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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
perkri OP
909 posts
 
@audiopoint 

I have tried many different styles of supporting (mostly) my TT. As I stated above, I could tell the difference in varying spike materials and the “feet” they go into. (Wood/steel/aluminum - with and without sorbothane) and none of the cone combinations  gave me the open sound, with better dynamics and clarity like the spring/roller block combo.

im not saying springs/isolation devices are for everyone, but they have shown a marked improvement over anything I have previously tried. Granted, I have never purchased any high end spikes, and would of course be open to a listening comparison. And it should be mentioned that there are spikes in my set up. Sorbothane>aluminum disc>Spikes > board>springs>sand filled block>roller blocks>turntable. The spikes are mainly used for the purpose of being able to level the rig and to have as small a contact point to the rack as possible.
tonywinga's avatar
tonywinga
844 posts
 
I isolated my amplifiers yesterday in the same fashion as my speakers.  I put the same four springs on butcher blocks as on my speakers.  Since my amps weigh 100 lbs apiece the resonance point shifts up just a couple tenths of a Hz.  The sound itself didn’t change but I started hearing more detail.  It’s both good and bad.  On digital music now the music decays forever.  It is especially noticeable on Chorale music.  Some digital songs that had a black background before now I can hear some noise deep down.  It’s ambient noise but also even quiet cable hum.  The bad is the extra detail distracts from the music at times.  One song had a quiet buzz off to the right.  I thought a tweeter was going.  Turned out to be the recording.  It took me a while to relax again.  
mitch2
4,080 posts
 
@tonywinga - maybe try some softer springs under the amplifiers.  Run them in the mid range or maybe a little softer.  I had good luck with springs under my modified DNA-1s and only switched because I sort of fell into a nice pair of SRA stands that I had custom configured for the DNA amps.
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,195 posts
 
My experience with springs begins to be optimal ONLY after heavy load damping of the speakers and the use of 8 springs boxes for each speakers under the very  FINE TUNED load, using  100 gram  weight variation   apoproximation at the end  for my ears ...
bjesien
1,337 posts
 
I have a tube integrated sitting on an Ethan Allen stand. It's in our living room and fits nicely. I placed Nobsound springs under the amp and tried the Oreas as well, both with positive and different results. My question after reading this is why add the butcher block to the equation? Why create another large surface area?
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