit them for floor isolation as I have concrete. I played a few tracks before fitting, and played the same tracks after fitting. Improvement in bass definition, speed, air, inner detail, more space around instruments, nicer timbre and color. Pleasant surprise for little money.
128x128noromance
indranilsen
113 posts
 
@noromance- A few tips on using the Nobsound springs. This unit is a clone of a much expensive item called Iso Black manufactured by a Swedish company Solid Tech. Here is the URL: https://www.solid-tech.net/isoblack/. They used to have a manual which documented the most effective layout of the springs when you are not using all 7 springs. You can download a copy of that manual from the Audio Advisor website who is one of the Solid Tech dealers in the US. Here is the link: 
https://www.audioadvisor.com/pdf/SolidTech_Isoclear_Application_Instructions.pdf.
Follow these layouts for the maximum performance.

Also be careful about putting the black rubber mat on top/bottom of the aluminum discs. In my case they added too much damping effect to the sound. You might want to try the discs w/o the black mat first and use it only if there is any audible ringing.
Hope that helps.
Thanks.

iseland's avatar
iseland
109 posts
 
Really interesting discussion,  I have experimented alot with sorbothane feets. Works well under speakers and turntable, sub , tubeamp . Think I'm gonna order some springs and compare....
Anyone else tried sorbothane ? And if what's your impression. 
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Sucks the life and dynamics. Still, has its uses. I put use a small amount in a few places to tame granite ringing. Sorbothane is in general too dampening unless maybe to tame too much hardness, etch, glare, ringing, etc.
clearthinker's avatar
clearthinker
1,582 posts
 
Just bought a spring company.
Gonna get rich !!!!!!
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,222 posts
 
Noromance, If it is bouncing less than three times a second you are fine. You can use the same springs all round but you have to locate the center of mass and place them equidistant from that point unfortunately a tricky thing to do. If you use springs of unequal rates and they do not bounce at the same speed you can create an unstable situation. Correct, in this type of situation it is difficult to hand Q the record. This is one resaon the SOTA tables are so nice. The hung suspension is inside the plinth so you can put a hand down on it. you can even rap the plinth with a hammer no problem. Designs like the SME you have to use the Q device. 
If you think this sounds better you may want to consider a carefully engineered product like the MinusK stand or the SOTA turntable. 
Many of us know for a fact it sounds better including Michael Fremer who puts his $100K turntable on a MinusK stand. he designer of that turntable now has a MinusK stand built into his turntables!
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