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Turntable Isolation

I have quad 22 l-2 speakers, NAD c-162 preamp, pair of Adcom gfa-555 amps, Cambridge Azur 640c cd player, Rega p3-24 turntable with TTSU and Herbie's mat.

Listen to all types of music, from classical to Sinatra to Miles Davis to early rock to Wilco to Arcade Fire, etc.

I've been looking at isolation solutions for my Rega (Gingko, etc) and decided to make something myself. I bought a piece of hardwood, cut it into two 19" x 16" pieces, drilled 5 dowel holes in the corners and the middle of one piece, placed Dunlop Sport (2 dot) squash balls in the dowel holes, placed the other piece of hardwood on top. Then, placed my Timbernation 2" thick maple turntable platform with spikes on top of the second piece of hardwood, then the Rega. Seems to work ok. My question is; how compressed should the balls be in order to get the best isolation for this "solution"?
gmsasso
schipo
1,268 posts
 
I believe it would be 10lbs per ball.So you should take the combined weight of the platform and table,then do the math...good luck.
gmsasso OP
33 posts
 
Thanks Schipo. Just weighed the whole thing and it comes to 23 lbs. I need to take the center ball out and then add 17 lbs. Holy Moly! Have you experimented with this type of thing?
macdadtexas
1,794 posts
 
Cool project.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
What kind of feet are on the P3/24? I have a Technics SL1210 with aftermarket threaded brass cones. I just did an experiment using the cones on top of metal floorsavers that are wide enough to span the top of Vibrapods, then placed on Vibrapods (which are platformed on top of a butcher block cutting board supported by silicon gel pads). The spikes-to-Vibrapod addition dropped the noise floor dramatically and brought forth a new level of dynamics. Surface noise dropped noticeably and microdynamics have come alive.

Are you willing to experiment with Vibrapods instead of squash balls? Since they make 5 models with different weight ratings, it would be easy to pick the Vibrapods that deflect the correct amount for a given load.

Also, the Vibrapod instructions say to never place one dead center; I wonder if that would apply to other absorptive modules such as the squash balls?

Another alternative for the squishy middle of a heavy wood sandwich: silicon gel wrist rests for computer keyboards available at your local OfficeMax, Office Depot, Staples, etc. I use two 19" long gel wrist pads under my cutting board.
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