Turntable Isolation Journey

@mulveling -- this thread and your excellent research could not be more timely!  I recently changed turntables and arms, moving to a Kuzma Stabi R and the new Safir 9 tonearm. The change is significant, however I immediately began suffering from footfall inducted skips. I never had this with my Palmer, but they are entirely different systems, so I am on my own journey. 

I added the Kuzma isolation feet and that has helped, but not completely. My next step is to try the bracing you describe, although I can't get my rack as close to the wall as yours. My dealer suggested this bracing and so we will see. I am now going to order some hockey pucks for my rack and will see how that goes. From there, I had looked at the isolation platform you suggested, so that could be next. I am also thinking of a Vibraplane, but hoping not to spend the extra dollars right now after the Safir...

Thank you for the research and for sharing your experiences. I will post back how it goes for me. 

Bracing a rack against a wall could certainly be a good idea, IF the wall itself is not prone to pick up airborne energy from the speakers or vibrate in tune to some local appliance, like maybe a refrigerator if kitchen is next door.  In cases such as those, you are deliberately coupling to another source of spurious energy and then hoping the Auralex (sp?) is protecting you from the deleterious effects.  Best not to use such a wall as a brace in the first place.  My equipment rack backs up to a wall that supports the stairs leading to the second floor of my house; I am quite sure it reacts to footsteps on the stairs, and I would not use that wall as a brace.

@thr1961 There is a decent sum of money parted with to get to the TT>Tonearm>Cart' now in use.

To produce a support structure that can be very satisfying does not take large amounts of monies to begin with.

Have a look at Barry Diament Audio (some claim he gave Townsend Products their earliest ideas to go to market with), some of the methods seen on Diament Audio  are now evolved, where it can be seen others are utilising his suggestions/variants of the suggestions on other forums, it will be speedy to see ideas can be put in place for small monies.

Hockey Pucks and other simplistic footer methods can be compared.

I have revisited my evolvement through materials and it was a material referred to as Sorbofoam that superseded my use of Squash Balls. Sorbofoam is available in different thicknesses and densities. I chose a Hard Foam as I had at the time devices that has substantial weight.

Sorbofoam was later shown to have a worthy alternative, which is a Pipe Lagging Material from the Company Armaflex. I have both of these foam materials in my possession today and still utilise them during trials and keep them in use if they are the preferred material.

To experience any of the above is not going to impact on the finances, the real requirement is making time to change materials and evaluate how they are offering a change for the better/worse, or just a tweak to the sonic seasoning.

Any change of material will create a change to the sonic to manifest, the better trained the ear, the quicker the sonic change will be detected.

The assessment is for the best, when it is being identified that a new manifestation n has developed.

Quite simply, a certain area of the frequency range becomes improved and as a result details from within this frequency range become more evident. Once there is feel for it, there becomes the intent, to produce a presentation from the frequencies that are the preferred choices for the end user. As stated, I like Transparent/Lean, which to me is a Tight, Clean Rolled Off Bass Note (No perception of Overhang). This base condition, enables a well Project Upper Mid' and High Frequency. Then there is the quirk, I don't want this for all Genre listened to, like the perception a Rich Tone is present, I can achieve this instantly with a couple of minor changes.     

I have had an experience as a result of working with structures and Platter Mats, where a Backing Vocalist on a Track was quite subdued and fixed in the Background. Following toying with Structure and Platter Mats, this Vocal changed to the point the Backing Vocal was prominent and almost on parity with the lead vocal. I have no doubt in my mind for that the Vocal during this part of the recording, was what the engineer was wanting, the vocal was intended to become that prominent. Small Monies and a fair allocation of time enabled that experience to manifest.       

@thr1961 No rack should be rickety but bracing yours will probably not help. I suggest you do not waste money and go right to a low profile MinusK platform. You have a fine turntable and it deserves more than 1/2 baked solutions. The MinusK will stop the foot fall problems and give you a black background like you have never heard before. You will wind up there eventually, there is nothing better. 

@mijostyn frames the challenge correctly. As for footfalls and other structural borne vibrations, there are only two solutions—siting your table on the basement level directly on the concrete foundation (or forming a concrete tower that rises to the main level—yes, some folks have done this!) OR going with a wall mount shelf, which MUST be fastened to a load bearing (usually exterior) wall. IME these are the only ways to address structural issues like bouncy floors and washing machines. The other suggestions offered here are not going to get you there—period. Once properly anchored and isolated, you can go after the airborne vibrations generated by playing music. Some of the solutions offered here make sense. After years of experimentation, I’ve got my Target PS-1 oversized shelf screwed directly into the studs on an exterior wall. I applied some foam weatherstripping to the mounting surface as an interface between the back of the shelf and the drywall and used the largest wood screws possible along with the largest washers possible to ensure that the shelf is securely fixed to the wall—I can hang on the end of the shelf and it doesn’t budge. Then I replaced the upward facing spikes with Herbies Giant Gliders and the MDF shelf with a 19”x21” Symposium Svelt Shelf (a drop in swap). My table sits directly on the Svelt Shelf and has its own integrated aircraft aluminum base with Isoacoustics footers (comes standard with the PF Harmony). While my rack and table are too close to my speakers—no better option in our current home—I can crank it up to unlimited volume and all I get is clean, clean music. FWIW my speakers are spiked to the suspended floor with Track Audio footers—highly recommended. You can see pics on my systems page.