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In praise of isolation.

Isolation as in components, not personal.

(although, that’s not necessarily bad either)

There has been much praise, and discussion on the forum with regards to spring isolation.

Well, all this praise, caused me to look into how to approach this for myself.

I like to try things before I pass judgment on an idea.

The whole coupling/decoupling thing has been of interest to me for a while.

I get the desire to couple (yeah, I know,,,) as it plants the gear firmly in the ground, and if the base is heavy enough and made of a material that absorbs vibrations, you should be golden.

Then there is the problem of 7.83hz. Nope, not audible, but that doesn’t matter. Anyone who has used a test record to check for tonearm resonance can see quite clearly how an 8hz frequency can make the tonearm shake like a belly dancers belly.

So, decoupling. Springs made logical sense. Except, there was the problem of vintage turntables with their springy/bouncy top plates/platters. That just didn’t seem right.

I made an isolation platform and put springs underneath it. Figured out the proper spring rate and ordered 4 springs to support the 90lbs sitting above them. 
It’s crazy the clear and obvious difference it made. For the nominal price of $100 for the 4 industrial springs, the sonic improvements were off the charts! When coupling, and making changes to the materials used under the TT, and the types of feet used, there was a difference with the clarity of the highs, their brightness and with the bottom end being muddy or lacking depth.

With the springs however, the whole presentation opened up. Everything sounded better, clearer and more defined. Faster, less shrill and I could go on.

Not only am I divorced, but I’m a firm believer in decoupling.

(see what I did there?)

Damned 7.83hz…
perkri
phcollie's avatar
phcollie
342 posts
 
Hmmm. When it comes to components, vibration can really not be helpful so why not? I splurged on some super high end ultra high fidelity practice foam hockey pucks placed under some regular hockey pucks for all the components. The Subs have the nicer svs decouplers mounted.
They do let a bit more air move around. I have to say, Yes Alex, I will take isolation for 500. (RIP)
ebm
9,311 posts
 
Sounds great try Critical Mass 2M 1 1/2 inch feet for a real improvement.
sns
3,347 posts
 
Try hanging everything from the ceiling. Assuming you have strength from ceiling mounting, every piece of equipment may benefit. Previously, did this with cd players, amazing! I've heard of people hanging speakers with great results, TT's? I'd  try with every piece except having to drill many holes in ceiling, wish I had exposed joists.

My phono stage is on the Nobsound springs, will try on other pieces, although I'm content with present isolation system.
perkri OP
909 posts
 
Love the hockey pucks :)

I made some wooden donuts and put street hockey balls in the holes and placed under my speakers. The weight was sadly too great for the balls, but I wil, be putting some industrial springs under them when I get around to placing another order for springs.

The critical mass pods look very interesting, thanks for that.

And I had considered using extension springs instead of compression springs and hang the platform that way. Damping the bounce was going to be more challenging I figured.
mitch2
4,070 posts
 
Good for you - I am glad it worked out.  Not everyone is willing or capable of doing the work necessary to figure that stuff out.  Fortunately there are commercial solutions that work well too.  Did you do anything to damp the springs?  If not, you might try encasing them with somewhat loosely shrunk, thin-wall, non-adhesive, heat shrink; or placing a chunk of soft foam inside of each spring.  If you try the heat shrink, use a nail set to put a couple of small holes in the side of the heat shrink to prevent an air lock inside the spring.  See my system page for a pic of the heat shrink casing with holes.
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