This is exactly what I suspected--that the critical posters did not fully understand exactly how my table arrangement works. I will copy below what I wrote in this thread:
"If you look closely you will see that the Target shelf passes through the back panel of the entertainment center. It is bolted to a piece of 5/8 birch ply that is screwed to wall studs. The table is literally floating within the entertainment center, immune from footfalls and airborne vibration generated by the speakers. Also, I've replaced the MDF shelf on the Target with a Symposium Svelte Shelf".
I know it is hard to see this in the photo posted with my system--I purposely made it look as though the Target shelf is bolted to the back of the cabinet by sandwiching the cutout piece between the wall and the Target shelf. To reiterate--the Target shelf passes through a hole in the rear of the cabinet and bolts directly to a 5/8" piece of birch plywood, which is buried in the wall and screwed into the wall studs. I can literally hang all 225 pounds of me on the end of the shelf and it doesn't budge. As to surrounding the table on all sides (except the front) this actually prevents airborne vibration from getting to the table. Again, this arrangement is the best I've been able to engineer and, if I can add, is the envy of every one of my audiophile/analogue buddies. I say this only to reinforce the point that the Scout is getting the best possible support and yet still falls short of the performance of my digital setup.
I think Kirkus and ET have raised an issue worth discussing--the orthodoxy within the audiophile community about the superiority of vinyl. I will admit, I have been preaching this gospel for a good long while. However, it seems plausible to me that improvements in digital recording and playback have now given digital the edge. There are still good reasons to have an analogue set up but superior sound quality may not be one of them. Again, I haven't had the opportunity to listen and compare similarly priced vinyl and CD players at the upper end of the market but it is clear to me that my Scout cannot keep up with the Esoteric in nearly every major point of comparison. I wonder whether the whole "analogue rules" movement is based more on dated perceptions of digitals flaws and nostalgia than how these formats compare in their current iterations.
"If you look closely you will see that the Target shelf passes through the back panel of the entertainment center. It is bolted to a piece of 5/8 birch ply that is screwed to wall studs. The table is literally floating within the entertainment center, immune from footfalls and airborne vibration generated by the speakers. Also, I've replaced the MDF shelf on the Target with a Symposium Svelte Shelf".
I know it is hard to see this in the photo posted with my system--I purposely made it look as though the Target shelf is bolted to the back of the cabinet by sandwiching the cutout piece between the wall and the Target shelf. To reiterate--the Target shelf passes through a hole in the rear of the cabinet and bolts directly to a 5/8" piece of birch plywood, which is buried in the wall and screwed into the wall studs. I can literally hang all 225 pounds of me on the end of the shelf and it doesn't budge. As to surrounding the table on all sides (except the front) this actually prevents airborne vibration from getting to the table. Again, this arrangement is the best I've been able to engineer and, if I can add, is the envy of every one of my audiophile/analogue buddies. I say this only to reinforce the point that the Scout is getting the best possible support and yet still falls short of the performance of my digital setup.
I think Kirkus and ET have raised an issue worth discussing--the orthodoxy within the audiophile community about the superiority of vinyl. I will admit, I have been preaching this gospel for a good long while. However, it seems plausible to me that improvements in digital recording and playback have now given digital the edge. There are still good reasons to have an analogue set up but superior sound quality may not be one of them. Again, I haven't had the opportunity to listen and compare similarly priced vinyl and CD players at the upper end of the market but it is clear to me that my Scout cannot keep up with the Esoteric in nearly every major point of comparison. I wonder whether the whole "analogue rules" movement is based more on dated perceptions of digitals flaws and nostalgia than how these formats compare in their current iterations.